This is me also. I have all I can do trying to make sense out of 4 strings. I’d have to get really good at 4 before I’d want to try to take on 5 or more.
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5 String stigma?
- Thread starter Titanium
- Start date
The 5 string was much more natural for me and i made more progress much quicker on the 5. I'm confident it's a learning style thing.
Different strokes and all.
Different strokes and all.
My two cents...
Until recently, a 5 string was something I acquired on an "as needed" basis. If playing with someone that required it I would buy it. I would then liquidate and only have 4 string(s).
I now have gone over to the dark side and have a customized Warwick Streamer Stage I 5 Braodneck with a Darkglass Tone Capsule and Dingnord Wallstrand pickups going in it. It's an aggressive prog/hard rock Bass for the band I play with.
I keep a P Bass around because it's a P Bass, it fits most situations and is always fun to play even if not as often as the 5 string.
I do not suffer from the disorienting effects of "Bass Exchange" between 5/4 strings, personally.
Until recently, a 5 string was something I acquired on an "as needed" basis. If playing with someone that required it I would buy it. I would then liquidate and only have 4 string(s).
I now have gone over to the dark side and have a customized Warwick Streamer Stage I 5 Braodneck with a Darkglass Tone Capsule and Dingnord Wallstrand pickups going in it. It's an aggressive prog/hard rock Bass for the band I play with.
I keep a P Bass around because it's a P Bass, it fits most situations and is always fun to play even if not as often as the 5 string.
I do not suffer from the disorienting effects of "Bass Exchange" between 5/4 strings, personally.
For more years than I can remember I was a strict 4 string guy. My opinion? If I can't do it with a 4, then to hell with it. Then I tried a 5 one day. Well.....had a 5er ever since. Don't use it on a constant basis, but I do enjoy it from time too time....oh well, live and learn I guess..
I lived and learned so much I just bought this after swearing my old 5 was the only one I'd ever own.
So I'm getting over the stigma just a little bit
My 5 is a little too boutiquey to pull off a true Fender sound, and these will. And it was pretty much free with gift points from work!
Imagine if Fender had produced a 5 string electric before the 4.
It’s been somewhat over 17 years since I owned a 4 string bass. I have a few 5 strings and a couple of 6-string basses. I don’t think anyone has ever told me how many strings or what kind of bass I should be playing. Why would they care one way or the other? If a bandleader wants me to play a 4, they can buy me one. If mr. kravitz wants me to play one, maybe I’d even buy one myself.
Well, regardless of anyone's knowledge of the existence of obscure brass instruments, I assume 3 key trumpets are sorta the standard. Maybe those guys get snobby about variations within their community. A bugle has NO keys. I was trying to shine a light on the ridiculousness of some of our parochial attitudes about basses. My arguement just never got off the ground because I started it off kinda pissy. Lesson learned.
Everything you do on a 4 you can do on a 5 so I don't get why some people make it into a big deal.
ALL bass players should know how to play a 4, 5, & 6-string bass. I am not saying you have to pick a preference, but the complete bassist can navigate through these fretboards.
My suggestion? Those who are just learning bass (especially guitar players) should start with a 4-string. The standard open string tuning for extended string basses are nothing like the E-A-D-G-B-E guitarists are used to.
My suggestion? Those who are just learning bass (especially guitar players) should start with a 4-string. The standard open string tuning for extended string basses are nothing like the E-A-D-G-B-E guitarists are used to.
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FEAR My two cents as a guitar player and bass player is add a higher string tuned to either a B or a C not a lower one. It permits you to preserve the E string as reference making it far easier to play, and also almost no bass amps can actually do a decent job of reproducing a low B.
With TONS of Respect,....If your Main Instrument is Guitar I find that dilemma totally understandable. The thing I enjoy about a Low B string is the way you hit that note and Your Eyeballs (no relation to Ernie Balls) begin to quiver and you're completely unable to Focus for 27 seconds. Now THAT is Living.
As for "almost no bass amps"......I most respectfully disagree. Any 'Quality' Amp designed for Bass can easily handle a low B.....or you simply remove the Word Quality from its Description.
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You started on four, so absolutely, stick with four until you get comfortable. If you want to stay on four, then that's perfectly fine too of course.
However the OP's situation is different. He's a guitarist just starting out on bass. If he wants to play 5, then he should start on 5. There would be no advantage to starting on four and then moving up to five: that would only add unnecessary complexity. I'm saying this as someone who did just that.
I love 5 strings so much that I drive around with the personalized license plate “30.87 HZ”. The low B on a bass is my favorite musical note. If I’m making a video game style tier list, I’m ranking the B in the S-tier.
Having said that I own a 4 string too! I’m finally to the point where I can switch between the 4 and 5 without having to reboot my brain.
Learning from YouTube bass players is my #1 use of the 4 string since almost all of them do their lessons on a 4. Later on I take what I’ve learned and apply it to the 5.
Aside from playing heavy metal, I get the most bang for my buck playing a 5 string in rock cover bands. Being able to cover drop D and songs tuned down a 1/2 step without any fuss is super convenient.
Having said that I own a 4 string too! I’m finally to the point where I can switch between the 4 and 5 without having to reboot my brain.
Learning from YouTube bass players is my #1 use of the 4 string since almost all of them do their lessons on a 4. Later on I take what I’ve learned and apply it to the 5.
Aside from playing heavy metal, I get the most bang for my buck playing a 5 string in rock cover bands. Being able to cover drop D and songs tuned down a 1/2 step without any fuss is super convenient.
I started on four because it was the only realistic option back in the mid-70's. I was intrigued by fives when the Music Man SR5 came out, but didn't get around to seriously considering the extra string until Y2K. Very long story short: I now play 5 string exclusively, though it took a couple of months for me to get truly comfy on it after 25 years of playing four. Once I got comfy, I regretted waiting so long to give it a go.
The extended range down low allows me to cover synth bass and the many modern pop tunes (including nu country) that have notes below four-string land. I used to have Hipshot Xtenders on all my fours, and they worked great within their limitations, but five string is so much better. Of course I also play the low B string above the 5th fret, where it's in four-string territory. I love the additional range in each fingering position.
As others have said: because you're open to five, I strongly encourage you to start on five. It will definitely make you more marketable. I've had various bandmates complain when bassists sub for me: "John did a great job, but he plays four string and some of our songs sounded really weak without those low notes". I've also been complimented about the extra range when I've been the sub.
If I knew back then what I know now I would have spent a little extra money on a 5 string as a "first or only bass", especially as YouTube has mostly supplanted books as the beginners teaching medium. A 4 string being needed for a visual in tribute bands. I guess I bought into the Anthony Jackson thesis that it is a lower tuned guitar instead of a double bass squeezed into a guitar body. That said I am playing mostly a 4 string at the moment.
This right here.
People want to know why some of us are reluctant to go from 4 to 5? It's because we have habits that have to be relearned. The muting on a 5 is harder. Unless you're already doing floating thumb and palm muting, you're going to have to practice quite a lot to be able to play that instrument well.
Start with the 5 and you'll never have that problem. When I started, a 5 string bass was a very rare thing so I have plenty of mileage on my 4 strings. If I were starting now, there's no question that I'd play a 5 string. Nobody wants to get proficient on something only to find they have to go back and relearn it later.
