Am I simply not a 5/6 string player?

[RJI777]

One thing I notice in every thread about 5 strings, it seems like folks only focus on the extra low notes you get, and pretty much ignore the fact that the frets on the low B go all the way up. So what? Well, sometimes I like to shift my pattern up by 5 frets, to get a different tone, get the frets a little closer together, reduce reach to the “1st” fret etc. In other words, play the 5th fret like it’s a zero fret. Voila, the B string is now E, etc. Admittedly you don’t usually have to _fret_ an open string, but from a mental map perspective it works. Try it. You’re welcome.

Yeah, my left hand would agree with that. Playing that bottom E on the fifth fret of the B string opens up a host of new options. And that's just for starters... and, of course, my right hand's cool with it too.

 

[DJ Dru]

You can go with this in one of two ways....

You can keep trying to adapt to 4-string. If you want to, you will eventually.

Or....(and this is the good part...)

You can accept and embrace that you simply don’t care to be a 5-string player and go through life playing perfectly good bass on your 4-string.

As well as sit back and enjoy the next 10-12 pages of posts saying pretty much the same thing in various forms.

Couldn't have said it better myself. LOL

 

[Jinobass1]

I’d played 7years straight In order to get use to it!
Pre-V : tuning down da E string to C
(hip shot)

*my Avatar I’m playing 6string and Marcus Playing my 4 w/hip Shot

 

[Ian Lewis]

I've been playing 4-string bass guitars for over a decade and two months ago I purchased a "starter" Squier Jazz V bass to test out playing a 5-string. Not sure why, but I'm just not feeling it and consistently fall back to my favorite 4-string bass. I'm not seeing the value in the extra string for my playing yet Am I just being impatient or am I just a 4-string player?

The benefit of a five string bass is not just being able to play Eb, D, Db, C & B. Being able to reach two octaves within five frets is handy sometimes, especially if you're playing from charts and can't look at your neck. Playing E on the B string gives you more control than an open string. Playing in the key of G around the eighth fret gives you a more mellow tone. The trick to getting used to a five is to play your usual songs, but with a fret wrap on your 4th fret, to force you to use the B string. You will have to learn right hand thumb muting though coz that B resonates!

 

[Beejay772]

Ask yourself one question: If that Squier you bought had one string less, would you play it more?

When the answer is along the lines of "No, that's an entry level instrument and I much prefer to play my very expensive pro level basses because the necks are smoother, the sound is fuller and the action is lower"
Then the answer to your question is "I don't know if you're limited to 5 strings, but I can tell you that you don't like playing cheap entry level basses while top notch models are sitting close by".

When the answer is more towards "of course I would, I really like the neck and the feel of it, it's just that I keep getting confused with the B string"
Then the Answer is:
You have not tried hard enough to get to a conclusion. Take all your four bangers and lock them up. Should you manage to practice daily, about seven to ten weeks will suffice. Play nothing but the 5 String tuned BEADG.

I agree. I only started playing a fiver because several of the songs we cover have notes lower than E and playing them up an octave didn't sound right. Took a long time to get used to the "home" string( the one you rest your thumb on and use as s reference point) not being E. Now I find the same issue going back to a four. I just need to spend more time swapping between and not getting too tired to one or the other. I have some real nice fours that just don't get used.

 

[radiopicture]

I prefer five string basses for various reasons, but four works for most players. There's an adjustment period, but I'd suggest not switching back and forth if you want to get comfortable on a five.

 

[radiopicture]

The benefit of a five string bass is not just being able to play Eb, D, Db, C & B. Being able to reach two octaves within five frets is handy sometimes, especially if you're playing from charts and can't look at your neck. Playing E on the B string gives you more control than an open string. Playing in the key of G around the eighth fret gives you a more mellow tone. The trick to getting used to a five is to play your usual songs, but with a fret wrap on your 4th fret, to force you to use the B string. You will have to learn right hand thumb muting though coz that B resonates!

That's a good observation. I always liked that the B string is a rest for the E string, but there's a lot of subtle muting that you implement with your RH thumb, and I just noticed that I selectively mute even with my left hand in some cases.

 

[radiopicture]

Real bass players play what they want too.

I believe that's spelled "reel".

 

[FollowMeDown]

I thnk the issue is that you already played 4 string for 10 years. If you had gotten a 5 early (like me), before your playing style matured, you would feel a lot different.
For those who say 4 is enough, good for you guys, I'm glad that works for you but that's personal, not some universal truth like many 4 players claim.
Personally I'm always using the B string and whenever I try a 4 string bass it feels to me like I'm trying to play fetch with a 3 legged dog.

 

[sprekik]

Been playing for 30 years on four string basses then switched to 5-string and loving it. The low E-flats up to Low Bs are great foundation for the music and make the bass sound stand out among those noisy guitars Took me a while to adjust to muting E string but finally got it. The fifth low B string also helped a lot in scales as I dont have to move fingers farther. I'm happy with five strings and wont go any further on six or more.

 

[WayneP]

Not sure how much the OP spent looking around before settling on the Squire, but perhaps he has the same problem I did.

Being an entrenched 4-string guy going all the way back to the 70s, I had a hard time finding one with right neck. It was a battle between string spacing and neck size: Thinner necks that felt good to my 4-string hands had the strings too close together. Conversely, necks with string spacing I liked felt like telephone poles.

By chance in the early 2000s, I came across a Pedulla Thunderbass ET5 at Guitar Center with the perfect neck I was looking for. It was the 19mm model that had the wider string spacing I wanted, but the back of the neck is much flatter than usual, which makes it really easy to get your hand around it. That makes a neck width that would normally be uncomfortable for a 4-string guy feel quite natural.

So, I got a 5-string Thunderbass and never looked back. It took some time to get used to, but it wasn’t bad, probably no more than a couple of months. A real benefit is playing in E – I never liked that key. Much better on a 5.

Now my biggest problem is, my favorite bass is my custom 4-string, and I don’t get to play it much anymore.

So OP, if your issue with the 5-string Squire is its neck, I’d suggest keep looking!

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Pedulla Club #45 Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Administrator, Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly
Pedulla Club #45

 

[factory presets]

A real benefit is playing in E – I never liked that key.

Burn the heretic! Burn him!

 

[FollowMeDown]

Yeah, my left hand would agree with that. Playing that bottom E on the fifth fret of the B string opens up a host of new options. And that's just for starters... and, of course, my right hand's cool with it too.

I totally get this. I mostly play gigs with a bunch of different acoustic player-singers, they all cover pretty much the same range of folk-rock/country songs but they all do them in different keys (whatever best suits the range of their vocals). So when I learn a new bass line I always do it without any open strings, just so I can easily play a song in any key (just by sliding the exact same pattern up or down a fret or two). I try and stick to playing around the 3rd-7th fret zone, both because that's where my bass tone sounds best and also to avoid inadvertently running into the nut after shifting a pattern on the fly, so having a B string is a godsend. It makes everything so much easier, especially for keys around E just as you said.
Also anything that helps me keep out of that (for bass players) mid-upper frequency range where all the other musicians are already fighting for air is great.

 

[Cernnunos]

I've been playing 4-string bass guitars for over a decade and two months ago I purchased a "starter" Squier Jazz V bass to test out playing a 5-string. Not sure why, but I'm just not feeling it and consistently fall back to my favorite 4-string bass. I'm not seeing the value in the extra string for my playing yet Am I just being impatient or am I just a 4-string player?

I played exclusively on a 5-string for something like 10 years. The neck just always felt wider than was comfortable. I never got used to it. That's why I have a 4-string in standard tuning, and another 4-string in BEAD tuning. I could NOT give up that 5th string! Once you learn how to use it, the extended range can give a song extra depth and emotion. It's a powerful tool. Sometimes I miss the G string, but that just means that I change neck position. Problem solved.

That's been my experience. Results may vary with other testers.

In the end, play whatever instruments or songs you want.

 

[Spectre Gunner]

If you want to play a 5 then you have to commit and put in the work and stay away from your 4 string basses. Otherwise, it's just too easy to go back to what's familiar and pick up the 4 and when you do that you're not making any progress on the 5.

I know this because I have all these 4 string basses laying around next to my new 5'r. I really need to put those 4's away. I'd sell them but I'm not that crazy.

 

[TolerancEJ]

Play whatever makes you happy and you're comfortable with.

 

[B-Mac]

I've been playing 4-string bass guitars for over a decade and two months ago I purchased a "starter" Squier Jazz V bass to test out playing a 5-string. Not sure why, but I'm just not feeling it and consistently fall back to my favorite 4-string bass. I'm not seeing the value in the extra string for my playing yet Am I just being impatient or am I just a 4-string player?

If you’re gonna venture into the 5 string world you have to put the 4 string away so it isn’t handy. You have to play the 5 string like the instrument it is rather than like a 4 string with an extra string.

Instead of playing open E play the same note fretted on the B string. Instead of fretting F on the E string fret F on the B string so fourth and so on across the fretboard.

 

[FollowMeDown]

I guess I was just lucky because I moved to 5 string about 2 years after starting to play bass so didn't have years of 4 string experience to unlearn. My point though is that without having that freed me to make a more balanced judgement and it seems obvious at least for me how much better a 5 is. I'd feel really limited playing a 4. There's no way I'd ever want to own a 4.

 

[Sid Fang]

I'm surprised that people profess to have problems adapting from 4 to 5 strings. I mean, the top 4 strings of a BEADG 5-string *are* a 4-string bass. If you just stay on those 4 strings and mute the B, nothing changes. Add B-string positions as necessary, and according to taste.

Where I had a bit of trouble going to 5-string was that I'd been playing nothing but basses with standard scale and string spacing (34" length, 19mm spacing at the bridge) for decades, but bought a Schecter Stiletto, with 16.5mm spacing, as my first 5 string. It was less the extra string than the crowding, but between the two, I had a hell of a time converting my right hand to playing that bass. But once I understood what was messing with me, and changed to a 5er with 18mm spacing, it became really easy.