5 string bass and Country music

[Pings Bass]

No matter the genre, if I'm working with a singer I want a 5, because there will be key changes. You can do anything on a 4, but key changes can be trickier. Whether an act needs bass notes below E1 is not genre-specific, and less of a factor to me than ease off transposition that I get with a 5.

 

[pbass2]

New Country is a lot closer to Pop/Rock in my mind than what Country music is. I play a 4 for the "Classic Country"
BUT I recommend playing whatever you are comfortable with.

Actually it seems like much of the really "new" stuff has more trad tones and approach than the recent slick pop-rock stuff - 4 string P-basses abound. It's like in most new "indie" pop-rock. You're far more likely to see a Mustang or a P w flats than a fiver. Vintage-esque is in more than ever.

 

[TheDirtyLowDown]

I've played 4 string EUB, 4-string fretted and fretless basses in two bands that were pretty much exclusively doing older country music, bluegrass, and western swing. No big deal. But some of the new music I hear in those genres would need a 5 string to get the same sound as the recording, so I think that's probably the best bet if you want the more modern sound.

 

[roller]

Same for Dolly's saxophone... whatever it takes...

4 string, 5 string, whatever the charts require.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

I played bass for probably 20 years before I so much as heard of, or seen, a 5 string.
And some how... Music got made.

 

[Muttleybass]

I does seem like a lot of modern country is either on a five or drop D. I had a Hipshot drop D tuner that I used more and more until I finally caved and moved to a fiver.

...Not that you need a five. I just got sucked into it. Long story.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Down-tuned 4's are very common in Nashville, as far as I know, and have been for years. I've gotten to where I'm keeping at least one Jazz and a G&L LB100 tuned to D for sessions (all I'm doing right now), and I have Hipshots on a couple other basses. I still love my 5s and even my 6, but the down-tuned 4 strings actually record better, IMO. They have a thick, throaty sound that sort of goes away when tuned standard.

 

[swarfrat]

That Kubiki C# extension would be kinda cool. That's enough for me

 

[svlilioukalani]

Interesting thread. I just joined a country band that just got signed to a label. We do out law country. I have never found the need to bring out a five string out. But, I have been thinking about this lately.

 

[Ostie]

New Country is a lot closer to Pop/Rock in my mind than what Country music is. I play a 4 for the "Classic Country"
BUT I recommend playing whatever you are comfortable with.

Country with an accent. Lots of songs about pickup trucks, cutoff jeans and beer.

 

[Killing Floor]

I’m sure there’s no rule. And I’m sure that anyone blessed enough and experienced enough to share a stage with Dolly is probably A) going to play what they are asked to play or B) have been playing long before the availability of fives. Play what you like to play and if some of your tunes need lower tunings bring a 5 too.

And can I just derail to say that even though I grew up in stinky vans playing the rat and 9:30 and CB and being a jerk, Dolly Parton is probably the most genuinely wonderful people I have ever met and such an ocean of talent.

Ok, back to bass stuff. I listen to pretty much everything I can get my hands on. I see 4 and 5 and even 6 players in country. Just go be you.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

My thought is always, even if the tune “calls for” a low B, you can always play those notes an octave higher. Bassists have gotten by past 200 years with only 4 strings, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sufficient now.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

My thought is always, even if the tune “calls for” a low B, you can always play those notes an octave higher. Bassists have gotten by past 200 years with only 4 strings, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sufficient now.

Common misconception. There are 5-string double basses and C-extensions dating back 300+ years. And there's the 6-string viola de gamba dating back to the 1400s. "4string only" is as new as the electric bass.

 

[chris_b]

My thought is always, even if the tune “calls for” a low B, you can always play those notes an octave higher. Bassists have gotten by past 200 years with only 4 strings, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sufficient now.

With that logic we'd still be living in caves.

 

[retslock]

So am I correct in thinking that the "must have a 5er" for New Country is really just a personal choice for the player and not accepted as a hard rule.

Yes!

 

[KenD]

A couple of nights back our local PBS channel was having a fundraiser(ugh) and part of that was a concert for the 50th anniversary of Dolly Parton being accepted into the Grand Olde Opry. She sang several songs and had a number of guest artists. I typically try to focus on the bass players when I watch concerts on TV. There were at least 3 different bass players who performed with the different artists. Two of the bass players were playing 4 string basses rather than 5 string. One player was using a Fender Jazz, another was playing something that looked like an Ibanez, and the third player was so far from the camera that I couldn't really tell if he was using a 4 string or a 5 string.

I have a number of basses, and a few of them are 5 string, but I am primarily a 4 string player. I have no bias between the two, but I just have many more hours on the 4 strings, hence I am more comfortable there.

I have read a number of times that for new Country you really need a 5 string. That's why I found it interesting that at least two of the three players at that concert where playing 4 string basses. Some of the guest singers were what I would call "New Country" as opposed to much of what Dolly does. So am I correct in thinking that the "must have a 5er" for New Country is really just a personal choice for the player and not accepted as a hard rule. What do you think?

Thump on,

One_Dude

One of the best Nashville session players I know of is Mike Brignardello and he plays a lot of 5 string. You can here it on this amazing Faith Hill track from many years ago:

 

[DwaynieAD]

If you're playing country covers from the past 20 years you probably need the 5 low notes or you're not playing the song correctly

 

[pbass2]

My thought is always, even if the tune “calls for” a low B, you can always play those notes an octave higher. Bassists have gotten by past 200 years with only 4 strings, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sufficient now.

I guess if the music really calls for the extended low range, then you gotta do the job, but what I don't like is hearing those notes in music that DOESN'T call for it! In some styles it sounds just flat-out wrong.

 

[KenD]

My thought is always, even if the tune “calls for” a low B, you can always play those notes an octave higher. Bassists have gotten by past 200 years with only 4 strings, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be sufficient now.

Not true. The 5 string double bass is quite well known in symphonic music over the past couple of centuries.

 

[Zooberwerx]

No matter the genre, if I'm working with a singer I want a 5, because there will be key changes. You can do anything on a 4, but key changes can be trickier. Whether an act needs bass notes below E1 is not genre-specific, and less of a factor to me than ease off transposition that I get with a 5.

Not country, but we used to do "Mack the Knife" which modulates a half-step each verse. I'm passable and more of a pattern player so the 5 string comes in really handy.

Riis