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4, 5 -Or- 6 String?
- Thread starter IrishRifles
- Start date
sj_bass
Supporting Member
5 string 24 fret. I like having a low C at my disposal and I prefer going up the neck to crossing over more strings for the higher notes.
John Paul Jones, Entwistle, McCartney, Lee, Deacon, Squire & Bruce all seemed to do ok with 4.
So, they do your gigs for you then?
Roy Vogt
Supporting Member
- Sep 20, 2000
- 4,433
- 537
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Kiesel Basses, Ampeg Amplification, Hotone Ampero II effects
Yes! 
4 is very necessary for teaching-most beginning/intermediate players use them
5 is good for Commercial Gigs and sometimes I notice that my solos are better received on them.
6 is my first choice, especially for Jazz and Jazz/Fusion and Reading gigs.
4 is very necessary for teaching-most beginning/intermediate players use them
5 is good for Commercial Gigs and sometimes I notice that my solos are better received on them.
6 is my first choice, especially for Jazz and Jazz/Fusion and Reading gigs.
5 string. I tried out a 5 string once and my drummer really liked the extra low end. So I ended up staying with the 5 and haven't looked back yet. I like the extra options the 5th string adds. I will say though that I seldom use the low b but the low d and c are frequently used.
Really enjoying my four string these days but if money was looser, I would have a 5 string too. The extra string makes playing in different positions easier.
I love 5..love the ability to drop down even further up the neck and have the extra tonal options in the same position. Love being able to play in Eb without tuning everything down a half step.
That being said, for rock n roll, I think 4 is all that is needed, and I love those as well. I also have seen some amazing fusion solos peeled off on a 4 string jazz bass.
The 5 string, IMO can make it easier to rip just because you have more notes right near by..this is all my opinion based on years of experience, and in the end only really matters to me.
That being said, for rock n roll, I think 4 is all that is needed, and I love those as well. I also have seen some amazing fusion solos peeled off on a 4 string jazz bass.
The 5 string, IMO can make it easier to rip just because you have more notes right near by..this is all my opinion based on years of experience, and in the end only really matters to me.
I love both 4 and 6.
I love the wide range of 6 strings and the flexibility it gives you for more experimental stuff, but also enjoy how 4 strings "force" me to move a lot around the neck.
Never enjoyed 5, since it is an "in-between" option that keeps me thinking on the other two.
But that's just me, every musician has a weapon of choice (or several), and I have seen them with every combination of strings, woods and electronics.. so at the end of the day, it is just the tool you feel more comfortable with and the one that inspires you to make better music.
I love the wide range of 6 strings and the flexibility it gives you for more experimental stuff, but also enjoy how 4 strings "force" me to move a lot around the neck.
Never enjoyed 5, since it is an "in-between" option that keeps me thinking on the other two.
But that's just me, every musician has a weapon of choice (or several), and I have seen them with every combination of strings, woods and electronics.. so at the end of the day, it is just the tool you feel more comfortable with and the one that inspires you to make better music.
I have 4, 5 and 6 string basses. I gig with the 4 and 5 strings (the 5 is a fretless although I also have a POS Squier P 5). I've also been practising at home and during band rehearsals with the 6, one of the guitarists calls it "that poncey bass".
I aim to gig it at our next gig in a couple of weeks time - which will be the first one back into a more regular gig schedule having just worked in a new vocalist.
Do I need the 6? Probably not, but it does allow me to play some things more easily in terms of not needing to do rapid position changes and it also allows a bit of colour with a couple of songs such as doing a simple little chordal thing on the breakdown of Gary Moore and Phil Lynott's "Out in the Fields", where both guitarists are busy with there swell pedals doing a harmony lead...it lets me provide both the bass line and a faux rhythmn guitar. Sounds complex, but it's no more than a finger picked barre chord.
EDIT: Speaking of which it's time to get the 6 loaded up and off to tonight's rehearsal
I aim to gig it at our next gig in a couple of weeks time - which will be the first one back into a more regular gig schedule having just worked in a new vocalist.
Do I need the 6? Probably not, but it does allow me to play some things more easily in terms of not needing to do rapid position changes and it also allows a bit of colour with a couple of songs such as doing a simple little chordal thing on the breakdown of Gary Moore and Phil Lynott's "Out in the Fields", where both guitarists are busy with there swell pedals doing a harmony lead...it lets me provide both the bass line and a faux rhythmn guitar. Sounds complex, but it's no more than a finger picked barre chord.
EDIT: Speaking of which it's time to get the 6 loaded up and off to tonight's rehearsal
I recently transitioned from the four-string to the five-string, and am digging the new instrument, the new feel, and the new technique & conceptualization options.
I haven't been pushing myself hard to make the transition. Instead I've been doing it gradually, over a period of months. But even at that leisurely pace, the five-string is already starting to feel natural.
MM
I haven't been pushing myself hard to make the transition. Instead I've been doing it gradually, over a period of months. But even at that leisurely pace, the five-string is already starting to feel natural.
MM
6 or 7, and 7 for sure if I'm the only stringed instrument (say, piano-drums-bass).
I generally play in trios and like the ability to play chordal accompaniments and have a fretted low Eb.
As advice: the number of strings I find I use is inversely proportional to the number of players. If your band has horns, keys, guitars, drums, a man who hits a rubber chicken with a mallet on the upbeats, and a set of conjoined twins on theremin, you'd probably be better off with a 4.
The increased range of the 5 or 6 will be lost amidst all the other sounds and will only make the theremin twins irate.
I generally play in trios and like the ability to play chordal accompaniments and have a fretted low Eb.
As advice: the number of strings I find I use is inversely proportional to the number of players. If your band has horns, keys, guitars, drums, a man who hits a rubber chicken with a mallet on the upbeats, and a set of conjoined twins on theremin, you'd probably be better off with a 4.
The increased range of the 5 or 6 will be lost amidst all the other sounds and will only make the theremin twins irate.
playing a 5 string at the moment because it is what is appropriate for what my band is doing. I'd prefer a 4 string strung BEAD but I don't have that option at the moment.
I like 5-string the best. Can get almost two octaves with one hand position, much more convenient fingerings than with 4-string. 6-string; the neck is getting too wide to reach across. It was hard enough to find a fretless with 5, 6 would really be hard to find.
