4 vs 5 string.

[JimmyM]

Enough with this "do a search" stuff. Let the moderators do the moderating.

To answer your question, I have a 5 but I love 4's and rarely use the 5 except at home. I keep in shape in case someone asks me to use it, but it's happened once in the last 7 years, and that's fine by me.

 

[Vikerlane]

Why not three, two or one string bass?

 

[Diesel Kilgore]

They make 5 string basses?

Same here, and i'll use one of the standard old lines, if Jamerson only....yada yada.... so do I. Plus 4 is easier to count.

 

[Dellers]

The only downside I can find is muting. The extra range is obviously great to have. I'm using the extended range in all kinds of music.

 

[Munjibunga]

More cons: you'll have to adapt your muscle memory to get used to the top string being a low B, and likely the smaller string spacing of a 5er. Can't tell you how many times I reached for the wrong string as a result of both.

Ultimately I put down the 5er in favor of tightening up my 4-string bass playing, down-tuning only as necessary, and guitar playing. No regrets as long as I don't listen to favorite songs of mine where that low B is being put to good use.

If your muscle memory is patterns, there's no downside. The patterns are the same. The difference is you can play everything five frets up on the neck, where the frets are closer together.

Most of my 5-strings are 19mm spacing (I have 15). Some are 18mm. That's not to close together. Five-strings almost eliminate the need for down-tuning and make key changes easy. I don't use the low B note that often, maybe a C or D now and then. Then main attraction is plying further up the neck.

I changed to fivers in 1994 and never looked back. They just make playing a lot easier for me.

 

[mntngrown]

Best to trot out the taglines that will pop up:

"Jaco only needed 4 strings"

"you can't play [insert genre here] without a B-string"

"I started on 4, moved to 5 and haven't looked back"

"I tried 5 but hated it"

"carrots"

So I just gotta say that nostatic is an under sung gem of Talkbass. I am frequently entertained and informed by his posts. Harpo adds to the mystique. It is merely a question of what the band or music genre requires, and the rest is discretionary. I play blues SRV Hendrix etc. Pretty much 4 string but with notable exceptions like Johnny B Gayden. O'teill is 4 stringin recently on Revelator. I am playing fives just cause I wanna. Fun for me if I don't abuse it and comfy for up the neck relaxation. What are your goals and what do folks in that style play?

 

[BassChuck]

I just bought a 5er last week. I've played 4 for 37 years and never wanted one.... still don't. But, I play a lot of musicals and for the newer shows you really have to have one. It's not like "Rent" where there are a few notes here and there that go below E, the newer shows have lines that cover an octave and a half or more in one phrase. You can't take the whole thing up an octave and you can't break it in half and do the lower notes up. (well, you could, but it would really sound choppy and un musical)

So, kicking and screaming, I got the Squier Deluxe V (excellent bang for the buck). 19mm spacing makes the neck a little big seeming, but not too much, and the top 4 strings are a familiar spacing, so that's a very good thing. It's going to take some getting used to, and the first time at rehearsal could be a little nerve racking if I don't do my homework.

After a week of practice with the 5er, I did a gig on my good old 4 string fretless and that was like coming home. I see the 5er being a tool that I take out of the case only as needed....and I will need it from time to time.

 

[gregwatts2008]

Ergonomics!

 

[SoVeryTired]

Why 'vs'? Why not 'and'?

 

[pauliebass]

Why 'vs'? Why not 'and'?

This

 

[levis76]

I own and rock both 4 and 5 string basses.

I am fairly surprised no one has brought up scale lenght yet.

The standard scale length for a 4 string bass is 34" from nut to saddle. 5 string basses vary though, some are 34" and some are 35". One inch difference might not sound like much, but it makes all the difference in the world if your muscle memory is used to the 34" and you're holding a 35" scale bass. Nothing to be afraid of, just means you'll have to sit down and practice on it a bit before it'll feel natural is all. I regularly swap between 34" 4 string and 35" 5 string during my practice regimen, but I find myself reaching for the 5 more often than not. The fretboard is a bit wider in the 5, but the neck isn't thicker by any means, it actually feels a bit thinner than my 4, but that could be my perception. I've honestly never measured.

Your best bet would be to try as many 5 strings as you can get your hands on and see if you like the extra string and what it offers. If possible, try playing a few through your own amp and cabs to see if they are up for the task.

 

[Modern Growl]

Once you get used to a 5, you will never go back to a 4. IF you can get comfortable!

I play both.

My general thoughts:

Pro's to 5 String
Lower notes without detuning (if needed).
Stay in higher positions longer without needing to change (but honestly, I don't like how a low-B sounds higher than the 5 Fret, so I play the E strings for those notes anyhow. I personally don't find it to be a big a deal to make the position change.)

Pro's to a 4
Less congestion if you don't need those lower notes.
Less to worry about keeping that Low-B dampened when not playing it.

I play a 5 - but ONLY when I need those lower notes. Eb to B. If not - I use 4's 99% of the other time.

 

[SoVeryTired]

I play both.

My general thoughts:

Pro's to 5 String
Lower notes without detuning (if needed).
Stay in higher positions longer without needing to change (but honestly, I don't like how a low-B sounds higher than the 5 Fret, so I play the E strings for those notes. Its not that big a deal to make the position change.)

Pro's to a 4
Less congestion if you don't need those lower notes.
Less to worry about keeping that Low-B dampened when not playing it.

I play a 5 - but ONLY when I need those lower notes. Eb to B. If not - I use 4's 99% of the other time.

That pretty much sums it up. I've only ever had one bass at a time - a 4 for the first few months, and a 5 for nearly a year now. The 5 can do everything, and I love those low notes, but the right 4 would be probably be better when I don't need the low stuff or I don't need to play across the neck.

I've got a 4 due soon as my second bass. Chances are, if it suits me, I'll swap between the two depending on the setlist.

 

[two fingers]

Get the five. Keep the four. Your 4 is a J. For most of us who play multiple styles, there will always be a need for a good P or J 4 banger. It just fits the gig in a lot of cases. But I would never be without a 5. So my short answer is BOTH.

 

[Neon Scribe]

I tried to play both for a while but never quite felt comfortable with the 5 until I essentially stopped playing the 4. I'm sure I could pick up the 4 again pretty easily if I wanted to, but I got a lot better on the 5 by using it for everything.

Make sure you are comfortable with the weight of your bass before you buy it! It might sound great, but you'll hate it if your back and shoulder hurts after an hour.

I needed to switch to lower-tension strings on the 5 than I had used on the 4. I had LaBella 760FL's on my 4, but it took a lot more hand strength to keep them from buzzing on the 5 (because of the fatter neck, or maybe the 35 inch scale). I switched to TI Jazz Flats and I'm completely happy with them.

 

[jlepre]

When I first started playing 5ers back in the early 90's, I thought the whole reason for the the low B was to have the low notes. After playing for many years I have realized it's NOT the notes below E that are important so much as using that low B for left hand positioning. I can play a song now with hardly any hand re-positioning, and that helps when you're the lead singer. I hardly EVER look at my left hand anymore.

 

[bass12]

I actually prefer the feel of five string necks now. They just fit my (rather large) hands nicely. A lot of the bass lines I play now (be they originals or covers) incorporate notes that are below the low E so a fiver just makes sense. If I play a four these days it's only because I want the tone of that particular bass, not because the bass has four strings. String dampening is rarely an issue, especially when playing on stage (studio is different, but even then...). The main con for me regarding a five string: one more string to buy (and put on).

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

I played 4 strings for many years and switched to 5s about 15 years ago. All my live stuff is on a 5. In the studio I use a 4 string Kay a lot but also use 5 strings. The best thing about 5s for me is not only the lower notes but the option of playing across the neck rather than up and down. Playing figures in F or E on the B string is a real good thing. Fat tone down there.

 

[khutch]

I got back into bass playing a year ago after a long hiatus. I started with four (no reason at all why you have to start with four, btw) but after a few months I decided to try a five. After a lot of in store comparisons I picked a narrow spaced Ibanez. Brought it home and it played as nice as I expected from store trials and I switched to using it exclusively for at least six weeks. Over that time I actually came to like it less and less rather than more and more. On a whim I tried tuning my four string in fifths, CGDA, and that was an instant love that has only grown with time. I sold the five a few weeks ago to a TB member. The fifths tuning on a four will do anything that a fourths tuned fiver will do. If you don't mind a tuning with a lot of flats it can even give you the low B rather than only a low C, not that I've found that to be an issue. A few other TB members use it, a few double bassists use it, one of them "invented" it, in fact.

That is my five string experience. Would I ever go back? Maybe! I sometimes think of getting one to tune CGDAE which would give me a five string sixer. If I did I would try a wide spaced fiver this time. I'm not sure my experience can be generalized since we are all so different but I do suspect that if I had bought a wide spaced fiver I would still have it and would never have tried the fifths tuning. I was so careful about that too, in store trials had me convinced that narrow was the way to go. Only one wide spaced fiver seemed right to me and that was the Squier Deluxe Active V with its very wide but very thin neck. If I ever give five another try that is the bass I would go with.

The best advice I can give you then is to not pay a lot for your first fiver and to get it with the assumption that you will replace it, and maybe soon. I was as careful as anyone could be about choosing the right fiver and I still got it wrong. So more or less expect that you will own a few before you figure out what you really want. Once you have a cheap fiver that works right you will know exactly what you need to look for in an upgraded fiver.

Ken

 

[phillybass101]

IMO we make too much of a big deal about this. I play 4's and 5's. I practice alot and noodle alot with each and there are no problems for me going back and forth between them. There are alot of inexpensive 5's out there if you want to try and see if you like it. If you don't like it, you'll be able to sell it on TB in no time.