Members insurrection Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 My bass player is in the market for a new bass and I remembered an old bass player I had who owned an american jazz bass and it was an incredible instrument, it was a 4 string though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 Bias Alert! I owned a MIM Jazz V for about 3 months. I found the neck to be very wide, the dreaded single coil buzz from the pickups was unacceptable, it had a floppy "B" String which did not improve with a couple of string changes, and it weighed a ton. It did have decent tone though and I ended up selling it to another player who was gong to use it mostly for funk and slap and it didn't sound too bad for that. I also have a 50th Anniversary MIA 4-string Jazz Deluxe which I love, but I'm not a fan of the Fender 5 strings. I have yet to play one (and I've tried out several in stores) that I would actually want to own. The neck is not fast because it's such a handful, and the response of the B-string is not as good as the vast majority of 35" scale fivers. The Lakland Skyline 55-01 I bought to replace it was light years better (at over twice the price though). At the MIM Jazz V price point, I think there are better 5-strings with the Yamaha or Ibanez name on them.YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 My general opinion is that Fender has perfected the 4 string, and never really figured out the 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 The neck is not fast because it's such a handful, and the response of the B-string is not as good as the vast majority of 35" scale fivers. The low B isn't as good as a 35" scale 5er? The Fender is a 34"...so that's not even comparable. Granted, my 34" scale SR5 has a great low B...so you don't need to have a 35" to be good. With all of that said, I don't like Fender 5 strings...they have a very loose and sloppy feeling low B regardless of the scale length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackcheez Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 Granted, my 34" scale SR5 has a great low B...so you don't need to have a 35" to be good. The Stingray 5 has a great B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 The low B isn't as good as a 35" scale 5er? The Fender is a 34"...so that's not even comparable. Granted, my 34" scale SR5 has a great low B...so you don't need to have a 35" to be good.With all of that said, I don't like Fender 5 strings...they have a very loose and sloppy feeling low B regardless of the scale length. I see nothing to disagree with on your points except that every MusicMan fiver I've played has had a marginally acceptable B-string and that's all. I would agree that you don't need a 35" scale neck to have good B-string response (a la Sadowsky) but it sure helps. With a 34" it seems like you have to work at it with just the right combination of strings, set-up etc. My Godin BG5 34" had pretty good B-string response after I changed from Med-Lights to Mediums. I guess we could have a "Great Taste - Less Filling" flame war on how "great" the B string is on a Stingray 5 is, it's just that all the ones I've played (and I always try one out at stores to see what all the fuss is about) has been just OK, not great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 At the MIM Jazz price point, I would also suggest one of the Schecters. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schecter-Stiletto-Deluxe5-Bass?sku=513048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 I see nothing to disagree with on your points except that every MusicMan fiver I've played has had a marginally acceptable B-string and that's all. I would agree that you don't need a 35" scale neck to have good B-string response (a la Sadowsky) but it sure helps. With a 34" it seems like you have to work at it with just the right combination of strings, set-up etc. My Godin BG5 34" had pretty good B-string response after I changed from Med-Lights to Mediums. I have a few high end 5ers, and my SR5 is just as good as my Modulus, which are known for having one of the best low B's in the business. Yup...Sadowsky's are great, but damn expensive. I will own an NYC one of these days. With any bass you have to work at it to get just the right combination so it works for you. I have never picked up a bass from the store and said this thing is perfect just the way it is. I'm not starting a flame war...I'm just trying to inform the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike fitzwell Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 ...but I'm not a fan of the Fender 5 strings. I have yet to play one (and I've tried out several in stores) that I would actually want to own. The neck is not fast because it's such a handful, and the response of the B-string is not as good as the vast majority of 35" scale fivers. +1. I had a late 90s MIM Jazz 5 deluxe for a while and the neck was a handful. The tone was nice, 3 band EQ was responsive, but that friggin neck! Yikes! I've found that the neck on G&L 5ers and MMs are very comfy. Both my L-5500 and my Bongo are easy to play and the B string is great on either of them and they're both 34" scale. Although I gotta admit right now the B string "edge" goes to the L-5500 over the Bongo. Gotta put some new strings on it first to make a final decision though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcrow Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 My general opinion is that Fender has perfected the 4 string, and never really figured out the 5. he did ok on the stingray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 he did ok on the stingray And the G&L... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 I have a few high end 5ers, and my SR5 is just as good as my Modulus, which are known for having one of the best low B's in the business. Yup...Sadowsky's are great, but damn expensive. I will own an NYC one of these days.With any bass you have to work at it to get just the right combination so it works for you. I have never picked up a bass from the store and said this thing is perfect just the way it is.I'm not starting a flame war...I'm just trying to inform the OP. I appreciate your view on this as you've obviously had a lot of experience. Would it be safe to say however, that a 35" scale would be preferable to a 34" in the $400 to $500 price range? I think you have a better chance of finding a better balanced 5-string bass in that price range if it has a longer scale neck. As you go up in price into the territory of high-end basses, I think the superior construction, materials and optimized set-up make the scale length less of an issue. I'm not an ideological disciple of the longer scale design approach as I have small hands and actually prefer a 34" scale. That being said, If I take a bass down from the wall of my local music store and it's in tune but already has a floppy B-string, my tendency is to put it right back on the wall. I don't ponder about the potential improvements that could be rendered by meticulous set-up and experimentation with string choice. On the other hand, if the bass feels good from the start I tend to have more optimism that it can be made even better with a proper set-up. It's just not as much of a leap of faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 And the G&L... I agree. I'm just referring to Fender, the company. Actually, the Stingray and the G&L L2500 are the only 5 strings I have liked playing (there are some notables that I haven't tried, mainly lakland), so clearly the problem wasn't with Leo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 22, 2008 Members Share Posted January 22, 2008 Would it be safe to say however, that a 35" scale would be preferable to a 34" in the $400 to $500 price range? I think you have a better chance of finding a better balanced 5-string bass in that price range if it has a longer scale neck. As you go up in price into the territory of high-end basses, I think the superior construction, materials and optimized set-up make the scale length less of an issue. I'm not an ideological disciple of the longer scale design approach as I have small hands and actually prefer a 34" scale. That being said, If I take a bass down from the wall of my local music store and it's in tune but already has a floppy B-string, my tendency is to put it right back on the wall. I don't ponder about the potential improvements that could be rendered by meticulous set-up and experimentation with string choice. On the other hand, if the bass feels good from the start I tend to have more optimism that it can be made even better with a proper set-up. It's just not as much of a leap of faith. Yeah, I'm not sure what I would prefer in that price range. I'd really have to sit down and play a few to find out. I also agree about picking a {censored} bass vs. picking up a decent bass, but I do know that improvements can be made on them so they will be a better playing in the long run. I actually bought a Warwick that was totally unplayable (broken truss rod) and fixed it so it's one of my best basses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members insurrection Posted January 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 Thanks for the input guys, I think I should clarify how I'll be tuning the thing to give you a better idea of my goals.. We (the guitarists) play gibson les paul standards tuned down to B, what I intended on doing was keeping the bass tuned in my own little weird way... which is with the low B string on the bass to be tuned with the low string of the guitar, which would effectively just give the bass an extra string in the upper notes so he can follow riffs that are really going all over the place. Anywho, that was my idea, I've played guitar for a decade and have yet to get more involved into basses than just looking at my bass players playing them. If I can adjust a Les Paul Standard to like being tuned that low, I think I could probably work on the fender and make it acceptable... none of the things you guys said were really too bad, plus, he's got some 100 dollar dean peice of garbage that the volume knob literally snapped off in his hand when it was turned one day... and we're both biased on the look of the jazzs' in particular white with black pearloid (sp) pickup guards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 23, 2008 Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 We (the guitarists) play gibson les paul standards tuned down to B, what I intended on doing was keeping the bass tuned in my own little weird way... which is with the low B string on the bass to be tuned with the low string of the guitar, which would effectively just give the bass an extra string in the upper notes so he can follow riffs that are really going all over the place. Most 5 strings are tuned this way anyways. I don't see how it's your own weird little way. BEADG is standard tuning for a 5 string. Some guys will tune it EADGC...with a high string instead of the low string...but it's not as common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members insurrection Posted January 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 Most 5 strings are tuned this way anyways. I don't see how it's your own weird little way. BEADG is standard tuning for a 5 string. Some guys will tune it EADGC...with a high string instead of the low string...but it's not as common. I really didn't mean to sound arrogant when I said my own way... you must understand my level of Bass n00bness. Now that I look at it, if our guitars weren't tuned so low, we'd actually be tuning it EADGC, but since the guitars are in B then yeah I guess that's just normal for the 5 strings then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 23, 2008 Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 No arrogance at all! Don't worry... My guitarists tune standard (EADGBE), and I use BEADG. I use the low notes more than I'd use the high notes. It really depends on what you want to do. I can easily get by with it tuned EADGC as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tattoo Drums Posted January 23, 2008 Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 off the subject but I like the Fender Roscoe Beck 5 string. It sounded good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roguetitan Posted January 23, 2008 Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 My general opinion is that Fender has perfected the 4 string, and never really figured out the 5. +1I agree:wave: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members countrybass Posted January 23, 2008 Members Share Posted January 23, 2008 I have a MIA 5 J-delux. As far as some of the comcerns with the MIM I've seen on here the MIA takes care of, in my opinion, the concerns. First, I have big hands so the neck width doesn't bother me. There's no PUP buzz due to the Samarian PUPS. My B string has excellent tension on it. Maybe do to the Hipshot string trees. It feel every bit as good as my SR5. In fact, its become my main bass. But I understand, that's why I got the MIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've owned and played a MIM Fender jazz 5 deluxe for years, it's been a great bass and never let me down, it still plays like butter and soungs very good (I did put in soapbar pickups, but that was personal preference not anything wrong with it...) It's not my main axe, but it was for years, and it wouldn't make me cry if I brought it on a trip and didn't have my Schecter (though I do love my Schecter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 Would it be safe to say however, that a 35" scale would be preferable to a 34" in the $400 to $500 price range? Not necessarily. I paid $200 for this bass, and the B string on it is a joy, it feels just like a Stingray's B string: What you'll gain in having a little bit tighter B string on a 35" scale may not be worth it when compared to the challenge of adjusting your playing to accomodate and additional inch of scale length. Alot of guys have trouble getting used to it. C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted March 14, 2008 Members Share Posted March 14, 2008 Not necessarily. I paid $200 for this bass, and the B string on it is a joy, it feels just like a Stingray's B string: What you'll gain in having a little bit tighter B string on a 35" scale may not be worth it when compared to the challenge of adjusting your playing to accomodate and additional inch of scale length. Alot of guys have trouble getting used to it. C7 Fortunately, for reasons unknown, I seem to accomodate different basses very quickly. I have owned 34" five strings, I have 34" 4 -strings fretted and fretless with different neck profiles and different nut widths, plus I currently have two 35" five strings that have totally different string widths, nut widths, and neck profiles. I seem to be able to get cozy with each bass after only a bout 5-10 minutes. I do tend to use my Skyline 55-01 more frequently than the others. I've currently got another big ol' 35" five string on order (Ibanez BTB 1305 Prestige, which will replace my Peavey MIA Cirrus V). I like the Peavey a lot and I happen to think it's the nicest playing 5-string I've ever laid hands on, but it has a maple fretboard and is just a little too modern and 'zingy' sounding for me. I'd like to try out some different Cirri with different wood combinations. I'll probably own a Cirrus again some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted March 14, 2008 Members Share Posted March 14, 2008 I absolutely love my MIA 4 strings, but I hated my MIM 5 string Pbass. It was too heavy for what it was, the neck was wide and awkward and it was really noisy. I actually had a samick 5 string that played better than the MIM 5. much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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