• 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 String vs 5 String ?

#22
Wow !! Such a vast amount of great opinions, info and knowledge. Thanks everyone !! I swear, this is why I donated to this place. I am members of several forums, and this is the only place I actually donate to because everyone here is soooo frickin helpful...

Anyway, so yea, looks like from all the opinions here, and factual technicals, I should just get to a place and try a 5 and see how I like it. Honestly, I just like the concept and idea of a 5 so I was gonna get one, but before I did I wanted to know if there was like one of them "general rule of thumb" things were it was a professional's known fact to stay away from them.

Now that I learned it really is just a opinion thing, with a few fact things to be weary of (muting a xtra string, more expensive string set, spacing, neck width, and the possible neck tension issue on some, etc..), I really feel obviously, over time, I should have both a 4 and a 5. But to start out on, I will just get to my local GC, and try every 5 string bass I can find, then clear my mind from opinions, and go try it to see if I can jam on it comfortably or not compared to 4's.

If I can get a decent feel from it, I will get a 5. Then later a 4. I eventually want a few really good basses that all cover a nice wide tonal pallet that also are not redundant against each other. So my hunt begins !!

Thanks again to all !!
 
#23
VinKreepo said:
I get what you mean... but I've own/owned/played a '00 SR305 (agathis); '00ish GSR190 (agathis); '05ish K5 (mahogany/padauk top); '09 BTB305 (mahogany); Schecter Studio Deluxe 5 (mahogany) and IME mahogany sounds alot better. Agathis is okay, but try taking the paint off and it looks just treaded pine from Lowes.
Click to expand...

I agree about agathis and not liking it but most cheep stuff is made out of it. What I meant was a Ibanez vs a Fender in the exact price range as one another.

Also The 93 505s like what I have were maple: maple neck maple body.
 
#24
Moe Monsarrat said:
I started on 4 in 1968 & switched to 5 in the early 90s. I still acquire & play 4s but they are primarily studio tools for me. I do use them live from time to time, but I'm a five stringer. The ability to transpose to different keys is much easier for me on a 5. The B makes the best thumb rest EVER when not in actual use & of course the extra notes. I see no real reason to start on 4 over 5 strings. I mean, what could the advantage to that be? I see bass parts as a pattern on the neck & with 5 strings that pattern has variations for the same notes. The 4 string is limited by comparison in that regard.
Click to expand...

+1
 
#27
My $02.

I play 4 and 5, definitely prefer 4 but its probably because that's what I've played most of my life.

If you're just starting out I think it would be easier to start on a 5 than transition from a 4, if you think you're headed in that direction. Just seems logical to me.

Advantages to playing a 5 are basically that it's all there without ever having to detune your bass. A lot of current music goes below the E on a 4 string, and I'm encountering more and more bands that play a lot of stuff in C. With a 5 string it's all good, with a 4 you have to re-setup your bass if you want to pull off a a low C without flopping all over the place. If you're using it as a studio bass then you also have all your basses covered. No worries. With a 4 you could come across something that calls for a 5 and then yer sunk. You could also always NOT use the B string, on a 4 you can't make it magically appear.

The only disadvantage to a 5 that I ever come across is the predjudice you can get from some people. There are a lot a people who just don't want 5 string basses in their band. Countless reasons for that, but the main is image. The slap stuff and what people are saying about it being easier on a 4 has IMO a lot to do with what I said before. I think most people, like myself, got comfortable slapping on a 4 then switched to a 5.

Last note is that I have small hands and I've yet to encounter a bass that's given me a hard time. People who think they have a handicap with that do, people who never think about it have no problem. And if you're just starting out you can get accustomed to anything. Probably a good idea to start with something that feels relatively comfortable though.
 
#29
First, all other things being equal, you can be as musical (or unmusical) on either 4 or 5.

Then, the choice really depends on what you need for your gig. Original, jazz, blues, R&B may not require a 5, and if you don't need it, the 4 is pretty much easier to deal with.

Main reason I mostly use a 5 is that I am primarily doing covers, and there are enough of the cover tunes that need the lower notes that the 5 is worth the extra effort.

My 2c. GL
 
#32
For me, there is no contest - I'm definitely a 5-string player. My band is a hard rock band with a 7-string guitarist, which makes that B string a huge convenience, but beyond that a 5-string just feels right to me. The look, the neck, the extra heft... 4-strings just doesn't cut it. While I can definitele appreciate noodling around on one and fully agree that 4 is usually more than enough, I'll never own another 4 again :)
 
#34
The electric bass was designed for four strings. Hundreds upon hundreds of hit records were recorded with the four string bass. The fingering position and spacing fit well with a fine crafted four string bass. And the tone? try a 58 p-bass to a 5 stringer, different instruments. I have been playing since 1976 and four is all I needed, but times change and now we have extended basses and so on. I tried a 5 stringer and could not get used to it. Just me.
 
#36
I believe 4 strings tonal wise it is better than the 5 strings, because of the mass of the 4 strings neck is lesser than the 5, so there is more vibration in 4 strings than on the 5. One of the foremost luthier admitted in the bass round table that low E on the 5 strings will not be the same than on the 4 strings. Cliff Bordwell told me also that 4 strings will sound better than 5.
Anyhow the market say something else, since a five string is generally priced just a fraction higher than a 4, for some luthiers like Fbass and Pedulla sell 5 string at the same price like 4. So people buy more of 5 strings than a 4 for an 'extra' strings for free.
I play 4 , 5 and 6 strings, but for me 99pct 4 strings is more than adequate. Music is not limited to the number of strings you are playing, but your skill and musicality.
Look at those great musicians (and bassist), Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Paul Mc Cartney, Sting etc . they just need 4 string bass (for mr Sting a 4 with vol and tone)
So I guess you just learn to play music, number of string is secondary.
 
#37
jsb22257 said:
I believe 4 strings tonal wise it is better than the 5 strings, because of the mass of the 4 strings neck is lesser than the 5, so there is more vibration in 4 strings than on the 5.

I play 4 , 5 and 6 strings, but for me 99pct 4 strings is more than adequate. Music is not limited to the number of strings you are playing, but your skill and musicality.
Look at those great musicians (and bassist), Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Paul Mc Cartney, Sting etc . they just need 4 string bass (for mr Sting a 4 with vol and tone)
So I guess you just learn to play music, number of string is secondary.
Click to expand...


I disagree. Thinner is NOT better. That's why Fender basses are so heavy! All you need to do is play my Gibson SG guitar and my Equivalent Les Paul to see that the lighter instrument simply doen't fork over the tone the way a heavier one does. Leo (as I heard the story) once built a marble guitar to test the effect of weight on tone.

I really don't get this "cult of limitation" going on here in TB. Hey, I play 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 string basses! And I've got to tell you that for many years the lute was all you needed. I mean even today when it comes to Elizabethan music absolutely NOTHING beats the lute. Hey a lute was good enough for John Dowland so it's good enough for me! And when it comes to bass playing, you normally play with only three fingers of the right hand so why not have the remaining two surgically removed?

Hey, 4 strings are NOT "best". NOTHING is "best". Like the lute example above 4 strings do a great job on historical styles. But they also fall WAY short with MAJOR limitations with certain modern styles. One picks the music first and then the bass that best supports that music. You don't pick the bass first and then refuse to play any music that doesn't fit your bass! "I'm sorry man but that tune uses a low Eb! I only play a 4 string so I'll sit this number out and let the keys handle it." Feh!

Obviously the music IS limited by the number of strings you are playing! That's why one needs to THINK about what you are trying to do rather than to try to make some pat rules.
 
#38
My personal experience is that when I went up to a 5-ver, I immediately appreciated the lower notes I could hit. However, on one or two more difficult songs, I found it harder to play... I find it's physically harder to play some very active melodic lines, probably because of the wider neck spacing. OTOH it might just be an issue of practicing and getting used to it, but I do feel like it's more difficult for me to learn the lines as compared to learning them on a 4.
 
#40
I've been playing bass since 1967 and only tried a 5er 3 years ago, wish I'd done it when they first came out. I bought a cheap Chinese 5er Off Ebay to see if I could get along with it. I was gigging with it after a few rehearsals. So bought a MM Stingray 5 and love it.

I still play 4 as well and so would advise that unless you are going to play 5 exclusively then all new songs are learned on 4 string. I do a lot of singing and if I happen to take a 4 string to a gig I don't want to be having to sing and convert something I (only just) learned on a 5er to 4.

I take whatever bass I fancy to a gig because, as we all know, the punters don't know the difference, the other band members are usually too busy listening to their own sound so the only one to please is you.

I suspect that 4 is still so popular because, like me, a lot of people had just not tried a 5. Also you tend to learn on a 4 because they are cheaper and if you are happy with 4 then why change.

Just my two penneth (cents)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back