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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.mandohangout.com/archive/25532
claybanjo - Posted - 12/27/2011: 16:57:32
There is a Fender 5 string for sale near me. $450.00 Not sure if this is too high. I really like it and would like to get one similar if not the same. Any thoughts on this? I really appreciate your input. Thanks, Eric
Ben Venuti - Posted - 12/27/2011: 22:11:42
$450 is about what they retailed for new. They're out of production. I see them on ebay from time to time and they are pretty much holding their value it seems. Some tend to think that since you can no longer get one new that that makes it somewhat of a collectors item. I don't exactly buy into that myself but if people believe it then that can make it true.They were made in Korea by or for Fender and they didn't make that model very long. Does it have a case? Gig bags don't count. Many people have had trouble with intonation on the C string including myself. I have had trouble with the E string in that it is always disproportionately quieter than the others. I tend to think that it's not getting picked up by the pick up because it's just too darn small. There's a guy in Maine that has all the stuff to hotrod them which I have always intended to do but never have. I have played them when someone has done that and they were pretty sweet. All in all they're pretty much fun and you can get a nice jazzy sound out of it. Since I exist on maybe 5 hours sleep I can plug it in to the Mesa Boogie and put on a set of ear phones and bang all night long if I want and not bother anyone, which is why I got it in the first place. It's a noodle thing with me I have never played out with it. If you've spent a great deal of time building 4 string conduits in your brain and you start messing around with 5 strings it can drive you a little batty.
claybanjo - Posted - 12/28/2011: 08:15:54
Ben, I know what you mean about the top and bottom strings... I was wondering about that....... I was great fun to noodle on and ... yes it has a nice jazzy sound..... everything you said. the fifth string isn't much of an issue for me as I'm not that proficient anyways.......Stoning out with head phones was what I had in mind too though...... I'll give it more thought, is a pretty instrument .... Maybe a 4 string electric would suit my needs just as well and be a little less costly.... again it is a pretty instrument ...hmmmmm
Ben Venuti - Posted - 12/28/2011: 09:10:02
The fifth string is an issue because it's there. It's the chording. I have to be mindful of what I'm doing because I learned my chord positions on a 4 string and then there is this extra string. You try and play something the way you worked it out on the 4 string and you can hit some huge clinkers. The electric with sustain that won't quit and having that lower octave is pretty cool. I'm hot and cold on the electric thing. An acoustic-- what you play is what you got. On an electric, turn the knob and it's something else,flip the switch and it's something else again and it's infinite, worse than picking out cereal at the supermarket. Sometimes too many choices short circuit me.
I don't know that there would be much difference in price between a 4 or 5 string all other things being equal. Your talking about an instrument that is under $500 already and maybe you can find something that is cheaper but by how much? If you find something that is cheap enough to make a difference then what are you getting? The amount you save will not be noticed in a few weeks. The money is just paper and if you try and hold on to it the doctor or the tire man is just going to get it off you anyway but if you buy an instrument you've got something that you can keep and use for years to come until you wear it out. If you keep it long enough it becomes "vintage" and worn out or not you can get your money back! (My personal justification for having way too many instruments. )
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