Thinking about this more… in the beginning I bought a 5-string cause I thought I needed one. I really didn’t know why and found a Culture Club tune that needed it and was happy, then realized I really didn’t need one very much, so, I did what any good Bassbuzzer would do, I upgraded it of course. I really love the Lakland but have little use for a 5 in general but still play it occasionally for practicing muting etc and cause I just love it.
Now thinking about some of the industrial/moody/weird things I want to do I think it will come in handy, but there is less use for it in my world than maybe others. I’m not a metal guy. Guess I gotta go give it some love now that I’m talking about it.
I REALLY wanted to get a dingwall as my first 5 string…i thought about getting a combustion in Lamborghini orange but finally went with the Sire M7 which was about $1K cheaper. I’d probably never play a 5 string enough for the Dingwall to be a good buy. I also got a 4st player pbass and i play that more than anything; i love that bass! I did end up with orange in the end
Prob not but you could try.
You need to open the slots to the wider end, and then see if you get any buzzing issues or not.
Creative filing can sometimes fix these, basses with full string retainers help too.
If you get too big and want to go the other way then you have to close up the slots a bit with powder/glue and refile.
You can also get creative with string sizing on each set to minimize differences, but I think it is a long shot.
Alternatively, you can buy a second nut, and not glue either and simply swap the nut when you change the strings…
ROFL I’ve had several 5 string basses, and have NEVER experienced this “wobbly” B string. I think if anyone has such a problem, they should take it in for a setup.
The only wobbly B string I ever had was when I tried the GHS BEAD strings in the Light set, and the B string was just .126, and on a 34" scale that was quite wobbly, too much so for me.
And if wobbly is a problem then go with a .135 string and you’ll be fine.
I started on a Jazz bass. Then got that feeling another bass would help me practice more, which is just a rationalization…but wanted something different enough to avoid overlap. Saw the Dingwalls, but didn’t want to buy a bass without feeling it, and then ran into a guy 1 hour away with a purple left handed 5 string Combustion. Seemed like a sign. 5 strings, fanned frets - are different enough than the Jazz bass. The transition to 5 strings has been fun, allows me to experiment with positions, I don’t have to retune for drop d songs (Everybody wants to rule the world in this School of Rock session setlist) and sometimes get to play notes an octave lower (cause I can…and need to learn when…). Though, I feel like I shouldn’t have the pickups set to the “jazz bass” setting…except it’s the tone I like the most (go figure). But enjoy playing with other settings every now and then. I still need to get around to doing the beast on 5 strings too.
John Entwhistle played My Generation on a Jazz. John Paul Jones is a Jazz player, Ian Hill (Judas Priest) was a Jazz player (until Spector gave him a custom bass). Haraguchi-san of Nemophila is a Jazz player. List can go on but Jazz tone has a rich history in rock and metal.
Yeah - it’s not that I don’t like it, but I feel like I’ve got settings I’m not using…or that if I want to stick to a jazz tone, I’ve got this jazz bass right next to me. It’s guilt. Not sure how everyone else handles the side effects of MBD.
I set my basses up differently. I have two ESP Stream 204s. One with roundwounds, EMG DC and CS pickups, and no EQ. The other with flats, EMG P4X and CSX pickups, and BTC EQ.
I have two Charvel San Dimas basses, one with stock EQ and Dimarzio Model P&J pickups, the other with Dimarzio Sixties P and Area J pups and Darkglass Tone Capsule for the EQ. Rotosound 77 on both.
I’ve definitely tried 5’s with flubby B-strings. It’s more a function of tension and scale than anything else. Try a short scale 5 sometime, trust me, you’ll notice.
Strings at .130 and smaller can feel flubby on a 34" scale too; .135 feels good to me though.
