am I a 4-stringer for life?

[yellofury]

I went back to 4s
Tried 5s in BEADG
Tried 5s in EADGC
It just didnt work for me naturally
given more time I may have gotten used to it
but I had found more often than not that I never used the extra string
it was more ornamentation than a tool for me

 

[plankspanker13]

Slapping on all but a very few 5ers feels unnatural to me. While the 5 is now a standard in many situations, I still get by with 4, a Hipshot Xtender, and a good octaver. There is just something symmetrical and "right" about 4-strings on a stringed bass instrument. Maybe that stems from 5 centuries of tradition, from the bass viol to the bass guitar.

 

[JehuJava]

yep i know you,re not alone brother i throw away my 5ers and i only like to play 4 stringers,they make me fill at home and i perform 20% better on a 4 with the proper string spacing and neck width.

How the heck do you know you perform 20% better on a 4? How do you even quantify that measurement?

 

[crazy_bassist]

I recentely bought a 5 string a few months ago, and I find for certain styles of music, I love the low B! I don't always use my 5, but I'm happy it's there, and I didn't pay a ton of money for it (It's a Yamaha BB415), so it's nice to have. I'm not as comfortable with it as my 4's, but I've played 4 string for almost 10 years so I know I just have to work harder at it.

I find 5 strings have their place, but I do still like to go "home" to a 4 if that makes sense.

 

[Mike M.]

I've been playing a 5 string since last December. I also play at church and find that the low B is used in a lot of the songs we do and I really do like having it at my fingertips.

The worst thing about going from 4 to 5 strings for me is the mental hurdle. You know, you're so use to that low E being on top and suddenly that's not the case. Although I've gotten much better at mapping my way around it still does throw me for a loop from time to time.

It's not that I'm lazy, but with working so many hours a week (I'm at work right now) I don't have as much time to practice as I would like. So while my progress isn't quite as fast as I would like I'm getting there bit by bit.

But all in all I really like playing the 5 string bass. Not to long ago I bought an Ibanez SR505 and it fits like it was made for me. Having a bass that feels right makes so much differance.

 

[bassfart]

I own nine 4 strings and one 5 string. I mostly play the 4's, but it's nice to know I have a really nice 5 string waiting for me if I ever need it for something. I like hitting a low B on a string that was meant to be tuned that low, I don't like having to tune my E string down that low, it feels too floppy and doesn't sound right to me.

 

[humpy thumb]

Just in case it hasnt already been said yet,
Jaco only needed 4 strings.

*runs like hell.

 

[humpy thumb]

How the heck do you know you perform 20% better on a 4? How do you even quantify that measurement?

+1.
By my calculations, I only experienced a 17.694% improvement. Maybe I forgot to carry the 9. Naa, that makes it even lower.

 

[Greevus]

BEAD....best of both.

 

[kommando84]

I think your feelings are more of an issue of coming "home" to a bass that you are comfortable with and not really a referendum on five string basses.

When I play my guitars (six string), no matter how long I am away from it, my hands always feel at home on my Fender Stratocaster (my second guitar ever). I don't question whether it's because it has certain strings or a certain neck, because I've played other instruments with similar dimensions and don't have that same comfort. It's just natural to be at "home" on a certain instruments.

 

[metallibass95]

I have done the same but I always keep coming back to 4 strings. For me it is the overall feel of the bass, I am most comfortable with the width of the strings on 4 string basses more than I am the standard string width on 5 and 6 strings, too close together for my taste. Also having a slimmer neck isn't too bad either, but that is just my opinion and what I am most comfortable with. I would say 90% of my playing is done on 4 strings and usually that is fine. Every now and then I have the need to use the lower range like going down to peddle Ds, Cs, and RARELY but maybe even a B but it is usually on a slower softer song or something and is usually when I play a whole note or the last note of a song or something. So I usually keep an active 5 string handy just in case I need to use that extended low range. So it doesn't hurt to have both around if needed.

Also for someone who likes the string spacing on 4 strings, if you would like to have the same thing but on 5 strings you may want to check out some Fender and Squier 5 strings. Though the neck is wider than the standard 5 string spaced basses, the string spacing on these are almost identical to the 4 string basses. Some are models such as the Fender American Standard P Bass V and the Squier Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V that would be comfortable to alot of 4 string players like me who prefers the wider string spacing.