Did You Regret Your First 5 String?

[Marko5657]

Absolutely no regrets, but then again I wasn’t proficient on a four-string, which made the transition much easier. Also having been noodling on guitar, I was kinda used to more strings.

I took my 4-string P to the local music store to get it set up, and get a hipshot D-tuner and new strings put on, then I walked around the store and saw a good deal on a Jazz V, so I bought it to just to see what fivers were all about.

I love the wider neck, the string spacing was still wide enough to be comfortable for me, and I rarely play an open note. Transposing is simply moving my hand up or down the neck, and it’s easier to sing when just playing in a box.

When I picked up the 4-string, I just put it in its case.

I still have that P, but a couple years later sold the two other four-string basses I had, a Jazz and a Mustang, and have three more 5-string basses.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Not at all. Now, I went straight from 4 to 6, and THAT I regret. (A high C for me is useless, although others can make it sing.) But once I went to 5, I was home and play mostly 5's ever since.

I'm the opposite. I played 4 bangers for God knows how many years and finally decided to get a 5. That was a big regret all around. That bass was always a hassel. I put all kinds of pickups in it to try to get some tone from Carvin to EMGs and nothing worked. And even worse than that it being a 5er I never really got th idea of what ERB was all about. I thought it was just about a 4 string with a couple more low notes. The whole scene was one big regret.

Then my luck changed. I sold that piece of crap 5er and bought a nice 6 string Alembic fretless Epic. (I was in love, what can I say?). Truthfully it was way too much bass for me at that stage, but there were NO regrets because the 6er FORCED me to learn what ERB was about. Cross-neck scales. Wide necks you simply can't grab like a ball bat. Using the B and C strings at higher frets. etc. And even more important discovering that I could no longer ignore string damping. It took me a while to come around and start to feel that I was playing that bass rather than it was playing me, but after that, all my 5ers are just 6ers to me without a slightly reduced top end.

Except for my 8 string (doubled) I never play 4 strings anymore. The limited range just drives me nuts.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Misterwogan

I'm toying with the idea of a fiver, I've never played one so I'll have to go along to a store and try one out.

In the meantime, my question is to those who bought their five string and ultimately regretted doing it - and why?

The only thing I regret is not having acquired a five-string bass earlier than I did...

MM

[brianerwin]

First bass I bought was the SR505. I like listening to a lot of christian music and some pop music too. It seemed to me that I was hearing extremely low tones that would come from a B string and I was inspired to buy the 5er. Come to find out that even though I was hearing the lower tones in my favorite songs, my songs were just in a higher key and so was the bass. It just made the E and A strings sound really low.
Now that I have one, I don't regret it at all. I talked to the guy at GC and explained
that I would someday want to buy a 5er and since I have music knowlege and
big hands, he made the recomendation to buy the 5 so I wouldn't have to buy another one later. And I would have no problem getting used to it.
I think it was a good call because I really don't like drop tuning and I really like having the B
string for those extra low notes.

No regrets on the 5er

Now I am thinking about the SR 600 but that may be a waste of money but I sure do like the look and feel of the wood it has.

[JoeWPgh]

Regret is a strong word. I didn't like it and sold it.

[landau roof]

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

Regret is a strong word. I didn't like it and sold it.

Yessir.

But it is sad that I lost a ton of money on it because it was an Ibanez that I bought new and then traded in at Guitar Center prior to the ubiquity of the internets.

[JoeWPgh]

Mine was a used Korean bolt on Spector. I didn't have too much into it and got the lion's share of what I did, back.

[bassybill]

Not so much regret - but I've never really enjoyed it, either. I just don't like playing it. I can go down to D easily enough on my 4 string with a detuner and that's always been enough for me. 5 strings don't work for me personally, I still much prefer all my other basses.

[Melik]

Kinda. I was on market for a new one way too long. After I had bought my first 5-string I went used

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Misterwogan

I'm toying with the idea of a fiver, I've never played one so I'll have to go along to a store and try one out.

In the meantime, my question is to those who bought their five string and ultimately regretted doing it - and why?

Regret it? I loved it so much I now have 16 of them. I just can't stop buying them. It's like an addiction.

[SoVeryTired]

My only regret was buying new, as I lost half the value when I sold it after a year. That's not because I regretted getting a 5er, I just found that particular bass wasn't the sound I was after. I sold it to get a new 5er and am now very happy. I played my backup 4 for a few months and, as much as I like it, there are some songs where I really want those lower notes or the single-position range that the 5 gives me. I can't see a 4 being my main bass, ever since that first five. So no, on many levels, I don't regret it.

[MelodicExp]

I loved my five string so much I bought a six. Thinking about getting a 7.

[Stealth]

I didn't regret it. I used it as an upgrade step between the four and the six for a year. And then I liked it so much I kept it.

[MCS4]

My answer is, "sometimes."

My first and only fiver is a fretless Carvin B50 kit that my Dad and I put together. My brain says I made the right decision, because I got a bass that fills both 5-string and fretless needs at a great price. However, I'm a 4-stringer at heart and admit my heart sometimes wishes my fretless bass was a four...

[cybersnyder]

Zero regrets, especially every time I see flats in the key signature. The hardest thing was remembering which string I was on and keeping that one extra string from buzzing. Also, I approached it as a four string with an extra string that was used as a thumb rest and only played Eb and below on it. After I got past that mentality, it really opened up the possibilities. Love the 5 string now.

[gurensan]

I skipped 5 and got a 6. I regretted it a year later, and for about 12 years after that. Now I can play a 4 again without significant pain.

[puremusic]

I started on five and I always find myself reaching for the B string on the rare occasion when I play a 4. I do regret my first 5ver because it was a Samick with the tightest spacing imaginable.

[Tvrtko]

I love all of my 5 strings, all actIve... Specially, TUNE TWB53FM.

[mblackford]

Yes, only for a while. I bought a Lakland 55-02 which was my first active bass. I didn't like it at first so it went in the closet and I impulsively bought a DJ5. After about a year I decided to sell the 55-02 but took it out to play it "just to be sure". At that point I figured it out and sure am glad I didn't sell it. And I still have the DJ5. Both get lots of playing time.

[Solarmist]

Not at all, and I really like how you can do a 2 octave run straight across the fretboard that can't be done on a 4-string ... it just seems more natural - plus I play with a pick, and I love the 16.5 string spacing.

I not down on the 4-string; I love both 4 & 5.