OP, 6 string guitar is my primary instrument and I played for 10 years before picking up a bass. I play 5 string only bc I find it easier. I started on a 4 string.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
5 String stigma?
- Thread starter Titanium
- Start date
I play a 4 string bass because when I see a 4 string bass, I want to play it. I don't play a 5 string bass, because when I see a 5 string bass, I never want to play it. I like that the bottom E is the lowest note. I like that making that particular sound as the bottom of my range. I don't have any interest in playing notes any lower than that.
What on earth makes you think that either I or the rest of the world would be benefit by my being obliged to play an instrument I have zero interest in? YouTube indicates that there are already plentiful supplies of third rate 5 string players.
Besides, if 4 string bassists didn't exist, who would there be for 5 string bassists to look down on? We're the one thing keeping you from being the bottom of the food chain.
Play what makes you happy. I'm adjusting to my Bass VI and loving it. Yeah, not really the same as I haven't added a lower string, but I still get looks from time to time.
4 for feel. Not trying to persuade anyone to change anything they do. But the reason I prefer 4 is all about the feel. Especially when playing with a pick, sometimes it's good to wind up and really attack the low string. The low B is just too low for this type of playing and physically gets in the way of the E on a 5 string bass. And, yes, you really do need a bigger rig (or a sub-woofer) for the bottom string to not get drop out. I doubt these are real considerations for most players. But for some of us ... :--)
Fair enough. Bottom line is that the OP asking about apparent 5-string stigma, which is silly and shouldn't exist.
I believe it's been made clear by now that he should play whatever bass he wants to play, and the best general advice to beginning bassists is to start on whatever bass they want to play -- i.e. don't start on four if they would prefer to play five.
That is correct. The person in the thread the OP is talking about is a beginner. That's where the conversation actually starts.
You want to Talk Bass.......then Let's get Serious!! This is where Bass Gets Down and Funky!!!
No Strings Attached!! So many Arguments.....so Little Joy.
View attachment 4223246
PLAY THE ACCORDION, GO TO PRISON...
THATS THE LAW!
I’ve been playing guitar for over 60 years and bass for almost 50 years. In what seems like another life (back in my twenties) I was a music major in college — even earned a full ride scholarship to one of the top jazz programs in the USA. Jaco was guest speaker in two of my classes at that school. He talked about playing and played his bass for us. A wonderful experience! After leaving school I played guitar in a band with a sax player who later went on to record with Miles Davis. I didn’t have his kind of talent. So while playing guitar in another band I went back to school to get a computer degree and now all these years later I am happily retired from that field. But I never gave up playing guitar, bass, or piano. Over the years and on and off again I’ve played both bass and guitar in music ministries at church - maybe bass more than guitar. So what?
These days I play bass a whole lot more than guitar - though I do still play my six string guitars (baritones tuned A to A and B to B and regular guitars tuned E to E) quite a bit. But bass has become my first love. My three main basses are all five strings - a Fretless tuned E to C, a fretted P tuned B to G, and a fretted J also tuned B to G. I have a Fretless 4 string that I rarely touch. Does playing a five string bass confuse my guitar playing. Not at all. They are totally different instruments. Does having one tuned E to C confuse playing the ones tuned B to G? Again not at all. When you have one instrument in your hands you’re not thinking about the others. So why would it be confusing?
I wouldn’t worry about what others say you should or shouldn’t play. Every instrument has its own magic. I mean each one inspires you to play differently. And as they say, “variety is the spice of life.”
These days I play bass a whole lot more than guitar - though I do still play my six string guitars (baritones tuned A to A and B to B and regular guitars tuned E to E) quite a bit. But bass has become my first love. My three main basses are all five strings - a Fretless tuned E to C, a fretted P tuned B to G, and a fretted J also tuned B to G. I have a Fretless 4 string that I rarely touch. Does playing a five string bass confuse my guitar playing. Not at all. They are totally different instruments. Does having one tuned E to C confuse playing the ones tuned B to G? Again not at all. When you have one instrument in your hands you’re not thinking about the others. So why would it be confusing?
I wouldn’t worry about what others say you should or shouldn’t play. Every instrument has its own magic. I mean each one inspires you to play differently. And as they say, “variety is the spice of life.”
Last edited:
Bogged down with my own preconcieved notions as I am, this is refreshing to read. Your attitude is something to which I aspire.
Seems a bit optimistic IMHO. A lot of your audience would be defined more as hobby players than accomplished musicians, so this is not very realistic. A lot of them really have little if any justification for the low B and/or high C strings. Until you develop significant skill on a 5-string or 6-string, the extra strings get in the way and degrade your playing ability. Also, it's a significant investment in time and effort to develop the necessary competence to play an extended range instrument, that many people are unwilling or unable to make.
I play all three, but generally I stick with my 6-string. My philosophy is my 6-string can do anything a 5-string or 4-string can do, and it rarely limits me. The truth is I think the 6-string does a lot of things better, but there are a few situations where I think the extra strings puts me at a slight disadvantage. But the disadvantages rarely comes into play, and if they doe, they are rarely something I cannot overcome. However, I could imagine situations where I might choose to play an instrument with less strings, or even an instrument with less strings and an alternate tuning.
If I spend more time on 4-string or 5-string, it degrades my abilities on 6-string. So the only reason I would choose to perform with one of my 4-strings or 5-string is for a different tone, or to create a visual effect. It does not really matter to me if the music does not require the low B or high C, I am most comfortable on the 6-string; even if I don't use the extra strings. So, when my primary concern is simply to cover the notes as competently and efficiently as possible, I chose the 6-string.
I think this is a point most people miss: Those who switch back and fourth between instruments are often more comfortable with less strings. I have intentionally played the 6-string for so long that I consider myself a natural 6-string player; so I feel more comfortable with more strings.
A natural 6-string player will use different strategies to navigate the fretboard that take advantage of all of the strings. These strategies no longer work when you put a 5-string or 4-string in my hands. So yes I can play 4-string and 5-string, but I may have to think a bit more about how to navigate the fretboard when it comes playing complex technical runs. If I play a 4-string or 5-string for too long it can change the way I think, which has a negative impact on how I approach the 6-string.
So I take all of my basses out of the case and play each of them a few times twice a year or so, to make sure they are in good working order. Then I wipe them off and put them away. My 6-string stays on the couch and I play it regularly.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
I played a five for about 6 years. Never thought I'd ever play a four again. I bought a 4, sold my five. You don't use the B string much, and it really is just in the way. But, go for whatever you want man. If you find yourself not needing the B, you can always just tune it a string up instead up down.
This may or may not work. When I transitioned from 4-string to 5-string and added the low B, it messed up my mental map of the fretboard. When I transitioned from 5-string to 6-string and added the high C a few years later, it messed up my mental map every bit as bad as the previous transition.
The low B on most basses does not produce very much fundamental so it's not required for the amp to have flat response to 31 hz. Also the brain tends to fill in the the lost octave. Here is a relevant thread: Bass frequency/waterfall plots: what they mean to rigs
Plenty of rigs sound great with low B.
You're right. There was a concurrent discussion going on at the same time and a lot of crosstalk between that thread and this one. I think some people might be reading this thread and thinking about the other one. The thread I'm thinking of was a guitarist who was just starting bass and wanted to know if he should play a 4 or 5.
Last edited:
Started on 5 string (never practiced much), then two years ago put all of my practice time into bass.
Went with a 4 string for several reasons. Hard to hear the difference between each of the notes below the low E, less strings to learn, and similar to the bottom four strings of guitar.
Interestingly, sheet music I got didn't have anything below a low E.
Have nothing against 5-string, and would suggest it to someone who wants to play bass lines using low B to low D# notes.
Went with a 4 string for several reasons. Hard to hear the difference between each of the notes below the low E, less strings to learn, and similar to the bottom four strings of guitar.
Interestingly, sheet music I got didn't have anything below a low E.
Have nothing against 5-string, and would suggest it to someone who wants to play bass lines using low B to low D# notes.
This is relevant. A lot of method books are written for 4-string, and a lot of commercial bass parts are written for 4-string. What this means is it's a bit more challenging find material to learn from.
I am totally self taught on bass guitar and all of my formal training is on upright. I didn't use many method books to learn to play bass guitar, I just sort of did it concurrent to my path on upright.
The few books I did use did not help with the low B or high C...but you play them exactly like the other strings. There is no mystery here.
Lack of training material is really not a very good reason to not play 5-string or 6-string. If you need to practice reading on the Low B, transcribe recordings, transpose bass lines from different keys, and/or write out your own original bass lines on the B string. Then you have plenty of material to practice reading.
Got it. This here OP is not only familiar with having a low B from their forays into 7-string guitar, but with 5-string basses specifically, even having owned some. However, a more experienced...TB member would have mentioned the above up-front. The discussion in this thread has been interesting nonetheless.
If you are a guitarist at heart, just buy a P Bass and call it a day. It will feel like a fat cousin to your Strat, and you won't need an extended range unless you are playing music that truly calls for it. My guess is you will rarely play it anyway since your first love is guitar.
