Yeah, it gets boring. A 6 player can play any classic rock etc song that needs only a 4, a tune in the key of Eb or C in the correct octave and do chordal pieces all on the same instrument. My only gig recently has been accompanying a couple of young women who sing and harmonise beautifully and play acoustic guitars (strummers not pickers) so having the range to play lots of fun melodic lines under them on the 6 is great.
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5 String stigma?
- Thread starter Titanium
- Start date
Oh you poor deluded fool. You have been led astray from the one true path. I weep for you.
I'm a late starter who didn't play out with others until I was in my 50s and wasn't in a gigging band until a month before I turned 55. When I bought my first bass, I came up with several reasons why I thought a five would make sense for me and I'm glad I did it. It turned out to be the right decision - and for the reasons I suspected. Other than a four string that I bought specifically as a pratcice tool so I could adjust to playing a four, fives are all I've ever owned or played. FWIW, I just traded that four in at Guitar Center last month toward the purchase of a new acoustic guitar. I now own five-string basses exclusively.
I'm never going to play for the likes of Prince or Lenny Kravitz and I'll never record in an A-list studio with a producer or engineer who has enough name power to demand I use a four, so I don't think I'll ever care about any 5-string stigma. I've only encountered some minor stink eye from one guitarist I played with and was asked once about my fives from another gutiarist and that was it. I even asked my band about my fives when I auditioned with them and they cared about the notes I played rather than the bass I played. So, at my level, I don't expect to ever have be concerned about pressure to not play the bass I want to play.
Play what makes YOU happy and makes YOU play YOUR best. If others can't judge your playing without using their eyes, then consider if there are other factors that are enough to make you willing to make the change for them. If so, make the change. If not, then they're not the right fit for you.
I'm never going to play for the likes of Prince or Lenny Kravitz and I'll never record in an A-list studio with a producer or engineer who has enough name power to demand I use a four, so I don't think I'll ever care about any 5-string stigma. I've only encountered some minor stink eye from one guitarist I played with and was asked once about my fives from another gutiarist and that was it. I even asked my band about my fives when I auditioned with them and they cared about the notes I played rather than the bass I played. So, at my level, I don't expect to ever have be concerned about pressure to not play the bass I want to play.
Play what makes YOU happy and makes YOU play YOUR best. If others can't judge your playing without using their eyes, then consider if there are other factors that are enough to make you willing to make the change for them. If so, make the change. If not, then they're not the right fit for you.
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^This pretty much sums it up.
And if you’re not a first call bassist looking to maximize your workload, or not in a professional tribute band where your instrument is part of “the look” (i.e. most bass players), just play whatever you want and stop paying attention to what somebody else may think. Because not everybody is qualified to even have an opinion.
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I have dealt with exactly -1- BL who insisted all basses shall have 4 strings. So they _are_ out there. I could maybe understand it if he were doing a 50-60-70's Tribute project with a specific visual theme. I started on 5 and I've never actually played a 4-string bass... Just be aware that most instructional books will deal with 'standard' 4-string patterns and fingerings. And understand that basses are traditionally tuned in 4ths exclusively, so they are completely symmetrical in both directions. And that there is a 'normal' 4-string bass right in the middle of every 6-string bass.
See any thread about down-tuning a 4 string. suggesting a 5r is inevitable there.
Most of my guitar player friends have told me they think of 5 string basses they way they think of 7 or 8 string guitars. In other words, they think of them as instruments for heavier music that they don't really care for. Bass players don't think of it like that typically.
I've heard that one as well. Also none of LK's musicians get to play on his records. He plays all the instruments.
I know a bassist, a 6 string Warwick Thumb player, who auditioned for Gary Moore. Before they started GM told him that he would be required to play a 4 string Precision if he got the gig. IMO that's OK. The "Star of the show" and the guy who pays the bill call the shots. But the LK story is his personal preference and has little relevance to any other bands or bass players experience.
If you want to play 5, play 5. I highly support that decision.
I'll play 4, 5, or 6....and might even attempt the Ken Lawrence Joust Bass that is currently in my avatar.
Play what you like, enjoy what you like, and don't let anyone else tell or influence your choice in instrument!
I'll play 4, 5, or 6....and might even attempt the Ken Lawrence Joust Bass that is currently in my avatar.
Play what you like, enjoy what you like, and don't let anyone else tell or influence your choice in instrument!
4 string players seem to want to jump through hoops to NOT get a 5 string bass when the music extends beyond the limits of a 4 string bass. Obviously it's their choice, but they'll gig multiple basses, use drop down tuners and retune their instruments, when a 5 string could be the simplest solution. Giving such advice shows that 5 string bass players are a helpful bunch.
My biggest issue learning a low B 5 string was confusing
the B for the E, muscle memory etc...
A 5 is a 4 string with a great thumb rest. Years later now
I have a hard time playing a 4 string.
the B for the E, muscle memory etc...
A 5 is a 4 string with a great thumb rest. Years later now
I have a hard time playing a 4 string.
My very first bass was a 5 string Steinberg that my dad bought me and then I sold that and got a 4 string precision and then I sold that and bought a 5 string squirt jazz. It will definitely mess you up going from a 5 to 4 to 5 again.
Weird.
Honestly, I find that there are far fewer stigmas than there used to be with regard to bass choices.
That being said, play what makes you happy. I play fivers and turn down gigs every day. It hasn't hurt my appeal among musicians in my area.
I have both, I play both, I don’t care what other people say or think! Get the bsss you want and play!
I'm sure most people suggesting someone stick with 4 also believe they are being helpful.
I feel the these " <thing I like> stigma? " threads confuse assertions of individual preference for stigma.
at least, that is how I choose to weigh any such feedback.
People like what they like and taking it personally is unwise
as is being a jerk about one's preferences, to be fair
I recently got a Yamaha four and a Yamaha five. My quest was to basically answer exactly what this thread is about. Because the Yamaha neck isn’t terribly thick but incredibly comfortable were I to pick only one I would absolutely go with the five. The access particularly in the middle of the neck is really nice and the box shapes keep things compact when you have that B string. Also B - Eb sound killer.
I suppose I could make the transition from 4 to 5, but I have never found the need to play a 5. No one has ever approached me at a gig and told me a song would sound so much better if I could've played in a lower octave. If I played professionally, perhaps I would feel different, but since bass playing/gigging is more or less a hobby, I'm good with the 4.
