Am I foolish starting on a 5 stringer.

[Koshchei]

I have no idea how a 7 strings guitar is designed and wouldn't have a clue as to how to use one. 6 string bass is another story.

7 string guitar is just another added fourth below the E, but there are a few challenges, mostly to do with voicings and the pesky major 3rd in the tuning between the g and high b. I found 8 string tuned in P4 much easier to deal with -- pretty useless for playing chords with more than 4 notes in them, but the symmetry across the neck more than made up for it.

 

[pb9717]

Of course both are important. I never stated the false dichotomy you suggest.

No, not inferring that at all. You are absolutely right. Just one mans opinion. Neither is right or wrong as said before.

 

[Aussie Player]

I'm sorry, but I disagree for someone who has no previous guitar experience. My own experience and those of my friends says otherwise. The REAL difference between PLAYING a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass is HAND ORIENTATION. It may seem effortless to just add that extra B string- but it is not. I played 4 string bass for a long time before handling a 5 string. I couldn't just "ignore" the B string and play it like a 4 string. My brain would keep asking me "Am I on the E string, or the A string, or what"... and it took a TON of cerebral attention and I still struggled. But I stuck with it becasue I knew I had to reorient my whole left hand approach. One friend said to me; "Put your 4 string under the bed for 6 months". And he was pretty right on. It took me 6 months to be comfortable on a 5 string and a year to feel natural with it. I suspect it would be easier to go from a 5 string to a 4 string as I have found going from a 5 string to a 6 string. IMO it is all about how the hand learns to orient from the beginning. JMO

I agree with you and lived the same experience. I played 40 years on 4 string then added 10-12 on a 5 after that then reverted to 4 and am staying there.
My comments were related to a newby choosing a road of travel. I obviously did poorly with the choice of words.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Reluctant to weigh in, again, but I think whatever instrument you choose, learn to play it well. Doesn't matter how many strings. I can see advantages to either 4, 5, or 6 strings. I don't see much advantage in things like the 8-string that Noel Redding used to play occasionally with Hendrix, that was crazy, but I guess he saw something in it, some reason to play it when he wasn't playing a J-Bass? Whatever works for you, learn it well. I personally don't think I'd start on a 5 but I'm not the guy asking the question, I'm old, and have played too long, set in my ways. I am however curious and someday I will probably pick up a 5. Unlikely I'll pick up a 6. Probably go straight to a Chapman Stick, or a Warr Guitar. Still waiting on that callback from Fripp.

 

[embellisher]

My stock answer for this is start on whatever you want to ultimately play.

I wish 5 strings had been common back when I started in the late 70's.

I've gotten pretty good at making use of the extra string, using it to shift my playing up the neck and playing across the strings, i.e. playing an F at the 6th fret of the B string instead of the first fret of the E string.

I've gotten pretty good at muting the extra strings on a 5, and even on a 6 and a 7.

But I would have acquired these skills earlier in my playing, and at an age where minds and muscle memory are more flexible. I get around pretty good on a 5 string at age 58. But if I had been playing a 5 for 46 years instead of 28 years, I imagine I would be able to navigate even better.

No need to "work your way up". Play what you want to play now, not 3 or 5 or 10 years from now.

 

[Clark W]

Hey guys

So I am a 58 year old beginner. I bought a 5 String Samick Corsair bass from a mate who was upgrading. I was wondering if I was a bit hasty in getting a 5 string over a traditional 4 string. Been teaching myself for a few weeks and wondering if my learning curve would be less steep on a 4 string bass.
I have played piano for many years so music theory is no problem. 58 year old smallish hands do come with extra challenges.
Lastly if I do change to a 4 stringer would a short scale bass be a consideration.
Learning a new instrument is hard, perhaps this concern will be overcome with practise.

Thanks in advance

If your hand can handle the neck and 5 strings, by all means, I'd stick with the fiver. The versatility of finger patterns over a 4 string bass is definitely an advantage. I own six 4 stringers and two fivers. I use the 4 stringers, tuned EADG, the most in a band I play in cause I don't need 5 strings to do the job. But I use my fivers exclusively for a church gig where they very much are needed, or I would be using a 4 stringer with a drop tuner tuned to D, or a 4 stringer tuned DADG. And like today, one song we played at church, when I needed a D note during the verses, I used the D note on the B string. But in the chorus, everytime I played a D, I went up an octave and played the D on the 5th fret of the A string. It's nice to have options.

 

[pepj]

Hey guys

So I am a 58 year old beginner. I bought a 5 String Samick Corsair bass from a mate who was upgrading. I was wondering if I was a bit hasty in getting a 5 string over a traditional 4 string. Been teaching myself for a few weeks and wondering if my learning curve would be less steep on a 4 string bass.
I have played piano for many years so music theory is no problem. 58 year old smallish hands do come with extra challenges.
...

Learning a new instrument is hard, perhaps this concern will be overcome with practise.

Thanks in advance

Yeah, probably

 

[chris_b]

I can never understand why people claim there are 4 string songs and 5 string songs.

Each format has it's strengths and weaknesses, and while you might have to adapt fingering patterns, all songs can be played on any instrument, regardless of the number of strings.

 

[irish_admiral]

I am truly amazed by the responses to my question.
To all the people on this forum that responded, I really thank you.

I have wanted to learn bass for a long time and this 5 string came up and I just said cool, let's do it. I did no research, I just jumped in.
I had no thought of whether a 4 string or 5 string was what I wanted. I just wanted to start.

My constraint is mostly on physical attributes and technique.
The advice of finding a bass with a thinner neck, is a good suggestion. (I'm sure obvious to everyone else)

So, Decision made; going to find a good teacher, hopefully he will see if my bass choice is limiting me.

I like the comment that the 5 string bass is a different animal and not a 4 string with 5 extra notes. Learning from piano is weird because I visualize the intervals on the piano in my head and then try and find them on the fretboard.

If I can offer a little advice from watching my wife (pianist and flautist with very small hands) learn bass over the last couple of years:

- 4 strings will be simpler to start with to help learn technique
- Short scale is absolutely viable: my wife started on an Ibanez Mikro bass and swapped up to a Sire U5. The Ibanez is a good little starter bass (probably slightly too small), but the Sire U5 is an outstanding instrument which I frequently borrow.
- Unless you’re a big fella, bass weight is a consideration. A short scale 4 string will weigh less than a long scale.

Background - I’ve played bass for the last 25 years with both 4 and 5 string instruments (pair of nice German Warwicks). Used to play piano. Still play guitar. Have smaller hands. Currently have a 4 & 5 string bass. I learned on the 4 string, and it took a little while to get used to the 5. Not really a problem now and will interchange easily but still find the 4 string ‘simpler’ as well as easier on the back and shoulders after an hour or two standing up.

FWIW, I’d definitely look at that Sire U5 if you have smaller hands. Very nicely set up and easy to get around. Sounds great too.

Good luck with your search.