Am I simply not a 5/6 string player?

[matt11]

I think it just depends if you have a use for it. I began playing a five for worship, where a lot of the songs benefited from having a low. C or D available. I stuck it b/c it was needed, and now, years later, it’s fine. Neither better nor worse experience than a four. But if the material you play doesn’t require those low notes/timbres, and you don’t find going across the fretboard an advantage, stick with your four.

 

[Bass4Brkfast]

A 35" scale, active 5er was my only bass for years. Then I got a short scale, passive 4 banger about 7 months ago.
The transition was just fine and now I play whatever fits the song/genre and enjoy both equally.
The 4 is fun in a way the 5 is not, but the 5 is pretty damn comfortable/satisfying to play and use that low range for effect or emphasis.
Cheers!

 

[Jerry Guest]

That 5-string with your "modern" headstock is really, really nice looking! Quite unique!

Thanks. I designed it as a guitar guitar for my uncle. My brother & I used to do this together. He did all the wood and I did the rest. I lost him to cancer in 2016. I quit for a short time, but my Mom talked me into doing my own thing. I applied the design to the bass and it has been a resounding success for me. The one in the pic is #110 of that particular model. It is the 4th generation of the design in basses. It was built for a pro jazz musician on the east coast. I delivered the first 8th generation is morning. I really prefer my headstock design to the "Fender boat paddle", but hey, the customer is sometimes right about what he/she wants. So, I try to accommodate to a certain extent. Here's the 8th generation. The differences are subtle, but are easily recognized by those who are familiar with my basses. Thanks for the compliment.
Cheer

 

[factory presets]

Are you playing gigs were having 2 basses on stage would be too much and you need to play a song in C#? If so, a 5 would be handy. If not, you're fine with a 4

Sure was handy when I played in a band with a 'cello

 

[Jerry Guest]

Hey CenTxThumper, how are 'ya? I play Geronimo VFW on occasion and at the The Palms Lounge in New B, but more often. Gonna be in Kerrville & Bandera again if this whatever-it-is virus would go away & leave us alone. Come out sometime & sit in if you like the old country covers.
Cheers

 

[Matty Koff]

I knew I wanted a 5 before I bought one. Kept landing on songs in the key of D and wishing I could go lower than D2 without drop tuning my bass. So at some point.. I determined "My next bass will be a 5 string p/j"

Didn't have much luck stumbling on that til Sire released the Sire P7 and I ordered it as soon as I knew about it and had the means to do so.

Now I'm down to one 4 string, and two 5 string basses and if i were to shop another bass it'd be another 5.

I only really play original music and I feel limited on a 4 where I don't on a 5.

That being said.. Victor Wooten can play circles around me any day of the week and for the most part you only see him with a 4 string in his hands.

I personally like having access to notes below E1, and being able to use the 5th string rather than shift positions if I'm playing around between the 5th and 10th fret if I want to hit anything between a Low E to A

A song I wrote on my 4 string P-bass, is still easier to play on that 4 string P-bass. But just about anything I've written using the 5 string, and attempt to use a 4 string, I get to points where I have to transpose notes at a higher octave and miss the 5.

My conclusion is - it doesn't hurt to have a 5 string in your arsenal, so it's there if you decide "I want to go lower" or "I wish i didn't have to shift positions so far across the fretboard".

Kind of like, it doesn't hurt for me to keep a 4 string in my arsenal that I've rarely played since picking up the 5, that I already knew I wanted before I got it.

I personally think a 5 string is the perfect platform bass.. but that's just for my own use. It took some adjustment to get used to muting the Low B string, but I can be content with either in my hands for the most part.

 

[Tom Bomb]

Relax into it — that's the secret If others can get a handle on it, you can too. Patience.

Over time, you'll adapt. Enjoying a five is like enjoying a car with an overdrive. There are enhancements, efficiencies, and there's extra legs, which comes in handy as you get a better grip on the differences and new potentials of a deeper deep.

If you're going to do it, relax. Give yourself a chance. Do it.

 

[Meaculpa]

It's ok!!! It doesn't matter how much string your bass has, just play the instrument you feel more comfortable with and the one you get the best out of you!
Right now, I cannot conceive my bass playing without a 6 string. Since I brought one I never looked back. But that's me, there's no right or wrong with that!

 

[skortch]

Looking back, it took me many years before I stopped thinking of the instrument as "4-plus-1 (low B)" and started thinking of it as an integrated 5-string instrument, across strings and around the fretboard. So in that regard, two months may not be long enough to really get it, so to speak.

When I started trying 4-strings again after decades of exclusively playing on a 5 it was super awkward. That was 4-5 years ago. Now I can switch between the two without a thought. I guess they both have their place and there is no wrong answer as long as the instrument fits the music you want to play.

 

[Ric5]

I remember when I played blues in the 80s and I wanted a low D … A 5 string would have been handy back then

 

[groove pump]

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?

My rationalization for playing a 4-string is that I haven't gotten off my duff and built me a 3-string. I'm only half-kidding when I say that.

Maybe think of a 5-string as not necessarily more or less than a 4-string or anything else. It's just one option among so many. A bass that works well for you should do a relatively good job of getting the sound in your head to come out of your amp, etc. without putting up too much of a fight.

I can also say that although I'm pretty much a dedicated 4-string player, I have sampled one or two 5-strings through the years that really felt sublime - like they were made for me. Most of the 5'ers I pick up feel odd and unfamiliar, but even though 4's are my personal normal, some of those samplings over time have felt like a bad pair of shoes. Knowing what you like is a huge luxury... like a hot tub... so jump in and dig it!!

 

[juancaminos]

I do believe in what a few have said about putting everything else away and play only the 5 string for six months to a year, this is how I learned to bond with a lined fretess.

With that said I too tried to bond with a five string and have to admit that it just isn't for me. I feel very fortunate in that the 5 string I bought and played for a while was a Tobias Renegade. It has great string spacing a fabulous neck, it's light and sounds very nice. I am so happy it found me! But, in the end I just cannot bond with that 5th string or as skortch pointed out, I can't stop thinking of it as 4+1. I'm old and been around the block enough to let it go.

 

[Spectre Gunner]

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.

(sighs, deletes reply, closes boilerplate fill-in-the-blanks "4 vs 5" template and files it next to "P vs J" template, pours another cup of coffee and goes on with the rest of my day)

There are hundreds of new topics posted on TB everyday, yet you choose the one that bores you the most to read and respond to. Why not just skip it, pour another cup of coffee and move on?

 

[Hevy T]

I hardly ever do below a low D so I either just D tune or use my Jazz with a bass xtender. I personally don't care for 5vers either.

I am considering picking up a Tobias Growler 5 because I want a Growler, but would be happier if it was 4 string

 

[Bassist30]

I have seen many 5 string and 6 string players use mostly the eadg strings. I take it , that it was something that interest you yet you just didn't care for it or rather didn't relate to the extra strings. Therefore you should just play a 4 string.

 

[red_rhino]

There are hundreds of new topics posted on TB everyday, yet you choose the one that bores you the most to read and respond to. Why not just skip it, pour another cup of coffee and move on?

If you go back and actually read my post, you might notice that I was riffing on what Geri O posted, not commenting on the worthiness of this thread.

Reading comprehension: it's a beautiful thing.

 

[swink]

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?

1-string, 2-string, 3-string, 4-string, 5-string, 6-string,7,8,9.... ect.... Carrots => Play the groove and feel happy

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I'm not opposed to playing a fiver, I just don't own one........yet

This is me. I've been playing 4 strings for decades. I love Journey. On "I'll Be Alright Without You" Ross Valory plays a 5 string. On a couple Garth Brooks songs the bass player uses a five string. I might be able to solve the problem with a Drop-tuner on my E string, drop down to D. Buuuuuut-- there's a beautiful Ibanez SR505 that's just screaming out to me, and I got this extra stimulus check............

Well, I did some google research and it turns out that Ross takes a standard 4 string and tunes it to B-E-A-D. I might try that with one of my cheapo Ibanez basses before I buy a 5-string.

 

[Standalone]

For some reason, six for me is easier than five, and four still feels like home.

Fives are great not for the lower notes or for transposing, but really for going up the neck and having a different tone palate on frets 5-9 rather than 0-5. I’m a pocket player in a jam band, no showy chops, but an erb like my new SR886 and my 5 string give me more room.

What made me more comfortable up the neck? My octave pedal. Playing live and clicking that on forced me to get comfortable up an octave on the neck to get that funky synth sound. Now the whole neck feels more like home. This makes the five and six much more comfortable.

And muting the b is about relaxing and letting your thumb float. Play with a strap. Get the bass at the right height - not low, not up in yer armpit. Then a more relaxed plucking hand will naturally mute.

 

[Relsom]

I play 4 string basses. I can satisfy practically all of my extended low range with a Kubicki.

Every once in a while there comes a tune that demands a true 5 string, both for the tone and timbre of the original recording. Therefore I keep a 5 around just for those. Am I comfortable on it? No. Do I want to be comfortable on it? Yes.

Seems now is the perfect time to challenge ourselves to get on it for the sake of becoming more competent as a bass player, not because we prefer a 5 string.