# Help buying a bass for recording (5 string or no?)



## piggins411 (Oct 3, 2015)

I need a bass to complete my recordings. For now, I'll just have to wait because I don't have the money but I figured I might as well go ahead and some advice. As far as tuning goes, I use 6 and 7 string guitars, no lower than drop A on my 7. What I really want to know is that, knowing that I want to keep the bass in standard tuning, should I get a 5 string? I didn't know if I need that lower string to work well with low tuned guitar. If so, what are some good mid-range 5 strings? Also, what are some good resources for learning? I can _kinda_ play a bass but at my current level I wouldn't feel confident recording except for the most basic things. Thanks for any advice you guys can give


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## Grand Moff Tim (Oct 3, 2015)

It's better to have that 5th string and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Get a 5.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Oct 3, 2015)

As for what to buy, it's usually a safe bet to find whatever Ibby SR best fits your budget and get that. They have a decent range and they're known for being very guitarist-friendly; ie slim, fast necks and lightweight comfortable bodies.

If you want something more traditional, I think the Mexican-made Fender Standard Jazz 5s are a good buy. I hear Sterlings are good for the money, too, but I've never tried one myself.

For resources, find a youtube tutorial channel you like. There are loads to choose from. I like Scott Devine's stuff a lot. 

If you want some quality starting technique tips, watch the first part of this video:



Gary Willis is an absolute monster on bass, but he spends a decent amount of time in that video talking about stuff like where to hold/strap your bass, and right hand fingering technique.


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## FretSpider (Oct 4, 2015)

I'd also check out Schecter basses. They have some good ones. I'm wanting to pick up their 6-string Stiletto Studio, but for what you're price range is, you may be more comfortable with something like a Stiletto Custom, unless you can find something good on the used market. 

I'll also second the Ibanez SR's. Great basses. Spector's another good brand to look at. 

Really though, what you need to do is get into a shop to get an idea of what you're comfortable playing with and like the sound of. In many cachses, there's a large difference between playing a 4-string and a 5-string. Most 5'ers on the market use a 35" scale, whereas most 4's use a 34, and that extra in does change a lot in how you play. The frets are spaced wider apart to accommodate the longer scale. Also, you have string width to contend with, which again, varies between pretty much everything. I like Spectors for spacing. Not too wide, but not to narrow either. I think they run at 16.75mm at the bridge. 

Just my thoughts on this.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Oct 4, 2015)

FretSpider said:


> Most 5'ers on the market use a 35" scale, whereas most 4's use a 34, and that extra in does change a lot in how you play.



Nah, most fivers are still only 34". There are some 35" fivers, but they're the minority.


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## The Omega Cluster (Oct 4, 2015)

Get a 5.

Then get a 6.

Then a 7.

And end up never needing extra strings anymore.


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## Ebart (Nov 8, 2015)

The Omega Cluster said:


> Get a 5.
> 
> Then get a 6.
> 
> ...



Jesus, this makes my hands hurt just looking at it.


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## Spectivum (Nov 8, 2015)

I had an Ibanez SR305 and it had a dead sound, would not recommend anything made from agathis. Replaced with a Yamaha BB415 and it is much better. Being a guitarist, I can play the same stuff on it so you don't necessarily need the SR neck/spacing after you got used to the scale.


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## olejason (Nov 8, 2015)

Would not recommend a Fender 5 string. If you want a really solid B look at a used Warwick Corvette or Spector. Go for a 35" if you want to tune the B down to A. You can also use a bass whammy to drop it a whole step.


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## Leberbs (Nov 9, 2015)

I'm jamming this. Schecter Session Stiletto 5-string Bass Aged Natural Satin | Sweetwater.com
Loving it!
I got mine for $400 on eBay.


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## TedEH (Nov 9, 2015)

olejason said:


> Would not recommend a Fender 5 string.



I honestly thought this for a while, until I got one. Even with the shorter scale length, I've had no problems with the low B on my Jazz V. If you stay in standard tuning, a Fender will do the job just as well as any other bass. I've also previously used a 34" scale Ltd 5 string, and it was consistently tuned a step down. Wasn't a problem.


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## elkinz (Nov 9, 2015)

if you are playing with 7 string guitars, 5 string bass will make your life so much easier for tracking alongside your 7!


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## Bloodshredder (Nov 11, 2015)

I would also recommend a 5 string. Always good to have the additional string at hand and it sounds fat as hell.


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## Leberbs (Nov 11, 2015)

You decided on anything yet?


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## Chokey Chicken (Nov 11, 2015)

Figured I'd pop in to say the difference in 34" and 35" scales is largely negligible. 34" is more than enough for a decent sounding "A."


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## The Omega Cluster (Nov 18, 2015)

Chokey Chicken said:


> Figured I'd pop in to say the difference in 34" and 35" scales is largely negligible. 34" is more than enough for a decent sounding "A."



I have a 34" 7-string and a 35" 6-string bass. I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between them, even when I play in drop A.


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## TankJon666 (Nov 19, 2015)

olejason said:


> Would not recommend a Fender 5 string. If you want a really solid B look at a used Warwick Corvette or Spector. Go for a 35" if you want to tune the B down to A. You can also use a bass whammy to drop it a whole step.



I'd say you were wrong (in my opinion of course). I sold my Corvette 5 string to buy a Fender USA Deluxe P-Bass 5 string and it rolled all over the Warwick in every regard. In comparison the low B on the Warwick sounded limp and had no punch at all. The tone of the Fender just pummelled through everything. It wasn't cheap but it was worth every penny! I did see one second hand on ebay the other week which went for around £700 ($900 I think). And 34" is plenty long enough to drop the B to A ...guitarists when approaching bass need to get out of "scale junky" mode.

But yeah to O/P ...if you only get one bass make it a 5 string. You have the best of both worlds then! Standard tuning and that handy low B/A.


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## House74 (Nov 19, 2015)

The schecter stiletto studio series is great. I have the 6 and they can be had for sub $500 easily used. For Tracking along side a 7 string, agree with the others. Definitely go at least 5, the 6 I personally like though cause you have the low end and the versatility to do higher chords and stuff that just sound so cool.


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## Refuge (Nov 19, 2015)

I can highly recommend the Sterling S.U.B. basses. I just got a S.U.B. 4 for my studio. It already had exactly the sound I was looking for in my bass sounds after EQing. Solid Bass around 80 Hz, a lot of "clank" in the upper frequencies and not too much lower mids. You can get these for about 200$/ used...
I got the four string version but put a five string set on it and got rid of the high g string. Much more comfortable to play this way compared to a five-string bass! Playability is great anyways. The hardware feels a bit cheapish but it's good enough.

Regards,
Michael


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 19, 2015)

Big fan of the Schecter stuff. Even though people complain about their guitar necks being thick and wide, their bass necks are actually pretty thin and narrow. The midrange stuff is Korean-made, and I feel the Session series stuff is really bang-for-the-buck. Comes stock with active EMGs, an EMG preamp, and has a swamp ash body + 35'' maple neck so you can get a bit more high-end snap and tightness with lower tunings. Its $650 new. Also it looks reallly badass.


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## olejason (Nov 19, 2015)

TankJon666 said:


> I'd say you were wrong (in my opinion of course). I sold my Corvette 5 string to buy a Fender USA Deluxe P-Bass 5 string and it rolled all over the Warwick in every regard. In comparison the low B on the Warwick sounded limp and had no punch at all. The tone of the Fender just pummelled through everything. It wasn't cheap but it was worth every penny! I did see one second hand on ebay the other week which went for around £700 ($900 I think). And 34" is plenty long enough to drop the B to A ...guitarists when approaching bass need to get out of "scale junky" mode.
> 
> But yeah to O/P ...if you only get one bass make it a 5 string. You have the best of both worlds then! Standard tuning and that handy low B/A.



I've had both. Maybe you just had a dud but Warwick B's are often cited as some of the best in the business on standard scale basses.


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## TankJon666 (Nov 19, 2015)

olejason said:


> I've had both. Maybe you just had a dud but Warwick B's are often cited as some of the best in the business on standard scale basses.



Maybe... It was the swamp ash bodied one with passive MEC pickups. Sounded great from E to G but the low B just didn't punch through. It looked amazing though! It played nice too!


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## giantchris (Nov 20, 2015)

I'd recommend buying new Tribute by G&L L-2500 or Warwick Rockbass Active model (whichever I recall some of them being active). If the new Fender Dimension's come in a 5er those are really nice I've played a couple of their 4 bangers have a nice heavy tone. The Yamaha BB series is nice as well I think Troy Sanders used one for most of Blood mountain. 

If you're buying used get the Ibanez SR600 series the lower end SRs aren't particularly good. You could also go for a used G&L, a German made Warwick, possibly a used Stingray 5er, the slightly higher then entry level Spectors (think the euro series or the early NS2s can sometimes be had reasonable), the Ibanez ATK series is good, or you could get a Cort A5 the Cort artisans are pretty decent and probable under priced for performance, if you're really lucky you can get awesome deals on used MTD KZ models I got mine for $300 which is like a $1200 new bass but you have to swap the preamp/pups on those and they sound amazing. 

I don't care much for the $500 and lower newish level spectors personally they feel cheap. I'd also strongly recommend trying out some active/passive basses to decide which you prefer. Most heavy style bassists prefer actives or at least an active preamp.

Personally I'd get a G&L L-2500 if I were you, tribute or american. It kinda depends on your price range.


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## piggins411 (Dec 21, 2015)

I'm going to Guitar Center today to look around at some. Do you guys have any idea which ones I'm likely to find there? I can never find what I'm looking for there but I've never looked for basses. Also, looks like I forgot to mention that I'm looking for something very versatile. At the moment, I don't really use the 7 string for metal. I will eventually but not right now. I don't know if this will change your recommendations


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Dec 21, 2015)

I could use a 5, since I play in standard tuning, as well as a 7 string and a baritone, but I opted to build a 4 string done like a 5 sans the G string on my new Warmoth build, tuned B.E.A.D. using the EMG Geezer Butler Signature set.

It'll serve all my needs wonderfully, and I'm not flashing when it comes to playing bass, I pretty much stick to the pocket with a lil fill here or there, and I only do so for recording. I don't play bass live at all.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 21, 2015)

You won't find a lot of bass stuff. In my experience, it was just Squier, Rogue, AXL, and other stuff like that. 

If you can find some Schecters, Squiers, Ibanezes, Yamahas, and Sterlings, try them out. Those are the best you can find.


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## piggins411 (Dec 21, 2015)

Guitar Center had a fair amount of the ones you guys recommended, some only in 4 string versions, but I tried them out anyway. I tried out a Sterling Sub Ray, a Squire Jazz, one of the SR Ibbys, a Schecter Stiletto Custom, A Warwick Rockbass, and a Spector Rebop. My initial impressions are this: I didn't like the sound of the Ibanez. It seemed very harsh on the higher strings. The Rockbass was OK. Same for the Schecter. The was pretty cool. Didn't really like the glossy neck, but it sounded pretty good. The Rebop looked awesome, probably the best out of what I saw, and I enjoyed it. The Sterling probably sounded the best. It was a good middle ground between the Ibby and the Squire, and the strings felt tight, which I liked. So I'm stuck between the Squire, Rebop, and the Sterling. Not really sure where I can try out any more Warwicks.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Dec 21, 2015)

If you can afford it, get the Rebop. It's basically a bolt-on Spector Euro. It's the best of the bunch and probably better than 90% of most store-bought basses out there. 

If you wanna save cash and have "good enough", then get the Squier and Sterling.


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## piggins411 (Jan 2, 2016)

I tried out an Ibanez ATK205 today. How do you guys feel about it? I really liked it. Still can't really decide if I liked it more than the SubRay though


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 3, 2016)

Keep trying it out, then. They're both basically the same guitar; Indoesian-made Stingray clones, just one is an "official" clone.


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