4 string to 5 string back to 4 ??

[Tom Howland]

We have to pick one or the other?

So true.
When I want a 5er, I play it.
If not, a P-bass, or a J-bass is there.

 

[pappabass]

play someone else's bass in a situation and odds are, it'll be a four.
you are really right about that too, my son has a 4, almost confusing to play, I find myself looking for the 5th string.

 

[tedw]

I started out on a 4-string years ago and in the nineties shifted to a 5 string. The extra string does come in handy. Then I bought a Rob Allen Mouse 4 years ago because it thought the short-scale ergonomics might be good for me. Once I adjusted to the four strings, I've not gone back. So far I don't think my fellow praise and worship musicians have missed the 5er. I've also purchased a 4-string P and it works well for most of what I do. To me, the 4-stringer is just more fun and comfortable.

 

[paganjack]

It really depends on the band I'm playing in. I have no issue switching from 4 to 5 to 4. The only time I had trouble thinking about notes was from stringing my jazz BEAD. That really threw me off for some reason.

 

[R Upsomegrub]

I've played fives exclusively for fifteen years. Had to lay down some scratch tracks on a borrowed bass and convert my five str lines to four- kind of felt like a novice as it took way too long to figure out. Point being, keep a four handy and hop on it once in awhile, you never know when you'll have to play someone else's bass in a situation and odds are, it'll be a four.

+1, good advice IMO. I've played 5's almost exclusively since 1992, but I still take my j-bass to the local blues jam every once in a while just so it won't be completely foreign to me.

 

[Ian the bassist]

play someone else's bass in a situation and odds are, it'll be a four.
you are really right about that too, my son has a 4, almost confusing to play, I find myself looking for the 5th string.

Odds are it will also be a right handed bass. Thats why I always carry a spare bass handy(And it's a 4 string). You never know when you may need it.