Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass V  

I bought this bass after owning a Lakland 55-02, G@L L2500, and A Music Man stingray 5.  The 7 1/4 radius on the fretboard makes a 5 string as playable as my 4 strings.  Marcus and Fender really came together on this one!  It is the only production bass with this fingerboard radius.  Yes you can have a custom bass made by Mike Lull but compare the price, it's not even close.

I bought the Marcus Miller V at the prompting of my best friend who is a great bass player and works and writes with me in my studio. I already have a Fender Sting Model, a Fender Jaguar Bass, a Hofner Deluxe, a '67 Fender Coranado Bass and a '66 Music Master. The 5 string is a bit much for my capability but some of the Bass Players make good use of it on recordings. Needless to say it sounds great. The strings feel a little loosey goosey to me and I get a bit of a buzz on the B if I whack it too hard but none of the real bass players seem to complain about that. All in all I'm glad I have it in the Studio.

I purchased this bass from Musicans Friend in June of last year.  I had played the 4 and fell in love with it but when my 5 came in I noticed ALL the differences right away!  1st this thing is an American Bass (the 4 is Japanese), and the fit and finish were PERFECT!  Action was a little high when I got it but was totally playable still.  A 1/4 turn of the bridge saddles and a 1/8 turn on a truss rod and then it became my dream bass.  The playability of this insturment is that of any world class insturment.  Plays like a hot knife through butter...smooooooth.  Sounds like a vintage jazz wide open with the pre off, turn it on and then you get some of the most beautiful boost a bass can get...this thing is a slapper for sure and also a fantistic finger style bass.  I've owned 6 jazz bass's in my past and this one simply smokes all of the others...this is a fantastic bass.  Not a buzz on the neck and no fret click either!

After playing a number of 5 string basses I finally got my hands on the mm5. Wow! The sound is incredible My last gigs have been filled with compliments from the whole band on the even tone. Tone and playability is super. The only way to improve the sound that I found was to use DR strings. This is an incredible axe for the money. Thanks Marcus and fender for the research and development. You could purchase a sadowski, mike lull, Smith or other big named makers but for the money, this axe is hard to beat.

As far as playability is concerned, you really couldn't ask for much more.  When I first took it out of the case, I went to work on setting it up and it didn't take long before I was truely amazed.  I also own a Schecter Studio 5 and while I love my schecter, I don't think I'll be switching back for quite some time.  This is the crem` de la crem of Fender 5 string jazz bases.