Why did Fender fail to capture the 5 String market?

[RumbleMan3]

I have read some stories about Fender and the first 5-string bass. It had only 15 frets and a high C...and wasn't accepted by any players then in 1965...

But what happened after that? There was no other Powerhouse in the game like Fender. We know that 10 years later Jimmy Johnson worked with Alembic to create one of the first five strings with a low B, a bass we now consider to be the template based on the modern 5-string. For a full 10 years or more Fender gave up on the concept?

My question is this... why wasn't Fender able to establish the same powerful foothold in the 5-string market as they did with the P bass and Jazz Bass? Were they that bad? My thinking leads me to believe that a 5-string was considered a very heavily specialized instrument at the time and not as ubiquitous as it is today.

To an extent even in 2020, I still feel that is true and although Fender today makes great 5 string basses, they still pale in comparison to the P and Jazz 4-string dominance of yesteryear and today.

Since the modern 5 string became a thing, why have Fenders become a secondary 5 string option to other brands? Were they unable to produce a quality instrument in the early years? Did other brands simply establish themselves before Fender for 5 string basses?

I'm sure they captured a decent portion of the market at one point or another but for a company as dominant as Fender was, their 5-string business seems like an overall failure. JMHO.

What I don’t understand is why did fender think to do a high c string BEFORE they thought of doing a low b?

I mean really?

 

[Bassist30]

The Bass guitar amongst other instruments is not very old. I think they are still in some ways developing and at this time I think Fender has 5 string designs that are very good.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Just for posterity. I just played both my 2014 Warwick 5 and my 2002 Fender 5. The Fender sounds great but plays not so great. The Warwick sound good and plays like an Fing Dream. Mechanical differences as opposed to electronic ones.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

What I don’t understand is why did fender think to do a high c string BEFORE they thought of doing a low b?

I mean really?

Nobody wanted a low B until Anthony Jackson and Jimmy Johnson created the demand.

 

[Ric5]

I have read some stories about Fender and the first 5-string bass. It had only 15 frets and a high C...and wasn't accepted by any players then in 1965...

But what happened after that? There was no other Powerhouse in the game like Fender. We know that 10 years later Jimmy Johnson worked with Alembic to create one of the first five strings with a low B, a bass we now consider to be the template based on the modern 5-string. For a full 10 years or more Fender gave up on the concept?

My question is this... why wasn't Fender able to establish the same powerful foothold in the 5-string market as they did with the P bass and Jazz Bass? Were they that bad? My thinking leads me to believe that a 5-string was considered a very heavily specialized instrument at the time and not as ubiquitous as it is today.

To an extent even in 2020, I still feel that is true and although Fender today makes great 5 string basses, they still pale in comparison to the P and Jazz 4-string dominance of yesteryear and today.

Since the modern 5 string became a thing, why have Fenders become a secondary 5 string option to other brands? Were they unable to produce a quality instrument in the early years? Did other brands simply establish themselves before Fender for 5 string basses?

I'm sure they captured a decent portion of the market at one point or another but for a company as dominant as Fender was, their 5-string business seems like an overall failure. JMHO.

I played a Fender Bass V about 1972 … it is a cool bass … But I liked my 4001 better

 

[Auspuff]

Because Fender was not the first to understand the essential value of the instrument. Fender also was fully entrenched as the dominant purveyor of 4-string basses, which it still pretty much is. It simply stuck with what it knew.

Make that, with what works.

 

[Chickenwheels]

I bought a Fender Roscoe Beck V in 1997. My other main options at the time were a Yamaha BBNE5 or a StingRay 5. Great basses, but the Roscoe Beck V nails a mid 60s Jazz tone...plus more. And it’s build quality and B string are awesome. I’ve never wanted for another 5 string ever. I’m glad I didn’t fail to capture my Fender 5!

 

[twinjet]

Design failure? The Fender 5-strings that appeared in the late 90's/early 2000's were a failure, IMHO. Very floppy B strings and lots of weird dead spots.

In the words of bass guru Ed Cannacci (Gelb Music, Redwood City, CA), "The B strings on Fender 5-strings from the late 90's to 2001 or so, just didn't work."

In-line 5-string head stock is the giveaway:

View attachment 3692669

It's a shame, too. Those late 90s Suhr Jazz Bass models were hot.

 

[scottfeldstein]

It's a shame, too. Those late 90s Suhr Jazz Bass models were hot.

My Feb 2002 sounds like a million bucks. It just plays like $150.

 

[5StringBlues]

I bought a Fender Roscoe Beck V in 1997. My other main options at the time were a Yamaha BBNE5 or a StingRay 5. Great basses, but the Roscoe Beck V nails a mid 60s Jazz tone...plus more. And it’s build quality and B string are awesome. I’ve never wanted for another 5 string ever. I’m glad I didn’t fail to capture my Fender 5!

 

[SwitchGear]

It's a shame, too. Those late 90s Suhr Jazz Bass models were hot.

I once owned a 1997 Suhr American Jazz V deluxe (and a number of other US made Fender fives. The Fender/Suhr 97 sounded (and looked) oh so great but had several dead spots up and down the B string. Yek. The best jazz 5 I've played and owned to this day is my 2019 Sadowsky Metro Express. Everything about it is righteous, nothing lacking and only weighs 8.4 lbs.

 

[jamro217]

I think Fender was in a bit of a quandary over the whole five string market. Their staple instruments (which are iconic) are four stringed and weren't originally designed to have more than four. Adding onto these platforms involve major changes in balance, size, and electronics. Starting out with a clean slate is better than trying to force an existing design to achieve what it was never meant to. Any new product line is a gamble, and unless it's great you run the risk of failure. Maybe they took the easy way out and compromised by converting their most popular models into fivers. They may get some customers who have the four string versions of their instruments and want a five. Why not buy a Fender? For players who want a five string that was designed from the ground up to perform that function there may be better choices.

 

[audreycashin]

Looks like a humbucker pick up to me....

MFD passive

 

[audreycashin]

View attachment 3693211

Watching Gorillaz 2010 tour right now

 

[audreycashin]

Google Image Result for https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/232561057306_/Fender-American-Deluxe-Precision-Bass-V-5-string-Guitar.jpg
Been looking for this forever, why did they stop making this one?

 

[Chickenwheels]

Design failure? The Fender 5-strings that appeared in the late 90's/early 2000's were a failure, IMHO. Very floppy B strings and lots of weird dead spots.

In the words of bass guru Ed Cannacci (Gelb Music, Redwood City, CA), "The B strings on Fender 5-strings from the late 90's to 2001 or so, just didn't work."

In-line 5-string head stock is the giveaway:

View attachment 3692669

 

[Chickenwheels]

Some low B

 

[Nevada Pete]

Don't underestimate the Fender Pbass 5, I had one (circa 2010) and it was a very good 5er with a solid B, no discernible dead spots, and decent weight at 9.1 lbs.

I wanted a Roscoe Beck 5 but never found a light one when I was looking.

I totally second this! Have no complaint with my Fender Pbass 5 now that I've got it set up right.

Secret: Get the Stealth String Retainer for the B string.

 

[Samatza]

I don't think there is anything wrong with the Fender five string basses, I note that some of the early ones may have missed the mark with the B string but certainly the Roscoe Beck was great.

My only issue with Fender is spare parts in my area, the local office won't even respond to email or messages. So for now I'll stay with my other 5 string basses and put the Fender to one side. It has a great B string but those N3 pickups, well the bridge pickup anyway can get noisy. All I wanted was a replacement that I'm willing to pay for but alas I can't get any help. EMG system is on it's way though so the Fender stuff is going in the bin.

 

[lowphatbass]

I’ve played some good Fender 5 strings and a lot of mediocre Fender 5 strings. There seemed to be that time period when they couldn’t decide which side of the headstock to put the extra tuner. The RB 5’s were killer. I think the low point was the Squier with the 4 string pickups but as an entry level instrument I give them a pass on that.
My idea of a good 5er doesn’t involve a bunch of tweaking around with string gauges, nut massages and pickup swapping to achieve a good B string. I admit I haven’t tried any of the recent offerings, but I’m not dying to either. I guess they had their chance with me, I found something else I’m happy with but all but one of my 4 strings are Fenders so.