New at bass, 5 string dilemma, which way to go?

[steve f]

Originally Posted by Tombolino

The only thing I know is that the less wide/fat the fretboard the better.

If you want a narrow neck, stick with 4 strings and go with the Jazz bass neck (or SLO on an EBMM). All 5 stringers have more neck width, obviously.

I'm going to throw out a different opinion, FWIW. If you're making the transition from guitar to bass, the biggest change will be musical as opposed to technical. You'll need to let go, to some degree, of the melodic concerns and focus on groove, coordination with the rest of the rhythm section, and much more sparse harmonic and melodic support. In my mind, making this transition would be a bit easier on a 4 stringer. Just less to think about technically and fewer open strings to manage. Once you've locked in to the bass mindset, the number of strings is trivial. For most of us, it's fairly easy to switch back and forth between 4, 5, and 6 strings. And remember, the best bass music ever made was with 4 strings!




Whatever you decide, good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of bottom feeders!

[hotsauce n eggs]

Way back when I got my very first five string bass, I actually just treated it like a four string bass. I played all of the songs I already knew with the same fingering as if the fifth string wasn't even there. Then I learned my first song that required a the low B string, and then I started looking at the way I was playing songs that required me to drop tune the E string on a four stringer with my fiver, then I started looking at songs with big jumps along the fretboard(why go from the fifth fret to the twelfth fret when I could just move up to the tenth fret in stead).

A lot of experienced players use the low B as a secret passage to take shortcuts to lower notes, but when you are first playing, treat it like a basement, it's an extra floor below the ground level. It's there for when you need it, but you don't have to go down there if you don't want to.

[Shardik]

YMMV. I came from guitar, but I just love the slender neck of a 4 string. On the other hand I often ran into the desire for a bit lower notes.

These days my basses are tuned DGCF. I am really happy about that, being a full note lower than standard bass. I rarely feel any need to have brighter and lighter strings than that F.

I still look for a 5 string, though, but that would be to go lower. To BEADG or even ADGCF...
Yup, it is a bass, which to me, a former guitar player, means the notes lower than those played on a guitar.

[St_G]

I used to have a Warwick 5-string that had very tight spring spacing. Great for chording. A bit cramped for most other things.

[kjpollo]

I use a low B on my 5's. Always have and probably always will. Especially now that I'm doing country. So much of the new country has low D's and D#'s it isnt funny.
Since I dont play solos or chords, I never had a need for the C.

[MrLenny1]

No need to re-learn the Low B. it is tuned in 4ths like the others.
High b flat would be more work to learn & incorporate.
You wanna rock go low B.
You wanna solo go high whatever?

[Chef]

You'd need a 6 string to get to high Bb, if you tuned it that way.
I think 6 string basses stay tuned in 4ths though.

[SoVeryTired]

Sometimes I don't know why I bother with a five-string. In rehearsal tonight I only used the B string on 4 songs.

The fact that we were only rehearsing 4 songs is irrelevant...

[phillybass101]

A 6er would fix your dilemma!

[Tombolino]

I know. Im just concerend about the fretboard size

[Tombolino]

well, ill have to mess around with 5 and 6ers at the store and go with my gut. Thanks all!

[Mike in Chicago]

I was reading this and, someone said "change it to EADGB" and being a 4 stringer (cause I just think thats what bass is) I said "hey, maybe that's a good idea...maybe I'll check that out 'cause that'll still be my trusty old E down there by my thumb...maybe, just maybe I've been wrong all this time and I should check this out"

Then some brainiac has to chime in and ruin it for me by saying "no that'll be a B flat"...

Then I got depressed again when I realized, "oh Man...that's the string on a GUITAR (repeat, guitar) that goes back a fret and goofs all that perfection that IS bass up".

Plus...5's and 6's don't look like Jamerson's Precision Bass, they look like Fender Bass VI's or some kind of Lute.