• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

4 vs 5 is there a difference in sound?

basspraiser

basspraiser

Jammin for the Lamb!
Supporting Member
Dec 8, 2006
22,921
8,839
Chicago - NW Burbs
#1
There is a discussion going on in a different thread where 2 Tbers (both people who have been around here for a while and thus I consider knowledgeable) stated that 5 string basses do not sound like their 4 string counterparts (I.e. P basses and /or J basses)

I play all 5 string basses now and have 2 five string Ps and 2 five sting J basses.....and always play fretted notes (no open strings)...taking the low B out of the equation I feel they sound JUST LIKE the 4 string counterparts which are equally equipped.

I think this would make a great discussion to get other's ideas....

Have fun and keep it civil!
 
#4
Once someone knows there is a difference in two instruments it seems obvious that it can make a difference in sound to some level. Some like to assume they can hear all these differences and are afraid of being inferior if they can't. So then they hear them and feel good.

Have you noticed how many people simply can't admit they can't hear a difference in things when they know there is some kind of physical difference? You see phrases like "almost no difference in tone" or "the difference is negligible" or "the difference is very subtle" when they should just say I can't hear any difference and learn humility.

Of course if someone can listen to a bass they are not in control of and tell me how many strings it has by just listening I will be very impressed and change my view. Until then I'll tend to believe it's more psychological than real. Others will disagree.
 
#5
An example of this in practice is buying a car from a good salesman, they'll say things like "these upgrades are for those who can discern a difference." A good salesman knows these tricks and use them to make money, of course no one who sells basses does this, only car salesmen :)

Personally I can't tell how many strings a bass has from the tone.
 
#6
There is a difference. I convert 4 string Rickenbackers into 5 string Rickenbackers. So I get to compare the exact same bass as a 4 and a 5. Some 4 string Rickenbackers have a quieter low E string. But the same bass converted into a 5 now the E string is very lively.

What I really noticed was when I had my 10 string bass. (it was a 5 string with 5 octave strings) All of the strings were very live and sustained forever.

So my theory is the more strings on the neck the better the rest of the strings sound. More stress on the compresses the wood so it resonates better.
 
#7
I'm not saying I can tell by listening to a recorded song, but when I play an A fretted on the B string vs. an A fretted on the E string vs. an open A string there is a deference in tonality between the three.

In the context of a song you might be able to tell if the note was sustained, but I doubt it. Soloed it becomes more obvious even in a recording.
 
#10
Own and play lots of 4s and 5s. They sound the same. However fretting a E on the B string is going to sound different than an open E on the E string. Some people prefer the sound of one to the other... I use it depending on the situation but mostly tend to go in favor of what makes something easier to play and I'll compensate on my touch to make them sound almost identical (fretted or open string)...
 
#12
Well, to a *lot* of audience members, all basses sound the same, no matter how many strings and pickups or which woods. Between that and the guys who can tell the diff between clay dots and plastic ones by sound, there's likely a big range of people with a reasonable ear who can--or cannot--tell the diff. Personally, I can't--ASIDE from the fact that I also play virtually no open notes, and find that an E played on the B string is fatter than an open E. I find that my American Standard P5 sounds like a P, albeit a modern one. I know there are guys who'll say tat hte extra mass of the neck and yadda yadda yadda and swear up and down that the difference rings out like a bell. Well, okay, but I can't tell the difference.

This is one of those arguments that TB breeds, and like so many of these arguments, it's kind of the bassist's version of arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
 
#13
5StringFool said:
I'm not saying I can tell by listening to a recorded song, but when I play an A fretted on the B string vs. an A fretted on the E string vs. an open A string there is a deference in tonality between the three.
Click to expand...

I agree with that. But that is the difference in 3 tones on one bass. I think the original premise is that the same note on the same string will sound different on for example a MIM 4 string jazz and a MIM 5 string jazz and that the 5 can never sound like a 4.
 
#14
I can hear the difference on Stingray's - the 4 string models always sound more round, basically more midrange. A good amount oflow end with the on-board EQ at the center detents. Still can go plenty low though. The 5 string Stingray's just seem to have more low end on EVERY string with the knobs on the middle detents. I have noticed that on almost every Stingray I have ever played.

Different neck lengths, another string to add more pounds of force to the bass neck, a higher mass bridge, more wood overall, there are definite tone differences.

As always, play both and determine from there.
 
#15
There is a difference to me for the E string compared between a 4, a lo B 5er or a Hi C 5er. The 5 string E sounds feels springier and sounds more open and alive but not to the point of twangyness. My comparison is between a 4 string Foundation and Dyna5 in passive mode but I also noted the difference when I tried the Dyna5 with a hi C the E string sounded less open maybe even a bit choked.
FWIW there was a recording of that bass and the tone snobs preferred the sound of the E string notes with the bass in Lo B instead of Hi C, the description above comes from them.

YMMV
 
#16
I don't know about everyone else, but I play differently on my 4-strings than I do on my 5/6 strings. So, it's hard to say whether any difference in sound is really because of the bass itself, or because I play much more "vertically" and with many more open strings on my 4's than I do on my 5/6's.

Mike
 
#17
There is main difference - E on fifth and fourth string never sound like E open one and same thing could be said about some other note like B and C etc. on four and five strings basses respectively.This is the good thing though.I think that on five-stringers with active electronics this one is more audible.
 
#19
I would think it would be next to impossible to find this out,that is until someone builds two IDENTICAL basses from the EXACT SAME BATCHES of wood. Obviously,both basses would have to be passive. As electronics would 'color' the sound. The only difference should ONLY be the different dimensions on the neck,to accommodate the extra string,of course.
It would seem (IMO),that there would be a ever so slight change in tone due to the extra mass on the 5-string neck.

Just my 2 cents.
 
#20
Darnell Jones said:
Have you noticed how many people simply can't admit they can't hear a difference in things when they know there is some kind of physical difference? You see phrases like "almost no difference in tone" or "the difference is negligible" or "the difference is very subtle" when they should just say I can't hear any difference and learn humility.
Click to expand...

I don't agree. I often say differences are subtle or negligible and I don't mean I can't hear a difference. I mean the differences are small but real. I'm not afraid to say I can't hear a difference. If I compare two things and sometimes I think one is one way and the other another but then other times it seems reversed, then I conclude that there is no difference, it's just me. But if every time I pick up a certain instrument it seems a certain way compared to another, then even if the difference is very small I conclude it's real. For example I just noted that I felt ashtrays change your tone even though many claimed they had no effect. But I tell you true, playing with putting an ashtry on and off EVERY time I put the ashtray over the bridge the tone seemed to lose just a TINY bit of clarity. No not a lot, but apparently a real effect. Not enough to worry about for sure. But as far as I'm concerned it was a very real if subtle effect. It wasn't imaginary.

But that was an easy test. These days I only play 5+ string basses and I really can't hear any difference though there may actually be one. I presume every neck dimension has SOME kind of effect on tone. But unlike the ashtray test where you could put it on and off and judge a difference, with two basses there are too many OTHER things that change. You can take two IDENTICAL basses and there will be large differences. I recall two Roscoe Beck V basses at GC that I played with an eye to buying. They were totally IDENTICAL except for paint color. The difference between them was like night and day! And everyone else agreed because the good one sold immediately and the bad one hung around the store forever!

So how could one really test the 4 or 5 string difference with that much differences just between identical basses. Well maybe the 4 to 5 Ric conversions come close, And that may explain a subtle difference. But to my ears, with the basses i've owned and played. I can't tell any difference. And you'd think there should be! Not only different neck dimensions but also different pickup dimensions as well. You'd think different pickup coil sizes etc. would really change the tone. But to me that does not seem to happen. I guess this means pickup makers are really good at making a 5 string pickup sound like the 4 string models.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back