5-string bass going from 4-string: Does it get better?

[motoman]

One reason I'm a big fan of my Yamaha TRBXs is their necks. Very comfortable for me, I don't like thick necks.

40mm on the trbx174, and 38mm (4-string) or 43mm (5-string) nut widths on the 600 series.

I find myself often going back to my four string because that's what the song was originally played on, but I think I'm going to try and adjust more to my five, for reasons already mentioned upthread. I'm still in the transition, myself, but enjoying it. It's nice to be able to switch back and forth, that's my vote. Have at least one of each

The trbx line has a great neck for a 5 string i really enjoy my 505

 

[toughluck]

I went to the music store today. I didn't have much time before closing, just 20 minutes, but the staff were extremely helpful.

I played three basses, one Sterling (Stingray-like) and two models that I'm unsure of (one J-bass, one PJ). The store carries the Aria brand, I figure that must have been it.

I didn't want to disturb anyone and wanted to noodle as much as I could, so I took my own headphone amplifier, and plugged in each of these guitars.

Even though the guitars weren't set up well (truss rod too tight, action too low, buzzing on all strings), and even though I only had 20 minutes, it was abundantly clear that these basses had much more comfortable necks than I remember from the Markbass, and not much different from the 4-string ones. The tighter string spacing was perfectly fine and I adapted to it very quickly.

The PJ and J basses weren't anything special, but the Stingray? Wow, what an eye opener. It was just incredible.

So I'll probably be looking to switch up to a 5-string. I'm going to restring my old Vision (with EMG GZR pickups) with thicker strings, get used to it for a while and put my Harley Benton up for sale.

Obviously spending time ahead. My wallet is already weeping...

 

[HelpImaRock]

I picked up an older Squier Affinity Jazz 5 today. The previous owner dropped a set of SD Apollo pickups into it and the store had set it up. Honestly, if you told me it was NOS with new pickups I would have believed you. I can already tell I spent the right amount of money on a 5. I'd be very surprised if I leave my short scale 4s behind. And now I have a bass for rounds.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Necks and comfort are a very complex topic for my hands, since nut width isn't the whole story. Radius, taper, and neck profile all have to do with the overall comfort of your hand while playing a certain neck.

My current favorite is the Ibanez CTB5 neck, felt the best to me right away but I wasn't "comfortable" with it right away. Played the heck outta that bass, like several hours of practice every day on it and I can still pick it up to this day and it feels "right" and "comfy" to me. Part of it is finding one that feels good and then woodshedding until it feels "right" in your hands.

If 5'ers aren't your thing, don't push yourself too hard. Get a D-Tuner or string one up B-E-A-D, no shame in that at all. If I wasn't already on 7 basses right now that's what I'd do. I got a buddy that wants to drop everything two or three steps so the low B is kind of essential when playing with him.

 

[toughluck]

Yeah, I thought about BEAD, and it makes a lot of sense, especially since I hardly ever feel the need to play the G string (heresy, I know).

But I'm looking into getting a 5 string. It's much easier than I was afraid it would be and I can say that it's probably going to work for me after all.

 

[pepj]

If you are new to 5's and are not really sure why you need one...but are going for it anyway... make a rule not to play more than one note below the Bottom E per measure...and you will soon learn thats too much.
No one..not least the song, needs the bass swimming in sub and droning away down there.
Dont do it...before someone tells you in no uncertain terms not to go there.
I know BL's who will fire you for that.
It might sound irrational but its out there, ime.
And if they dont fire you for that, fire them..lol

 

[toughluck]

Darn. When noodling in the shop, I thought the extra fourth below is awesome. One song I play goes down in progression Em-D-C-B⁷, and I loved the idea of playing the root on the B string, it's like it's been made for it

 

[markorbit]

So the questions are: Is my experience common? Did any of you have the same feeling when you tried a 5-string? Does it get better, did you give up on it or do you soldier on?

It felt weird and still feels weird. Not only that but I no longer have that immediate knowledge of what note I'm playing especially higher up. I soldier on because I don't want to lose the low notes and being a good five-string player is something to work towards!