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Why are 5-string P-basses so rare?
- Thread starter Riff Ranger
- Start date
Enough of them to keep 5-string P-basses rare, it would seem; but as this thread suggests, I'm not alone in appreciating a classic design with an extra string or pickup or change in shape here or there—that pointy thing in my profile image, at the end of the day, is just a pointy, hot-rodded P-bass
Did you play my J5?
19mm is just enough space, and when they have that thin profile I'm always in good left hand form. Flattish thin profile let's my thumb anchor where I need to be.
Weird, bc 5's put you in the "boxes are good" vs the 4string "boxes are for lazy people that aren't musically educated unless they flail and reach".
Too easy on 4's to hang a thumb and be lazy, or have to reach and wrist crank into the RSI zone.
If you wanna just get the Am STD P5 from GC on whatever their payment plan is that'd be fine too. Genuine Fender and all that.
Just done ordered me a stealth string retainer on Amazon! Yahoo!
“Because some of the people who play or like Precision Basses think anything invented after 1957 is crap.”
This is more accurate to my experiences. I have a 5-string P that I’m in love with, and at dinner tonight my two guitarist friends couldn’t stop harping on why I should be playing my ‘72 Fender P rather than the modern 5-string P that I love. Couldn’t let it go simply because it was a Vintage Fender and they’re convinced that’s the pinnacle of bass perfection.
My guess is that we don’t see many 5-string P’s because the majority of P players are traditional in taste and aesthetic, and to be fair the 4-string P does what it does so well that it’s understandably enough for those players. However, there are those of us who are willing to explore minor tweaks to total redesigns of the classic P that’s served us so well...and fortunately for us there are boutique companies willing to take chances as well in hopes of finding the next classic design.
If you want a complete redesign of a P into a 5, MTD 535.
Ironic bc I got the electronics out of one from someone who decided to revoice their 535 into a modern J.
Ironic bc I got the electronics out of one from someone who decided to revoice their 535 into a modern J.
@amper's blunt and painting with a broad brush—but her general point (which I'll paraphrase as some stick strongly to tradition, and tradition doesn't have five strings) seems to echo what many other commenters think.
The J5 has the varitone, right? I think I liked that one quite a bit.
That four-string Spector of yours was the one that stuck with me, though, and I went off in that direction with a Legend 5 Classic. It plays, feels, and looks dreamy, but I’m having a hard time getting a sound I just love out of it (though I think the tech might not have used the right pots when I had the Alumitones put in and the Tone Pump Jr. pulled out; stay tuned). Hence this thread.
But now I’m remembering why I have held onto my Ibanez ATK for the last quarter century, and I know of a four-string one of those for a very good price in my area …
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I picked up some kind of Tobias four and immediately put it down because the neck didn’t feel right to me at all, but as you seem to suggest, necks can be almost apples and oranges between fours and fives; I might give one of their fives a go. I have loved every G&L four I have ever played, but do not like the necks on the G&L fives I have tried
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tobias 5 & 6 makes the asym neck profile make more sense.
I believe Tobias had a very strict thumb position in mind bc the asym profile seems to lend to an almost flamenco position on the 6's.
I wasn't crazy about the 4's either.
The J5 is the one with the Stellartone plate.
That neck profile is the generic USACG "modern J", Warmoth Deluxe 5's are the same general profile. You can shape the taper from neck centerline to fretboard edges with a foam block so the B-G reach rolls along that soft C shape.
It's wide, so that width stretched Fender J profile takes on that "thumb told me I'm in the right spot" thing. It's all in that large radius, no radical changes in your left hand "claw".
That Spector is still not where I want it.
It's still my experiment bass.
Sometimes you already have "the one" and all the others are wish fulfillment or unexplored experiments.
If you want to shape a neck we can do that.
It isn't rocket science, and a little material goes a long way.
I'd rather leave a Fender neck alone, given that an Am STD P5 is rare.
I believe Tobias had a very strict thumb position in mind bc the asym profile seems to lend to an almost flamenco position on the 6's.
I wasn't crazy about the 4's either.
The J5 is the one with the Stellartone plate.
That neck profile is the generic USACG "modern J", Warmoth Deluxe 5's are the same general profile. You can shape the taper from neck centerline to fretboard edges with a foam block so the B-G reach rolls along that soft C shape.
It's wide, so that width stretched Fender J profile takes on that "thumb told me I'm in the right spot" thing. It's all in that large radius, no radical changes in your left hand "claw".
That Spector is still not where I want it.
It's still my experiment bass.
Sometimes you already have "the one" and all the others are wish fulfillment or unexplored experiments.
If you want to shape a neck we can do that.
It isn't rocket science, and a little material goes a long way.
I'd rather leave a Fender neck alone, given that an Am STD P5 is rare.
If one’s recording, or when practicing alone, I can see why certain PU’s or customized makes of a P-5 could be reasonably sought.
When you’re playing live, while you can possibly tune your own gear to the nth db or hertz, your entire (cheap or spendy) setup is still at the mercy of the room, stage, (if you are on one) being outdoors, other bandmate’s musical indulgences, someone else’s PA, etc.
I use a stock Precision V with a decent amp & cabs where I get most of my tone most of the time, in great and awful venues.
I don’t dial in deep for decimal point results because the audience only mostly feels it more than they hear it.
Being punctual beats being tone perfect. Having a playable, comfortable bass gets you through easy and difficult gigs.
THAT’s mostly why a stock Precision Bass works.
When you’re playing live, while you can possibly tune your own gear to the nth db or hertz, your entire (cheap or spendy) setup is still at the mercy of the room, stage, (if you are on one) being outdoors, other bandmate’s musical indulgences, someone else’s PA, etc.
I use a stock Precision V with a decent amp & cabs where I get most of my tone most of the time, in great and awful venues.
I don’t dial in deep for decimal point results because the audience only mostly feels it more than they hear it.
Being punctual beats being tone perfect. Having a playable, comfortable bass gets you through easy and difficult gigs.
THAT’s mostly why a stock Precision Bass works.
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^ yes for a working bass.
Sometimes a bass you wrench on a lot is more of a self gratification exercise.
People develop a burning desire to engineer solutions outside of their existing capabilities.
That's where the fun, for me, starts.
Sometimes a bass you wrench on a lot is more of a self gratification exercise.
People develop a burning desire to engineer solutions outside of their existing capabilities.
That's where the fun, for me, starts.
Excellent insight here into what actually happens when you play out live. And very well said.
The Nashville guys seem to like 5 string Precisions. It's interesting how many different sounds you can actually get out of one depending on how you play the instrument. If you look for them you'll see 5 string Precisions on television performances, too.
It may be that the 5 string Precision falls into the same category as the former Fender Bass VI. Fender Bass VI's were frequently used on recordings, albeit by a relatively small group of studio musicians.
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My buddy in Nashville (I don’t think he’s on here) only uses the 5-string P in sessions.
Jimmy Lee Sloas is Nashville’s Jamerson & LA’s Carole Kaye on steroids. Clicking the link will give you some insight to how busy he is. And, he gets seemingly ALL the top name performer recording gigs.
In interviews, his go-to bass a 4-string Precision strung BEAD. It’s likely he also uses standard tuned P-Basses as well. But really, click on the link and just marvel at his gaudy portfolio. He’s also damn good at what he does. As much as I cop most pop hits just to learn them, there’s not necessarily a lot of technical difficulty to this type of playing. But, hit records pays the bills and the most efficient and tasteful musicians get the top studio AND top live show calls.
It’s all about the right notes in the right places on music (while similar) is still new.
I was fortunate enough to meet Jimmy Lee Sloas a couple of years ago when visiting Nashville, at 3rd & Lindsley. Gracious guy. Chatted his “typical” studio setup, all Fenders, Avalon U5. His hands and his sense of taste is his magic. He keeps it simple when need be, and throws in flavor when appropriate. Reliable, efficient, and friendly. THAT is what gets the work.
Here’s a pic of one of my Fender P5’s. I routed and added a Nordstrand Big Split P2 size in the bridge position, added an Audere pre with stacked knobs. My other one is an “almost stock” Fender P5, passive with a Nordstrand NP5 pickup and a .47 orange drop cap.
