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Which 5 strings have narrow & thick necks?

darwin-bass

darwin-bass

Supporting Member
Mar 29, 2013
5,437
9,113
Salem OR
#1
I'm considering a 5-er. But it needs to be not a thin neck. Something around 0.82" thick at the nut would be great. And narrow with narrow spacing would also be good.

Oh, and low cost, low weight would be ideal
:)

TIA.
 
#2
Answer my own question.
B

Thread 'do all 5 strings have a thin neck?'

So I had a Dave Ellfson custom shop sign 5 string and the neck was very thin. For speed I would assume. I just got a peavey USA cirrus and again seems like a thin neck. Are there any 5 strings espically neck through that have a good chunky neck, or at least not paper thin. Don't care if they are mass market or boutique.
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#3
thick and narrow? sounds like U-shape Warwick neck to me (aka fat neck). sadly, it's not longer the default profile.

you can find it on the used market tho, both in German (like 99-2009, but again, U-shape wasn't the only neck) and Chinese instruments (the ones with the big 'Rockbass' logo over the head).
 
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#6
I moved from a 4 string P bass to an Ibanez EHB1005MS last year, and have been very happy with it, particularly that it is significantly lighter weight than the P bass.
The neck specs are:
500mm Radius
String Space: 18mm
Width: 45mm at NUT, 74mm at 24F
Thickness: 19.5mm at 1F 21.5mm at 12F

I love the finish, or lack thereof, on the neck. It's fast and easy to move around compared to the P bass.

You seem to know what you're looking for. The numbers can only tell so much. Holding the instrument and playing it tells so much more that the numbers alone don't convey.
 
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#8
That sounds like Warwick all the way. My 2006 German Corvette Std has 16mm spacing and a deep u-shaped neck. It's an absolute beast to handle but it sounds so good.

Stingray 5 necks in my experience are medium-narrow spacing (17mm) and thinner front to back- a little smaller than an equivalent Fender in every dimension. They're easily the top 2 34" B-string sounds for me but they feel very different.
 
#11
I bought an Ibanez Soundgear SR305EB as a lightweight backup that I wouldn't mind playing if I had to and it seems to meet most of your criteria. The neck is on the thin side, but not the thinnest (back to front).

I find I play it more often than I would have expected and it is a very good value for the money. The black and walnut finish options are not my favourites, but it is still a very nice bass.

The thing that brought me to that model over some of the others of the same shape (but fancier) was the weight and price. They are consistently light.
 
#14
Warwick 2000-2008
thick chunky
image.png.1fc701237ef048f8d5c7095f7fc345c0.png
 
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#16
ESP/LTD basses with the "thin U" neck profile have necks with more girth/chunkiness than pencil-thin "shredder neck" Soundgears. Especially older ones. I used to have an early 2000s LTD F-series 5-string and it had a rounder/chunkier neck profile with 16.5mm string spacing. Pretty comfortable to play. I also used to have a 2018 (I think?) D-5 with "thin U" but this one was a little slimmer (not as chunky) meaning that the company changed its neck geometry at some point.

I can't speak to the 5-strings, but a 4-string Schecter Stilleto Stealth I used to have had a narrow (38mm nut width) neck with a rounder/chunkier profile than the competition. I didn't quite get along with it. It was the worst of both world for me, but would be heaven for someone else.

I can't speak to the 5-strings, but my 4-string Reverend has the kind of neck I like. 42mm nut width, and a neck profile that has a comfortable girth to it without feeling like a chunky baseball bat neck. I LOVE this neck. It eliminated my GAS for anything other than another Reverend.

And I believe the Adam Nitti sig model Ibanez Soundgear has 18mm string spacing and a girthier neck than your typical Soundgear, because that's what he wanted. The ANB205 looks pretty sharp too.

I can't speak to the 5-strings, but when I tried someone's 4-string Ibanez Talman bass, that neck was wider and chunkier than a Soundgear. I rather liked that neck.

And someone mentioned Jackson. Yeah, Jackson and Charvel basses have asymmetical neck carves that some folks really love. To them it's slender and chunky in all the right places. And folks like LowEndLobster say they have more girth than Soundgear necks (Lobster generally dislikes super-thin "shredder" necks).
 
#19
darwin-bass said:
I'm considering a 5-er. But it needs to be not a thin neck. Something around 0.82" thick at the nut would be great. And narrow with narrow spacing would also be good.

Oh, and low cost, low weight would be ideal
:)

TIA.
Click to expand...
The one that got away.
darwin-bass

Thread '80's Ibanez Roadstar II RB885 5-string - Yea or Nay?'

Found one for sale locally. Very narrow 5 string (which is what has me interested), mid 80's Japanese vintage. Active pickups with bass/treble preamp.

Are these good instruments or are they dogs in disguise? I'm mostly wondering about the low B knowing that good low Bs are hit & miss on lower cost instruments.

Arthritis in my hands makes it painful to play a regular 5 string bass and my BEAD 4 string has me missing that high string.

Bass appears to be in good shape for its age. Seller is asking $500 which I think is high.
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I came within a whisker of snagging one some time ago. To utilise the 15mm spacing. Got pipped at the post on Reverb, and haven't seen another come up since. Rare as hen's teeth
 
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