Best 5-string bass guitars: all of the options from budget to boutique

Best five-string bass guitars
(Image credit: Future)

If you’ve found yourself hankering for even more low-end from your bass guitar then you’re in luck! The best 5-string bass guitars give you the extra heft of an added string while still remaining as playable as a regular four-string bass. While the extra string is only technically five more notes, this extended range allows you to take your bass playing into dimensions hitherto undiscovered. Many of the most famous bass guitar players have utilised these, from classic players like John Paul Jones and Jack Bruce, right through to modern masters Fieldy and Robert Trujillo.

Best 5-String Bass Guitars: Guitar World’s Choice

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

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Matt McCracken
Junior Deals Writer

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at Guitar World. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on guitars, amps, pedals, modelers, and pretty much anything else guitar-related. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including MusicRadar, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog. A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and writing and recording in bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the country in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at.