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5 string love?

bassbully

bassbully

Endorsed by The PHALEX CORN BASS..mmm...corn!
Sep 7, 2006
12,760
6,556
Blimp City USA
#1
I worked out a deal with my GC..yes a deal where I did well :thumbsup: I picked a Squier VM Jazz 5. I am looking to get back into a country band and Nu -country has allot of sub bass (not that I like it). I prefer to just tune down a half step and use my 4 bangers.

I'm Just not feeling the 5 string much at all. I played them years ago in my rock days but since then its been all 4 stringers. The 5's tone in hard rock works but for country..not so much for me. to me a 4 string bass punches better.
The overall weight of the VM is a bit too much and the fretboard width is a stretch. I do like the string spacing thou. I find EQing the b string a chore. I know its a Squier but they have nice pups, quite loud for a passive bass. I feel this bass is very well made so that's not the issue here.
The question is would new strings make a diff? I would have to invest in a set of chrome flats to really make a decision on if this experiment will work. I only play flats and wonder if the added tension on the B thatflats will give might help?
How many here feel todays country can be handled with a passive 4 banger? Do you like 5's and what tips do you 5 string guys have for us who are looking to convert to a 5 string bass. Thanks.
 
#2
You can't play today's country without the low B - and I mean, you need that note! Going to D is not enough. I'm playing in a country band with lead female and male singers - virtually every song has at least the D, many have C#, and it seems like every Carrie Underwood tune goes all the way down to the low B at some point. Church Bells, Cowboy Casanova, etc... You could transpose up an octave, but it just doesn't sound the same. Funny - the female songs make more use (in general) of the low notes than the male songs. So the old adage of 'you need it to fit the male singer's range' really doesn't ring true.

I'm playing a 34" passive five string (USA Peavey Foundation) - but am looking to get a 35" scale bass to tighten up that low B some. It has taken me awhile to get used to the 5 string, but now I really like it - and I'm finding myself grabbing notes on the low B farther up the fretboard - it's fun! It also looks cool, and other bass players come up to you and go ' wow, a five string, eh?' (not many country bass players around where I live, surprisingly....) I'm on the hunt for just the right USA Cirrus or Millennium 5 (I'm picky though...)
 
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#3
bassbully said:
I worked out a deal with my GC..yes a deal where I did well :thumbsup: I picked a Squier VM Jazz 5. I am looking to get back into a country band and Nu -country has allot of sub bass (not that I like it). I prefer to just tune down a half step and use my 4 bangers.

I'm Just not feeling the 5 string much at all. I played them years ago in my rock days but since then its been all 4 stringers. The 5's tone in hard rock works but for country..not so much for me. to me a 4 string bass punches better.

How many here feel todays country can be handled with a passive 4 banger? Do you like 5's and what tips do you 5 string guys have for us who are looking to convert to a 5 string bass. Thanks.
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I use a passive Precision (with labella flats) with the country bands around these parts... much of the time it works and sometimes I tune to Drop D to get a couple lower notes. But sadly it's not always enough. I've had to set up another bass strictly for country (and hip hop stuff) that's tuned to D overall and can be tuned down to Drop C when needed. But you know what? There's still a few tunes that need to hit that low B. I wish it weren't so but that really seems to be the trend these days. I'm not a fan of 5 string basses. I've never been able to feel quite comfortable with one - I keep buying one and selling it off a few months later... It may come to a point where I just need to suck it up. :(

I think you'll find that that extra string will come in handy, especially if you end up playing a lot of New Country.

As for the strings, I've never used a 5 string bass with flats but I imagine that you would indeed get the extra tension you're looking for with them but the note definition might not be there. I don't know how much that would matter for you, though. It may be that just being able to drop a little "oomph" every now and again would be enough.
 
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#5
eastcoasteddie said:
I thought that everyone uses a 5 these days...
I have pretty much abandoned 4's altogether about 10 years ago...
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It's strange... many of the folks I see on the club circuit are playing 5's (especially if they're younger - under age 35), while most of the big names and older folk I see are still playing 4's (Pino, Prince, Wooten, Miller, etc). Maybe it's that they're "old skool," while the rest are keeping up with the Jonses as tastes change? I dunno.
 
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#6
superheavyfunk said:
I'm not a fan of 5 string basses. I've never been able to feel quite comfortable with one - I keep buying one and selling it off a few months later... It may come to a point where I just need to suck it up. :(
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I'm with you here. I have tried a couple five on and off and never can stick with them. FWIW, It looks like I have an audition soon with a country band that plays new and old. Their current bass player is leaving and he played a five.
The singer requires the band to play a half step down. I tied this with my bass trainer and it sounded good on a four down tuned. I'm not so sure I need the B at least my ears are not hearing I do.
 
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#7
superheavyfunk said:
It's strange... many of the folks I see on the club circuit are playing 5's (especially if they're younger - under age 35), while most of the big names and older folk I see are still playing 4's (Pino, Prince, Wooten, Miller, etc). Maybe it's that they're "old skool," while the rest are keeping up with the Jonses as tastes change? I dunno.
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I agree and many national country bands have four bangers also. I'm confused. There was a TBer on here a while back who said all the Nashville cats are using 4 bangers?
 
#9
bassbully said:
I'm with you here. I have tried a couple five on and off and never can stick with them. FWIW, It looks like I have an audition soon with a country band that plays new and old. Their current bass player is leaving and he played a five.
The singer requires the band to play a half step down. I tied this with my bass trainer and it sounded good on a four down tuned. I'm not so sure I need the B at least my ears are not hearing I do.
Click to expand...
For me, it's seriously all but two songs that are quite fine with my trusty four banger tuned down to D overall. Sometimes, I think that's it's more about the looks and the possibility of needing the notes that causes folks to buy and use the 5 stringers.

bassbully said:
I agree and many national country bands have four bangers also. I'm confused. There was a TBer on here a while back who said all the Nashville cats are using 4 bangers?
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I read that somewhere too. Also every studio I've been to has had 4's sitting around... rarely are there 5's.
 
#10
Trust me I see the use of the B string and the role of the five. I'm just not so sure that sub bass is needed in a nu country covers band. I might be wrong. I know the level of sub bass in my earphones with a nu country acts is so low it sounds muddy and synth like.
 
#15
Gnal said:
I dont have much experience playing country, but I can speak to flats on a 5-string. I have an Fbass BN5 setup with Labella 760FL-B flats, the tension is great and they are silky smooth.
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I feel the flats would help me dial in the five. With good flats and setup I then would really know if I can wheel the five. The issue is it will cost me about $40-50 bucks to find out. The strings on the VMJ5 are horrible IMO...even for rounds.
 
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#16
Try the GHS Precision Flats. And do a proper setup. I mean relief, action, pickup height, the whole nine yards. For me it was weird but the B seemed tighter and better once the action was lower, probably because everything took less effort. My Fender P V with the GHS flats worked great over the weekend. I still wanna try a Nordstrand pickup in it but it's a great tone straight out the bass. Works in most things with very little effort.

I also have a Fender American J V that is quite light. I put Duncan Apollo pickups in it and some GHS Pressurewounds on it.
 
#17
GK Growl said:
The VMJ5s are boat anchors. The VMP5s are much lighter, usually a couple of pounds lighter. I had to get rid of 2 of the VMJ5s because I could not handle them on 4 hour gigs.
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I notice that on Sweetwater. The VMJ5 are often over 10 pounds, whereas VMP5 is more like 9 pounds. The VM Jag 5 is kind of a nice happy medium in both tone (because PJ) and weight. I feel like any bass under 9.5 lb, I can handle, but once it gets into double digits, I'm just not interested in gigging with it long term.

It's hard to find light 5-string J basses until you get to the American stuff.
 
#18
bassbully said:
What 5 are you playing now?
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After ditching the boat anchors (and only because of the weight, no other reason), I started using VMP5s. Very light, almost too light causing some neck dive issues. I'm currently looking for a VM Jaguar 5 to go with the 4 string I just acquired. I like having 2 pickups. The P bass isn't a bad sound, it just sometimes doesn't replicate the sound I hear in my head. My band covers a lot of different styles and I like having the tonal options.
 

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