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Product Description

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Artist Vintage-Hybrid Natural 5 String Active/Passive Bass Guitar

The Artist Vintage Hybrid V 5 string Bass is an innovation model that blends the traditional P-style Bass and J-style Bass features.

It comes with a gloss finished Ash body, black 3-ply scratchplate, matte finish natural Canadian Maple neck and headstock, 20 frets, Eco-Rosewood fretboard with dot inlays and a Bone nut. It also has open-geared chrome tuners.

With a newly designed active preamp circuit that delivers deeply exhilarating active and passive tones, our Artist Vintage Hybrid V 5 string Bass can deliver both a classic vintage sound with modernity that modern bassist's demand. Passive P style and J style pickups with the added EQ control from the active preamp plus cut/boost bass and treble controls. There is also a separate battery chamber for easy battery replacement.

The Tech Features:

Brand: Artist

Model: VHYB5

Neck Construction: Bolt-on

Body: Ash, gloss finish

Neck: Canadian Maple, natural matte finish

Fingerboard: Eco-Rosewood, 20 Fret, Bone Nut

Pickups: P-Bass Neck Alnico V Magnet, J-Bass Bridge Alnico V Magnet

Controls: 2x Volume, 2x Active Tones (bass & treble cut/boost) 

Hardware: Chrome

Machine heads: Vintage P-style Bass open-geared.

Neck Profile:

  • Scale: 34
  • Nut Width: 45mm
  • 1st fret Thickness: 20mm
  • Neck Shape: Modern D
  • Radius: 1334” (350mm)

Optional Hardcases: REBC300RC, REBC350FTB

Optional Bags: HGBAGEBASS, BAGEB

(14217)


Reviews (40)

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Way too fuckin heavy

By: on 7 April 2024
Great sounding bass but mine came with a busted tuning key and the bass is just way too fuckin heavy. There absolutely no need for a bass to be this ridiculously heavy, honestly I’d I have known it’d be this heavy I for sure would have passed. It’s such an inconvenience to lug that bass around. Never make an instrument this heavy again. Good bass tho, just extremely impractical for gigging.

Artist Guitars Response
Hi Izzy, thank you for your honest review. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. This is definitely covered under a 100-day customer satisfaction guarantee so we will organise a resolution for you right away. We can organise a free return and refund this for you. We've sent you an email so we can rectify this for you ASAP. We are looking forward to hearing back from you soon.

Exceptional for price

By: on 12 February 2024
This bass is incredibly good value and sounds great. It'd be tough to find a better 5-string active PJ bass at this price range. Love it

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks for your review. We really appreciate it.

Not for the faint of back

By: on 13 January 2024
First off I ordered 9pm Monday night, I saw the 3 day delivery for $50 but decided I could wait... Well good thing I didn’t as it showed up on my doorstep 36 hours later! The only negative thing I could say is that it is the heaviest bass I’ve played, but the payoff is getting huge tone with heaps of tweaking available at your fingertips. Plays like a dream, intonation and action straight out of the box is pretty rad. Other nitpicky things are the battery provided ran flat after 3 days, if you want to use passive pickups then the battery needs to be removed, the string spacing in regards to the pole pieces on the pickups is a bit funky but has provided no issues so far. But for real, $340ish for a 5 string of this quality? Unbeatable for sure.

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks for your review! Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Best Value 5 string Bass

By: on 4 January 2024
Have had this bass for several weeks and have to say that it is top value for money. Tone controls, active circuitry, balance, finish are first class. Combine this with excellent communication & tracking details from the Customer Happiness dept and it's win win and that open bottom B is a killer!

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

Artist Vintage-Hybrid 5 String - It's a Winner

By: on 30 August 2023
Outstanding bass for the money - you'd be hard pressed finding anything substantially better for twice the price. Highly recommended.

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

Artist Bass delivers

By: on 31 July 2023
I got this bass guitar for a friend and as we plugged it in, he is amazed at the sound , quality and value. The guitar came over to Western Australia very quickly and in perfect condition. The only complaint is that you don't yet make a 4 or 5 string version left-handed - hint hint.

Artist Guitars Response
We are happy to hear that you like our product. Thank you so much for the support!

A very fun bass for those starting an adventure o

By: on 25 May 2023
Minor action and intonation tweak but otherwise a great bass! Looking for a 5-string bass on a budget less than $300? This is the one.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback. We really appreciate the support!

Vintage Hybrid Bass Guitar

By: on 3 March 2023
My son's bass turn up today Wow super fast delivery what an Amazing product you guys have put out there. Set up was spot on The finish on this Bass is superb for under $300 i don't know how you do it This my Third Instrument from Artist cant fault them so well made and play and sound Awesome

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

What a unit!!

By: on 19 February 2023
Had this bass > 3 years now. Still has original factory strings, and has remained resonant and bright with good articulation. The sustain on this thing is nuts!! Can easily last 8 bars or more if you let it ring! Mainly use the P-coils at church. Good amount of brightness and hum cancelling! A few quirky workmanship slipups with screw placement on the pickguard etc but still sounds like a bass worth 4x the value or more. Neck is comfortable with no sharp edges. In all, wonderful, affordable way to get into the world of 5 string thumping!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for leaving this feedback. This definitely helps us in improving our products and services.

Delivery time lacking!

By: on 25 January 2023
I originally ordered this 5 string on Saturday 14 January thinking that it would probably take at least one week. On 23 Jan it was still in Sydney. It arrived this morning (Wed 25 Jan). I was going to wait one more day and if it didn't arrive, I was going to cancel the order, regardless of where it was. I know postage is free from Artist (thanks guys) but I've had deliveries from the UK and the USA arrive quicker. What's the bass like? Stuffed if I know; it's still in the box and probably will be for days. I'll come back with a performance review in a couple of weeks. Cheers. Luis

Artist Guitars Response
I am really sorry for the inconvenience. We do try our best to have orders delivered the fastest way possible and I can see that it is within the ETA of Couriers Please of 25 Jan 2023 to 27 Jan 2023. Please do let us know if there are issues with the bass and we will be more than happy to help.

Value for money

By: on 28 October 2022
According to my wife, I own too many basses — yeah, okay, the count is two 6-stringers, three 5-stringers, and a couple of 4-string U-basses, so perhaps she has a point. Anyway, I bought this VHYB5 purely as a “practice” bass — one I can just leave lying around in my music room so I can grab it at a moment’s notice when I feel the urge/inspiration. Anyway, I wasn’t expecting a Fodera (or even a Fender) for the price :-), but the truth is that I’ve been pleasantly surprised. After installing a good set of flats (my string type of choice for all my gear), and doing a decent set-up (primarily action, but also some intonation tweaking), I ended up with a reasonably-decent bass. Finish was good, frets were well done, all the electronics worked. Adequate tonal variation with the various knobs, and an acceptably-smooth action. I found I needed to turn my amp up a bit volume-wise in comparison to my other basses (particularly in passive mode), but that’s just a tweak. Played through a good amp (my main combo is a Fender Stage 800), the tone is well-rounded, and that low “B” string is sweet. In fact, I actually played it at band rehearsal last night, which is something I normally never do with a “practice” unit, and it worked well — wouldn’t hesitate to use for a live gig in an emergency. Of course, it will never replace my beloved Fender Jazz, but this VHYB5 does punch above its weight. Oh, and talking of weight, this is a pretty heavy instrument (a little over 5 kgs), so probably not suitable for a kid, or those of slighter build. ….. Overall, a good-value bass for the $$$.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for the detailed review, Alan! We really appreciate it. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to contact us. Cheers!

Great value bass IF you're lucky with the lucky di

By: on 20 October 2022
I purchased one of these instruments (along with a set of Elixir strings) and was really delighted and relieved that the wood was in really good order, the machines and bridge worked well, the frets were dressed well, the neck straight and overall it was an especially great value bass. EXCEPT! The electronics had a significant fault that, because of the sealed nature of the pre-amp, couldn't be repaired, only replaced (i.e. the WHOLE guitar). Given that the bass itself was such a good specimen, I didn't want to send it back for replacement, because my luck with all of the above features, might not be so good a second (or worse, third) time. I tried to negotiate to just get a replacement for the electronics, and was happy to wait for however long it might take to acquire a replacement from the manufacturer, but the Artist Guitars policies would not accommodate this. Because the physical bass is so good, I ended up accepting a partial refund and I will purchase a new set of pickups and pre-amp elsewhere. So, if you are lucky in the first instance, you will have a GREAT VALUE BASS for the cost. If not . . . . . . I wish you the best of luck, because, if you are lucky, you will be REALLY happy.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for leaving this feedback. This definitely helps us in improving our products and services.

Excellent value!

By: on 11 April 2022
I was looking for an economical option to explore 5 strings and I was surprised at the price of the this bass, seemed a bit "too good to be true". So I wasn't expecting much, but wow... what I nice bass. She's a bit on the heavy side (aren't we all), but the sound and action are great. Highly recommended...

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with our product. Thank you for sharing this feedback with us and for the support!

Unbelievable Bass

By: on 10 April 2022
This was my third Artist Guitar, all I have done is opened the box, installed the battery and tuned it up. Perfectly set up. Great bass, accurate sounding pickups and superb quality. 10/10

Artist Guitars Response
We are happy to hear that you loved the bass guitar. Thank you so much for your great review.

Low end delight!

By: on 8 February 2022
This is my third bass from Artist and my first 5-string. Straight out of the box this bass is a delight. The action is good and the intonation is perfectly set up. I barely had to tune it. Great tone acoustically and when plugged in. Not too heavy and pretty well balanced and the finish is flawless. This could well become my go-to gigging bass.

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are once again happy with the bass guitar. We truly appreciate your review.

Bass guitar

By: on 28 December 2021
I ordered this bass a few weeks ago and when I got it..... Oh my god ....... It's amazing........ The looks, feel, and sounds...... It's all amazing........ It has become my main go to bass...... Definitely will be thinking about maybe getting another bass from this fantastic company in the near future :)....... Very pleased with my bass :)

Artist Guitars Response
We are really happy to hear that you loved the bass guitar and that you are really enjoying it. Thank you so much for leaving a review.

Blown Away

By: on 13 October 2021
I went into purchasing this bass optimistic but not expecting the world. A guitar player of about 14 years, I needed my own bass for some home recording but didn't want to shell out over a grand for something I wouldn't be using outside of my computer desk, at the same time needing a certain level of quality. Can confidently say that it went far beyond my expectations. Great set up out of the box and ready to go, plays great. Tuning stability and intonation spot on, the fretwork is greatly done. Could summarise by saying that everything you expect to be an issue with an affordable instrument is not an issue with Artist Guitars. Honestly, the only somewhat negative I have is that it's a pretty heavy instrument. I'm used to light electric guitars though so that certainly has something to do with it. It's absolutely given me confidence and trust in their dedication to affordability and quality, and I have no doubt I'll be purchasing another Artist instrument in the near future. Add that with the quick turn around with shipping, and I would (and have already) recommended Artist to friends. Cheers you mob!

Artist Guitars Response
It is our pleasure and thank you so much for leaving us this feedback. We really appreciate the support!

Best bang for the buck bass!

By: on 14 September 2021
The VHYB5 has exceeded all my expectations. Given the price, I was not expecting such amazing quality both in build, tone and overall feel. Just to preface, I am a guitar player and not used to the heavy gauges of bass strings, yet with the products set up from the factory and tuning it up myself, this bass plays so easy. Your hand just glides on the neck and the frets are filed down perfectly to avoid any cuts from fret sprouts. The action they provide is also comfortable to play with from the get go. Moreover, the tone from the pickups are great! With the option to play both in active of passive, as well as fine control of the EQ, this bass deems to be a pretty versatile instrument. If you are considering purchasing this bass, get it! I originally intended to only use this bass to record simple bass-lines for my tracks as I was growing tired of programming them into my sessions. But now, with the bass in my hands, I catch myself grabbing it almost as often as I do my guitar to just jam out. The team over at Artists Guitars have outdone themselves here. Although this may not be an American made Fender or Music Man, this bass is the perfect bass for beginners and intermediate players or for those that want a 5 string to add to their collection. You could probably even get it to the level of the Fenders or Music Mans with some modding, but that's up to you ;) TL;DR - This bass is amazing, get one for yourself!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback! We really appreciate your support!

Way better than I expected

By: on 23 July 2021
I am mainly a guitarist and owned quite a few high-end MIA instruments in the past. I've gotta say I am really impressed with this bass! The fret work is excellent and the neck is silky smooth. I was able to set the action very low without buzz. The stock hardware are mediocre, but this is expected at this price. The bass is also balanced quite well, no neck-dive even after I routed the body to remove some weight. I don't think you can buy a better Fiver at this price brand new.

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks a lot for your feedback. This means a lot to us. We're always here if you need assistance so feel free to contact us anytime. Cheers!

Very good

By: on 19 June 2021
Good value

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you very much for your feedback on the guitar. This means a lot to us.

5 of the Best!

By: on 15 June 2021
Ordered this 5 string bass, specifically to get the hybrid P-J settings. No disappointed, it is a beautiful east, flexible in sound and a joy to play. Never had a 5 string before, so the extra string does my head in at times, but it is a wonderful bass. Recommended whole heartedly

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you very much for your freedback on the Hardcase. This really means a lot to us. We look forward to more business with you in the future. Cheers!

I love it

By: on 1 June 2021
I recently recieved this beautiful beast of a bass and I love it, it has awesome tonal abilitys and is great for any genre of bass playing

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks so much for the review and we're glad to hear that you're happy with your bass guitar.

I love it

By: on 30 May 2021
I recently recieved this beautiful beast of a bass and I love it, it has awesome tonal abilitys and is great for any genre of bass playing

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for the support Angus. We are stoked to hear that you are happy with the bass!

Review Artist VHYB5 Vintage Hybrid V 5 String P-J

By: on 22 May 2021
I have wanted a 5-string bass for a while so I looked around a bit and found your webpage, saw the bass and thought it looks and sounds great and at a silly price. When it arrived I was very impressed by the quality of this, amazing. Even more amazing was the reaction of my wife when I unboxed it: She was a tad dubious about a bass for $300. She was astounded at the quaility. Then I plugged it into a GK and wow, the thing sounds awesome. Well done, what a ripper of a bass!!!!!!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you kindly for your awesome feedback. This is highly appreciated. We are very happy that you are satisfied with the bass guitar. Cheers!

Great bass

By: on 15 April 2021
I have been shopping at Artist Guitars for about 5 years and the quality has always been improving. This bass looks amazing and sounds great, it’s comfortable and it came on time. Great job

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for the kind words and for the review. We are glad you liked your bass guitar. Cheers!

Spectacularly good for the price

By: on 9 February 2021
Just received my VHYB5 bass (a day early). Beautifully finished and weighted. The finish is as good as on any other name brand bass I,ve ever seen. It feels and plays just like a Fender. I haven’t had a chance to plug it in yet but I’m expecting it to sound excellent. The only thing I’ll mention is when de-tuning, there is a little lag in the machine heads (tuning down requires more turns than when tuning up). However, this may simply be a matter of a small adjustment but even if that’s just the way it is, it’s a tiny matter and in no way .detracts from the overall quality of the bass. $300 for ANY 5 string is good but this bass is VERY good quality for the price. Well done to all at Artist Guitars.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review Michael. I am stoked to hear that you like the bass!

Sweet Bass

By: on 5 January 2021
Just recieved my bass today. I've checked this thing over a thousand times and can't find one flaw. The neck is straight as a board (my preference). A quick tune up and play my heart happy. Only thing I'm gonna do asap is install my preferred strings and lower the action a bit. Awesome bass here. Awesome quality! I'm stoked over the overall tone the PJ setup puts out.

Built tough

By: on 5 November 2020
This Bass exceeded my expectations. Its built strong and can take a beating. The sound is fantastic and the P-J pick up know is very useful. Highly recommended.

best value you'll get out of a bass in the sub $10

By: on 25 August 2020
I own a 4 string Fender Player P Bass and Fender Vintera J Bass. I wanted to try out and practice on a 5 string bass, so I bought this model from Artist. For $300, this 5 string is a steal in terms of tonality, playability, and design. I could not believe how well this thing handled and sounded, so I went to a retailer music store and checked out the Sterling Music Man Ray 5. With just ONE humbucking pickup, it came around three times the price of this model. And man, I just keep thinking how much better it felt and sounded on the Artist PJ Bass. Seriously, you're not going to be disappointed AT ALL for the price this bass is selling at. The only Cons I do see with this Bass is: - Heavy. My shoulder was dying for the rest of the day from just a 2 hour session where I was standing the entire time. Use it while sitting and problem solved. - The B string is a little flabby, but manageable. - I had to adjust the action when it came out of the box. You will get a lot of buzzing if you do not know how to setup the bass to your own playability. Easy fix though, go YouTube and watch the tutorial. It's simple. I highly recommend this bass for anyone, whether you are a learner or a seasoned bassist. You will understand how greatly those big retailers and famous branded manufacturers are price hiking their instruments.

Learning The 5 String Bass

By: on 7 August 2020
In this money hungry world, where even the entry-level big name brands are out of the question for people like me on a very low income, the prices of Artist Guitars are an encouraging reminder that the pursuit of learning a musical instrument is accessible and affordable and that it is still possible to get well-made instruments for a good price. The free postage and returns are an extra bonus and reinforce to me that Artist Guitars stand by their products. All these things mean that I can realistically learn to play multiple instruments and not break the bank. I support Artist Guitars. In my opinion, they are the best value for money online instrument retailers on the market today. Recently I decided to learn bass guitar and decided on the 5 string bass. The Artist VHYB5 Vintage Hybrid V 5 String P-J Style 5 String Bass Guitar is awesome !!! It's well made; even heavy-duty. It's a joy to learn on and I'm amazed with its resonance and long sustain. It's also a work of art. In my opinion, this is a no-risk purchase. For me it was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Awesome product

By: on 31 July 2020
I love this guitar this is the second one I bought artist guitar are awesome great price awesome sound would definitely recommend

5 string bass guitar

By: on 31 July 2020
5 string bass guitar is AWESOM ,thank you ARTIST

I am not a bass guitarist

By: on 26 July 2020
Wow I am not a bass guitar, but I wanted to add a bass to my studio set up , so I purchased this vintage 5 string Artist bass guitar with active pick ups. It is brilliant , straight out of the box , It played and sounded great. Now I am not a bass guitarist , so take the word of my bands bass guitarist. He has a $1500 bass and I took my bass to rehearsals, just to show the guys , he plugged it in and wow , he not only loved it but the rest of the band said it sounded better than his bass.The words I think were it lifted the sound.The playability right out of the box was impressive, as was the finish.Thanks Artist great work , I might add the customer service was and has always been really good, the bass was on back order and Artist kept up to date all the way, well done , I will buy again.

All Rounded..

By: on 26 May 2020
After years on the 4 strings,I try the 5 .. good bass in the classic body shape … P/U's got good range... neck smooth.. great for all playing all range of music styles...

Great bass, lots of fun to play

By: on 18 February 2020
I'm not a bass player but I've got a few different guitars at home including a 7 string so I wanted a 5 string bass to go along with anything I may try to (badly) record at home. I did some looking around at the second hand market, and even for this price most of those were either beginner bases or were pretty beat up. I found another bass very similar to this being sold overseas that I could have had shipped here, with the key difference being the passive/active push-pull feature in Artist's version which was very attractive, and more importantly the service with Artist has been excellent and shipping times are amazing. So I opted for this bass, which arrived super quick as I assumed it would - straight out of the box it played and sounded awesome! I've owned a couple of affordable Ibanez and Yamaha basses in the past and they are nowhere near as good as this. I was also surprised at the quality of the instrument for how cheap it is. No sharp fret ends, smooth neck, easy to play. I really love this! Thanks Artist guitars for the great guitar and great service as well. I hope to see the lineup of guitars increase over time

Artist VHYB5 Vintage Hybrid V 5 String P-J Style B

By: on 18 October 2019
I received my Artist VHYB5 Vintage Hybrid V 5 String P-J Style Bass Guitar within 2 days after preorder restock. I'm very happy with this Bass, fantastic straight out of the box, but I did lower the action a little and had to intonated the G string a touch, other that its all good. Its sounds great, the active pick ups are great, the volume push pull knob allows switch between active and passive mode. I love the look and finish of the Bass..!!

P-J style 5 string bass

By: on 5 July 2019
A high quality bass that is a joy to play. Out of the box minimal set up was needed. The nut height and action was perfect for me, just a tweak of the intonation and it was ready to play. Didn't find a flaw anywhere, extremely well finished. It has a great variety of tones and easily handles several genres I play. I really like the round wound strings it shipped with, which are also made by Artist, I'll be ordering these. Fantastic bass, highly recommend it.

5 String Bass

By: on 7 March 2019
I thought I’d try a 5 string bass. What I didn’t expect was this beautiful instrument. Beautiful understated gloss finish over a natural wood colour. Amazing.

5 string base

By: on 4 July 2018
Hi there I recently acquired a artist 5 string base. have only ever played a 4 string for the last 30 odd years. anyway I love the sound of it plays like a dream after a few tweaks and setting up. The price was great as well It is really good to see an Australian company produce good stuff like this. the electronics are excellent with the base. treble. balance and volume. I will be telling a lot of people about this produce. very happy

VHYB5

By: on 24 April 2018
Extremely well put together bass.. after a few setup tweaks for personal preference it plays and sounds fantastic.. the active electronics respond very well to minor adjustments. Fret work is very good and the bass is very sturdy. Definitely worth the money and will go on to be very loved. Great instrument

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