Slapping/Finger technique on a 5

[pharasoth]

I'm going to be purchasing a new bass soon and weighing my options and trying to narrow down on a type of bass before buying...

the question: What's slapping like on a 5 string? enough room? what brands have extra room? what about other 2 finger techniques and suches..

[Joe P]

You can get 5-string wide-necks that have the same string spacing that's common on 4-strings (.75 inch).

Joe

[Mike Flynn]

Originally Posted by pharasoth

I'm going to be purchasing a new bass soon and weighing my options and trying to narrow down on a type of bass before buying...

the question: What's slapping like on a 5 string? enough room? what brands have extra room? what about other 2 finger techniques and suches..

It's a load of fun and hitting a low-B is just so, so satisfying, I suggest you follow the advise above and make sure the string spacing is nice and wide - the joys of low D and low C cannot be overstated.

[Tym2cu_bass]

I dont own a 5 string (yet) but my school has one and i get to use it a lot and when your doing harder rock on it its alittle bit harder espicially when you're going for the low B and stuff, but other than that 5 strings are fun to slap on (with some practice of course).

[christoph h.]

hm, i've played fivers from the beginning, so now it actually feels a bit strange when playing a four-string.

that said, unless there's really some physical attribute (large hands, big "sausage fingers", etc) that could hinder you, i can#t imagine the transition being very difficult.

there's also the possibility to get a five-string with wide spacing.

[Norwegianwood]

I love slapping on my 5-string corvette.
I'm so used to the close string spacing, I don't manage to play any fast on a four string.
Just remember to ALWAYS mute the B-string!
I don't know if most people think about this, but if you don't mute the B -string while playing on the others, you will hear a low growl that will probably kill the soundguy

[swedebasist]

Myself I've never owned anything else than a five and I wouldn't wanna do without it! You might think that those few lower notes don't matter taht much but they do, really they do. As for techniques: most higher-quality V's have enough space for slapping. Chordal tapping also gets easier 'cause you get a lot less jumps etc. When fingering there shouldn't be much difference at all, the biggest difference is probably that you have the B to lean your thumb on when playing on the E-string.

Good Luck!

[Daniel Baskin]

I got a really good deal on a custom made 6-stringer recently with spacings similar to if not the same as those on a 4-string. It is supposed to be harder to slap on a +string bass, but I haven't noticed anything different on my 6-string even with the increased spacings and already increased fatness (a four string UB is still more beastly). Just make sure that whatever you get is versital and any difficulty of playing resulting in using it is an obstacle of skill, rather than of being. One can always change the obstacle of skill (or strength) with practice.

[DJ1]

I played a 4 for 12 years before moving to a 5 back in '91. The biggest issue for me was to maintain string spacing as opposed to cramping 5 strings on a 4 string neck.

I ended up going with the Yamaha TRB-5P. It was awesome.

I then went to a Stingray from 2000 to 2003 but deep down in side I always missed the TRB.

I have since moved back to a Spector 4 string as I found that I was in the box too much and needed to work on my neck movement up and down the fret board.

[Joe P]

I admit that I can hardly play a four - I must reference off the B in my mind or something; even if I'm playing a part that doesn't involve the B at all, I just struggle with it.

I think if a diehard four-player wanted the best argument against fives, it would be that when it comes to bass design (mostly having to do with scale length), it's very difficult to make a the B and the G sound even. Either you can use a long scale for a killer B-tone, and end up with a twangy G; or go with a shorter scale for a 'wolfy' B and a solid G. I gather that there are very few five-stringers that approach both a good B and G. Then there are fanned-frets -- that seems just ultimate to me; I can't wait to try one.

I'm learning thumb-style on my US-made Peavey Foundation. It has quite narrow string spacing, and I used that as an excuse for a while - but as my slapping keeps getting better and better, that excuse is going away. Oh yeah.

Joe

[Rich600]

I started out on a 5 and a few months ago i got a 4, i like both equally for different reasons and i dont find one harder than the other for general playing but i can slap on the 5 better than the 4, i can tap on the 4 better than the 5.