skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
I, for one, wish Fender hadn't discontinued the Squier VM P Bass V. I suspect the 5 string P "shortage" has something to do with their value increasing lately.
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Why are 5-string P-basses so rare?
- Thread starter Riff Ranger
- Start date
I, for one, wish Fender hadn't discontinued the Squier VM P Bass V. I suspect the 5 string P "shortage" has something to do with their value increasing lately.
I used to share the thoughts that P5’s don’t have decent B strings.
I bought a new Professional series 5 and the B is better than my jazz V Elite.
Superb bass
I bought a new Professional series 5 and the B is better than my jazz V Elite.
Superb bass
If there are 2 coils connected the hum is gone. If it dissapears with a phantom coil, why it shouldnt with two "unbalanced" coils?
Easy, a p bass has muddy sound (yes, p bass is my main player). A passive 5 p bass is more muddy in the 5th. That is why the best sounding 5's are active eq
I personally like the simplicity and the tone of a P bass with an extra B string.
I ask myself the same question, but:
This:
P bass classic tone -> you dont need a B string
You need a B string -> you go for a modern tone
This:
In a wealthy country like USA you can afford multiple basses so if you want to go classic you buy a traditional P and you also have a 5er with modern tone.
I ask myself the same question, but:
This:
P bass classic tone -> you dont need a B string
You need a B string -> you go for a modern tone
This:
In a wealthy country like USA you can afford multiple basses so if you want to go classic you buy a traditional P and you also have a 5er with modern tone.
Actually more like this one:
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bas...MI4MaLz9jK4QIVBLjACh2-cw5lEAQYAyABEgLX-PD_BwE
The real question is why are there no 5 string P/J basses. I have one and got it by modding an old Squier. It's great. The new P pickup is NOS Fender just like one on their P bass 5ers and I added a J pickup. Now a PJ is also widely said to not have the tone of a "real" P-bass so I assume that a P/J 5er has got to sound nothing like a bass at all, right? Well, mine doesn't seem so bad. I give credit to Fender for actually selling 5 string P-basses that is pretty good (I noticed nothing in the review above about tone being horrible) but what is with the refusal to sell a PJ 5 ? OK, maybe selling something with 6 string that is actually a bass is outside their tradition, but no PJ-5 except for Squier? That's just weird.
And the even more weird thing is that there are vast numbers of clone makers who offer PJ-5s but Fender offers no real thing!
I dont know if they have the P in exactly the same position but there are plenty P5: Lakland, Sadowsky, Yamaha, Fender, Squier, Lull, Sanberg, Valenti.
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Perhaps it might be more accurate to say:
- Fender’s 5-string PB pickup doesn’t seem to appeal to Fender players as much as Fender’s 4-string PB pickup does.
- A Wilde/Lawrence P45 pickup is not designed in the same way as one of Fender’s 5-string PB pickups and therefore sounds different.
- Because they are two different designs, good ol’ apples & oranges strikes again.
- Bill Lawrence was a brilliant pickup designer.
My Sadowsky PJ5 (ash/braz rw, Chrome Flats, and 99% of the time I only have the P Pickup) has a killer B-String. Clarity, girth, all that.
But ...
If I vary the pickup height ... at all ... from what Roger recommends, it doesn't sound so hot. I've got a straight P5 Olinto on order, so we'll see about that one. Hoping it's even more a vintage P.
But ...
If I vary the pickup height ... at all ... from what Roger recommends, it doesn't sound so hot. I've got a straight P5 Olinto on order, so we'll see about that one. Hoping it's even more a vintage P.
P basses are usually played by more traditional players. Jazz basses tend toward more modern players. The same could be said regarding 5 strings.
I, like you, love a 5 string P. Bit I don't think we belong to a huge segment of the market.
I, like you, love a 5 string P. Bit I don't think we belong to a huge segment of the market.
I'm one of those people out there who is not going to be parting with my 5 string P. I have a Lakland Skyline 55-64 - one of the first batch that they made from Indonesia. I think that they may have made a 2nd or 3rd run of them before discontinuing them. Anyway, this is my one and only bass now after owning around 25 of them - it's just great.
Regarding why people prefer a 5 string Jazz or other style to a P, I think it's a few things:
1. The already mentioned 3/2 pick vs. a 2/2 for traditional Ps. I don't experience any issues with my 5 string P, but others may.
2. There's probably also a sense that you need a bridge pickup for a 5 string to better voice the B string. This has not been an issue for me, but I think it's why you may see a lot of P/J 5's instead of just Ps.
3. Ps and flats go together really well, but there are not really any flats for 5 strings that have a usable B string (the Roto 77s were the closest for me). Please bear in mind that I have a heavy touch and play a Kalium .150 B string, and I'm considering going up to .158. On the other hand, a 4 string P has lots of amazing options for flats (I like the La Bella Jamersons and the Steve Harris Rotos).
4. People who play Ps tend to be traditional and bass is traditionally a 4 string instrument. I would only play a 4 string if I didn't need to accommodate so many Eb's, D's, etc. Basically, I don't like down tuning or drop tuning, and as vocalists age, their range must go down. Therefore, I needed a 5 string P.
Anyway, just some thoughts from someone who loves his 5 string P.
Regarding why people prefer a 5 string Jazz or other style to a P, I think it's a few things:
1. The already mentioned 3/2 pick vs. a 2/2 for traditional Ps. I don't experience any issues with my 5 string P, but others may.
2. There's probably also a sense that you need a bridge pickup for a 5 string to better voice the B string. This has not been an issue for me, but I think it's why you may see a lot of P/J 5's instead of just Ps.
3. Ps and flats go together really well, but there are not really any flats for 5 strings that have a usable B string (the Roto 77s were the closest for me). Please bear in mind that I have a heavy touch and play a Kalium .150 B string, and I'm considering going up to .158. On the other hand, a 4 string P has lots of amazing options for flats (I like the La Bella Jamersons and the Steve Harris Rotos).
4. People who play Ps tend to be traditional and bass is traditionally a 4 string instrument. I would only play a 4 string if I didn't need to accommodate so many Eb's, D's, etc. Basically, I don't like down tuning or drop tuning, and as vocalists age, their range must go down. Therefore, I needed a 5 string P.
Anyway, just some thoughts from someone who loves his 5 string P.
If you haven't already, check out the D'Addario Chromes. Best B-string in the flat-world IMO/IME. ErnieBall's are my next fave. Haven't had much luck with LaBellas. The tension on the b-string felt flappy next to the other strings.
That is the explanation I hear most from luthiers. Specifically, the single P pickup is placed far enough forward that the string motion above it is very substantial, compared to the string motion above a bridge pickup. You can see that by looking.
That's probably what gives us the chunky tone characteristic we like about P basses. It may also be a little more than a pickup can do a good job "hearing" on a low B.
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Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
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- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I've been looking for something decent with a P pickup in the P pickup spot, but with a fast neck (flat Ibanez style) and 5 or 6 strings on and off for a long time, but never found one that satisfies completely. I do happen to own a Dreizehnbass Invader V custom with a humbucking pickup pretty close to the P position and that bass, with the electronics shut off and the neck PU singled, does a thing that comes quite close to the P magic. That slightly hollow tone that just shoulders itself through the mix in a gentle fashion (rather than elbowing in a harsh way) can be found with this bass. That sound that's like 'meh' when soloed, but very sweet in the mix.
Same concept, different execution, but it works for me.
I've tried that bass against a Fender US made Precision 5, but that one had a rather floppy B string that sounded okay'ish when played unamplified and a bit worse through an amp. I wanted to like that P bass but I could not.
Ibanez has splitcoils in their SR series basses - they come in a bazillion shapes and configurations with 4, 5 and 6 strings, fanned frets, fretless, from cheaper-than-Squier to boutique style hardware and woods.
The one thing they all have in common is the narrow string spacing, though. I can't have with that, but an open minded fellow that just wants a P bass PU in the right position on a well executed 5 might check them out ...
Same concept, different execution, but it works for me.
I've tried that bass against a Fender US made Precision 5, but that one had a rather floppy B string that sounded okay'ish when played unamplified and a bit worse through an amp. I wanted to like that P bass but I could not.
Ibanez has splitcoils in their SR series basses - they come in a bazillion shapes and configurations with 4, 5 and 6 strings, fanned frets, fretless, from cheaper-than-Squier to boutique style hardware and woods.
The one thing they all have in common is the narrow string spacing, though. I can't have with that, but an open minded fellow that just wants a P bass PU in the right position on a well executed 5 might check them out ...
