You don’t need to spend a fortune to have it all: a lightweight 5 string with a thunderous low B, great tone and versatility.
Once again, the Skyline series by Lakland has hit the nail in the head.
The neck is ultra comfortable, with a nice soft C profile at the first frets that gradually flattens as you move up the neck. Access to the 22th fret is excellent for a bolt on.
String spacing is wide but not cumbersome. Hipshot Ultralight tuners help balance the bass nicely. Lakland’s own bridge allows you to anchor the strings in a traditional manner, but also through the body for maximum sustain.
Electronics:
Two Bartolini USA offer great quality and coupled to the 3 band Bartolini preamp you have more than enough room to experiment. The preamp can be bypassed for a more traditional tone.
Lakland has been using this pickups arrangement since the early 90’s and it is in fact one of the best we can think of: a single coil at teh neck, plus a splittable humbucker at the bridge. Actually, the 3 way miniswitch lets you select the North or South coils in the humbucker as well as both in parallel. In fact, you can get (among others) sounds that closely resemble a Musicman, a Jazz Bass and even a modern Precision. All of them are there and if you take some time to tweak the controls, you will find more useable sounds.
This bass is a one-off. finished in metallic red and with a white pickguard that makes it look similar to a US Lakland.
If you prefer a more traditional 5 string check out the signature Joe Osborn model
