Any 5 string Players happy going back to 4 String bass?

GRoberts · #1 09-26-2012, 03:13 PM

I love playing 5 string bass, but there have been some occasional 4 string basses I've played that I would have bought had they been 5 string basses. Killer tone. I am tempted by a couple 4 string basses locally, but wondering if I'll be happy since I truly love the B string, the extra finger positions, the lower notes when I need to go there etc. I don't live on the B string or over use it. In fact, many songs I play never require the B string. But when they do, it makes my life easier.

Have any of my fellow 5 string bass player friends gone back to to a 4 string bass and been happy, or do you miss all the extra benefits you get from a 5 string bass?

I will not be selling or getting rid of my Nordy VJ5, I am simply wondering if a four string bass will leave me wanting?

Aaron_D · #2 09-26-2012, 03:15 PM

I go back and forth. Sometimes it's nice to change it up. It isn't hard after you do it a few times.

SoVeryTired · #3 09-26-2012, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_D

I go back and forth. Sometimes it's nice to change it up. It isn't hard after you do it a few times.

+1

I'm still new to this whole bass thing. I dabbled in 4 strings, then got a 5er last autumn. Love it... but then I bought a cheap 4-string on eBay to sell at a profit, ended up keeping it and loving it. I picked up the 5er today after a couple of weeks of neglect and love how it just suits certain songs in certain keys.

My mission now is to make the 5 sound as good as the 4 with some different strings - but I'll be keeping both and enjoying the way they make me think and play differently.

Huge · #4 09-26-2012, 03:19 PM

I sold my 5 to buy a 4 that I really wanted. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

P. Aaron · #5 09-26-2012, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_D

I go back and forth. Sometimes it's nice to change it up. It isn't hard after you do it a few times.

This. It's the pursuit of tone. We all do it.

Webtroll · #6 09-26-2012, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_D

I go back and forth. Sometimes it's nice to change it up. It isn't hard after you do it a few times.

+1

I sold a good 4 that I should have kept because I thought it was ackward to go back and forth, now it's second nature. 6ers on the other hand still give me fits.

madbassplaya · #7 09-26-2012, 03:22 PM

I have sold my 5's a few times to pick up 4's and I always regret it.

If I pick up a 4 now, it will just be in addition the 5's I'm playing. For my church gigs, I like a 5 a lot. If I were in alternative rock band again (Nirvana, AIC, STP, 7M3,) I'd use a 4 string for that gig. Play what you need or want to!

georgestrings · #8 09-26-2012, 03:26 PM

I play both 4s and 5s - it's no biggie...

- georgestrings

nickrs540 · #9 09-26-2012, 03:29 PM

I switched from my main being a 5 to a 4 now. I'm not really missing the B too much, but then again I barely used it much. When I play in my Death Metal group I have to have the low B cause we play in dropped B. In my country, rock, or whatever else i'm playing I hardly remember there was a B there.

The reason I switched was because I found a killer deal on an ATK 750 which sounds, looks, and played amazing. I just couldn't pass it up. The quality is just so much better then the 5. I think even if I needed the 5 more i'd still only play it on the ones I absolutely had to.

SoonerMatt · #10 09-26-2012, 03:30 PM

I keep going back to 4 as I never use the low B. Haven't tried stringing EADGC, though....

Gabriel51 · #11 09-26-2012, 03:30 PM

Absolutely not! I played 4 string for over 30 years before I went to 5's and the biggest thing for me is not having to jump around the neck. (two octaves close by)
I tried to play a four the other day at GC and my left hand fell right in step, my right felt like it belonged to someone else! I had to concentrate. (painful)

GRoberts · #12 09-26-2012, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

I play both 4s and 5s - it's no biggie...

- georgestrings

I just need to wrap my head around playing a 4 string bass again I suppose. When I switch off in music stores from a 5 string to a 4 string, it takes me a while to acclimate to the string change and remember the low string is no longer a B string etc. Cetainly not impossible. Just need to give it a try.

My 5'er is not going anywhere, but I've found a couple Killer Fender 4 bangers that are calling my name. I just wonder if I'll be happy with a 4 banger after having the extra notes and hand/finger positions that a 5th string gives me. Thanks for the feedback guys! This is really helpful!

Mike M. · #13 09-26-2012, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

I play both 4s and 5s - it's no biggie...

- georgestrings

Same here. It's nice having that low B when the situation calls for it. If it's not needed then I'll play my 4 strings.

LowBSix · #14 09-26-2012, 03:35 PM

I love playing both.
I miss the 5 when on the 4 and visa versa...
closest thing that satisfies a J5 passive... simple with extended range...
nothin like a P4 or J5
I love both

Musicman20 · #15 09-26-2012, 03:36 PM

Keep n switch! I do.

MichaelSmalley · #16 09-26-2012, 03:37 PM

It was awkward at first for me to switch but now I play both a 4 string p bass and a 5 string J at most of my gigs. Each bass has its charms and each configuration has its charms.

georgestrings · #17 09-26-2012, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRoberts

I just need to wrap my head around playing a 4 string bass again I suppose. When I switch off in music stores from a 5 string to a 4 string, it takes me a while to acclimate to the string change and remember the low string is no longer a B string etc. Cetainly not impossible. Just need to give it a try.

My 5'er is not going anywhere, but I've found a couple Killer Fender 4 bangers that are calling my name. I just wonder if I'll be happy with a 4 banger after having the extra notes and hand/finger positions that a 5th string gives me. Thanks for the feedback guys! This is really helpful!

Yeah, I use whichever is best for the job at hand - one nice thing is that after playing a 5er, I feel like I dominate a 4 string - they just feel so much easier to play than a 5er...

I have a couple of side project gigs that don't require the extra notes my 5ers offer, and when I'm haeding off to one of those gigs, I always feel like I'm going to have an easy time playing bass that night... Also, my 4 strings are typically a little lighter than my 5ers are, besides the narrrower neck - so during a gig where I'm switching off, the 4 strings are physically less demanding in every way...

Lastly - my 4s and 5s share similar string spacing, so despite the wider neck, the feel is similar...

-georgestrings

georgestrings · #18 09-26-2012, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike M.

Same here. It's nice having that low B when the situation calls for it. If it's not needed then I'll play my 4 strings.

I use my 5ers when I need to go below D, which is about 1/3 of my current playlist... I don't mind playing in drop D, but anything below that I prefer a 5er for, and sometimes use them for D as well - it depends when in the setlist the song falls... My band typically plays around 50 songs during a gig, in a bunch of different tunings - but we do a decent job of keeping the flow of the show moving...

- georgestrings

Marko5657 · #19 09-26-2012, 03:50 PM

I’m so acclimated to five, I don’t see any point in going four.

Best thing about that is it keeps me from buying some of the sweet basses that don’t come with five.

Phalex · #20 09-26-2012, 04:01 PM

I used to play a fretless five for years! When I got back into rock & roll I went back to four. Now my five feels really tight. I might look into one with wider string spacing, but I'm not really gassing for another five.