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5-string vs. tuning down

What's the best way to play below E2?

  • Tune your 4-string to BEAD

    Votes: 25 14.7%

  • Buy a 5-string

    Votes: 134 78.8%

  • Transpose those low notes one octave higher on your 4-string.

    Votes: 7 4.1%

  • Stick with 4 strings, and just don't play anything below E.

    Votes: 4 2.4%
  • Total voters
    170
#61
Another option would be a Hipshot drop D tuner. I had one for years and it did the job well.

Then I had the opportunity to play in Mexico. I couldn't bring my 4, but it was arranged for me to borrow a 5 string (Ibanez SR505). It was the only bass I could get so I was forced into playing it against my will. I spent an afternoon getting to know it and played the couple of gigs we had with it.

I came home and immediately bought a Yamaha BB735a... Sold my 4 strings and bought a Sandberg California II. I'm a 5er guy now.
 
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#62
After using a Hipshot D-tuner for a few years I moved on to a 5-string and eventually to a 6 as well. I found it to be a relief to not have to adjust positionally as you have to do with a dropped D. I got better at it over time but for me 4ths all the way across was much easier to deal with, even with an additional string (or two) in the equation.

I'd also point out that the timbre of sub-low E notes with a Hipshot is different than the same notes on a B string. Sometimes the detuned sound can be desirable for its character, but I prefer the authority of the notes in that range on an actual B string.

These days I play mostly 5, the 6-string very occasionally and 4's more often when recording. At times I've felt that the sound of a particular bass dictates whether I use it more than the number of strings, but I guess that would be a different scenario if you only own 1 or 2 basses.
 
#63
Back when I played originals, classic rock, and blues, I was a die hard 4 string purist. As I went further into my career, I worked with a wider variety of genres, and needed a 5 to transpose on the fly and play modern country and some rock. For a while I switched back and forth because I strongly preferred the feel of a 4. Eventually it just became easier to play 5 all the time.
 
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#64
Two different situations.

I sub in a cover band that plays their entire book dropped a half step for the convenience of the singer. In that situation it makes sense to detune the bass, else I’d be playing really strange fingerboard patterns all night which would be a huge pain in the neck.

But in situations other than that, where it simply adds utility to have notes below E, I prefer to play a 5 string tuned traditionally.
 
#65
Wait a second… so Type O Negative’s biggest hit “Black No. 1” doesn’t use an open drop D note?
EDIT: lol okay I had to go back a check.
It is an open E.
Either way, all three tunings is my suggestion. No reason to paint yourself into a box when the world has options.

Do whatever floats your boat.
Though in most rock and roll there are usually these three tunings:
4 Standard
4 Half step down
5 string
All have major strengths. That is why I have one of each.
 
Last edited:
#66
sethlow3 said:
Wait a second… so Type O Negative’s biggest hit “Black No. 1” doesn’t use an open drop D note? Nah man… it does. You may wanna recheck.

Do whatever floats your boat.
Though in most rock and roll there are usually these three tunings:
4 Standard
4 Half step down
5 string
All have major strengths. That is why I have one of each.
Click to expand...
So, You're saying he has the Open B Plus a Drop D on the E string?
 
#67
If you want to just play Type-O Negative, tune BEAD. If you want to be able to play anything else, get a 5 string. String muting will suck when you first play it, but Google "floating thumb technique" and they'll outline a good technique to cover muting strings on any bass.
 
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#69
4 string with a hip shot detuner and sometimes an Aguilar octamizer. Feels easier and more comfortable to play, especially on stage. With the E tuned to D there are only 3 notes (out of 36 or so) that the 4 can’t cover. You can setup the detuner to go lower as well…C or a B.
Unless you are mimicking the sound and style of a specific 5 string player. Then get a 5 and get comfortable with it. I say find your own voice :)
 
#70
I’ve decided my 5 is my main bass. It just works for my dance/party cover band gig. My P is AWESOME and works for a different type of gig - singer/songwriter, Americana, that sort of thing. I do both so both will get played.
 
#72
I started on a 5.
While there's nothing wrong with using a 4 tuned down to BEAD - I've done that for some recordings - as a new player you'd probably get more out of the versatility of a 5 string. Since you're interested in a band that tunes to B standard, the ability to play both songs tuned down to BEAD and standard stuff in EADG without retuning will probably more beneficial to your progress than the more limiting option of having the nut on your bass modified to be strung BEAD - Type O Negative won't be all you ever play or learn, after all.
 
#74
Five string basses are great - for metal, for hip-hop, for funk, for soul, even for contemporary pop music.

But there is a thing that is worth mentioning that hasn’t been mentioned so far:

If your guitarist is tuning to B, and you are playing live, there is almost zero chance that they are producing a clean fundamental at that low B. Unless they have done something curious like run a cross-over into a bi-amp setup with a guitar amp and a bass amp… Guitar amps just don’t produce a strong 62Hz signal with any volume at all (even if it hasn’t been cut by a High Pass Filter). It will just produce the collection of harmonics and overtones, with a particular timbre associated with the low-B tuning.

If you are playing in standard EADG tuning, and hit your regular B - second fret on the A string - your amp will reproduce that fundamental, and it will still give you the sense of reinforcement you expect from a bass.

Now if you are recording it might be a different matter. But if your engineer is worth half a slice of toast, the first thing they will do will be to slap an HPF on your guitarist’s signal to make sonic space for the bass. And also slap an HPF on your bass to make sonic space for the drummer’s kick-drum.
 
#75
Ive drop tuned and down tuned. The lower tension on one or all of the strings drives me crazy. I haven’t tried alternate stringing on a 4 but I would personally avoid putting the higher tension on a 4 string neck. I strongly advocate for a 5, the tool designed for the job.
 
#77
evanrunyon said:
5-string is objectively more versatile, but if I were mostly playing metal I’d play on a tuned-down 4-string.

In fact, that’s what I did for nearly a decade. Many death metal tours across North America were made with my ‘87 P in drop A.
Click to expand...

IMHO it would depend on which type of metal:

Nolly frequently plays a 6-string.

4-string is used earlier in the video.

Dudes a freak!
 
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#79
Bill Murray said:
27788609[/URL], member: 351165"]People say this all the time but all I’ve ever had to do was adjust my action. I’ve never had an issue getting a 5 string set onto a 4 string.
Click to expand...

If you haven’t had to then more power to you. I don’t know what you normally play, but the only two brands I’m familiar with that didn’t benefit from some fine tuning on the nut and a small truss rod adjustment were Yamaha and Music Man basses. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get away with it. But IMO it’s a better idea to do it right rather than het by with hood enough. Especially when better than half the nuts you find on mass produced basses are either cut too high or too low to begin with. But maybe that’s just me. I don’t present anything I suggest as being an absolute truth that’s carved in stone. Because I only offer suggestions based on my own experiences. And the phrase “YMMV” is always applicable when it comes to music and music gear. :)
 
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#80
There are zero drawbacks to the 5-string. Tuning a 4-string to a BEAD requires (at minimum) nut-work, so it's not a zero-cost solution.
Go 5-string, a wise man would go with a 35" (or longer) scale to keep string tension up. Schecter makes quite a few instruments that fit the bill perfectly
 

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