G'Day from WA

[Kostalotamoney]

Hey
I am just a simple teen wanting to build a guitar with absolutely no idea what he's doing
All I want is a decent sounding 5 string Explorer bass for a metal band but I don't know anything about pickups and all that jazz

[Dedman]

Well, quite a few of us here are pretty simple.

take a browse through the forum sub section "My Build Diary" and have a look at what other people have done with their kits. Pretty sure Wazkelly did a 5 string explorer bass.

[wazkelly]

G'day Kosta. Welcome to the forum.

Dedman is correct in that I am one of a few who have built the EX-5, in fact it was my first build and you can follow the link in my signature that takes you to the build thread.

The stock Pickups are OK and if on a budget they might be good enough. I found the output levels a bit lower than my other Basses and went on a quest to find reasonably priced replacements. Must say the Custom Bensons sound nice but you would have to weigh up whether you want to spend about AUD $250. An alternative would be to buy a pre amp and battery box for less than AUD $25 and turn it into an active setup as this is what I have planned for my MMB build and just waiting on a few more bits to arrive.

Let me know if you want or need any more info.

Cheers, Waz

[dave.king1]

Explorer bass for a metal band but I don't know anything about pickups and all that jazz

Metal / Jazz is that a new sub genre

Welcome to the forum, you will get all of the advice and help you need from the friendly folk on here.

[Gorath]

G'day Kosta!

[Kostalotamoney]

Hey Waz. Thanks for the warm welcome.
What pre amp and battery box did you find for $25?
Anyway thank you for your help, my budget shouldn't be an issue as this is an ongoing thing for me. I was wondering though do you have to get the chrome parts for the EX-5 or can you get a different colour like the gold parts? (I'd like to put pizazz in my bass.) And will Gibson pickguards work with the EX-5?
Thanks, Kosta

[Kostalotamoney]

It's pronounced Jazzcore and it's going places

[dave.king1]

It's pronounced Jazzcore and it's going places

I won't ask where

[Hobastard]

I wish it would hurry up and go there....

[Andy40]

Hi Kosta. Welcome to the forum.