• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Any 5 string Players happy going back to 4 String bass?

GRoberts

GRoberts

Jan 7, 2003
5,909
1,476
69
Tucson, AZ USA
www.smokingsectionband.com
#1
I love playing 5 string bass, but there have been some occasional 4 string basses I've played that I would have bought had they been 5 string basses. Killer tone. I am tempted by a couple 4 string basses locally, but wondering if I'll be happy since I truly love the B string, the extra finger positions, the lower notes when I need to go there etc. I don't live on the B string or over use it. In fact, many songs I play never require the B string. But when they do, it makes my life easier.

Have any of my fellow 5 string bass player friends gone back to to a 4 string bass and been happy, or do you miss all the extra benefits you get from a 5 string bass?

I will not be selling or getting rid of my Nordy VJ5, I am simply wondering if a four string bass will leave me wanting?
 
#3
Aaron_D said:
I go back and forth. Sometimes it's nice to change it up. It isn't hard after you do it a few times.
Click to expand...

+1

I'm still new to this whole bass thing. I dabbled in 4 strings, then got a 5er last autumn. Love it... but then I bought a cheap 4-string on eBay to sell at a profit, ended up keeping it and loving it. I picked up the 5er today after a couple of weeks of neglect and love how it just suits certain songs in certain keys.

My mission now is to make the 5 sound as good as the 4 with some different strings - but I'll be keeping both and enjoying the way they make me think and play differently.
 
#7
I have sold my 5's a few times to pick up 4's and I always regret it. :hmm:

If I pick up a 4 now, it will just be in addition the 5's I'm playing. For my church gigs, I like a 5 a lot. If I were in alternative rock band again (Nirvana, AIC, STP, 7M3,) I'd use a 4 string for that gig. Play what you need or want to!
 
#9
I switched from my main being a 5 to a 4 now. I'm not really missing the B too much, but then again I barely used it much. When I play in my Death Metal group I have to have the low B cause we play in dropped B. In my country, rock, or whatever else i'm playing I hardly remember there was a B there.

The reason I switched was because I found a killer deal on an ATK 750 which sounds, looks, and played amazing. I just couldn't pass it up. The quality is just so much better then the 5. I think even if I needed the 5 more i'd still only play it on the ones I absolutely had to.
 
#11
Absolutely not! I played 4 string for over 30 years before I went to 5's and the biggest thing for me is not having to jump around the neck. (two octaves close by)
I tried to play a four the other day at GC and my left hand fell right in step, my right felt like it belonged to someone else! I had to concentrate. (painful):help:
 
#12
georgestrings said:
I play both 4s and 5s - it's no biggie...

- georgestrings
Click to expand...

I just need to wrap my head around playing a 4 string bass again I suppose. When I switch off in music stores from a 5 string to a 4 string, it takes me a while to acclimate to the string change and remember the low string is no longer a B string etc. Cetainly not impossible. Just need to give it a try.

My 5'er is not going anywhere, but I've found a couple Killer Fender 4 bangers that are calling my name. I just wonder if I'll be happy with a 4 banger after having the extra notes and hand/finger positions that a 5th string gives me. Thanks for the feedback guys! This is really helpful!
 
#17
GRoberts said:
I just need to wrap my head around playing a 4 string bass again I suppose. When I switch off in music stores from a 5 string to a 4 string, it takes me a while to acclimate to the string change and remember the low string is no longer a B string etc. Cetainly not impossible. Just need to give it a try.

My 5'er is not going anywhere, but I've found a couple Killer Fender 4 bangers that are calling my name. I just wonder if I'll be happy with a 4 banger after having the extra notes and hand/finger positions that a 5th string gives me. Thanks for the feedback guys! This is really helpful!
Click to expand...


Yeah, I use whichever is best for the job at hand - one nice thing is that after playing a 5er, I feel like I dominate a 4 string - they just feel so much easier to play than a 5er...

I have a couple of side project gigs that don't require the extra notes my 5ers offer, and when I'm haeding off to one of those gigs, I always feel like I'm going to have an easy time playing bass that night... Also, my 4 strings are typically a little lighter than my 5ers are, besides the narrrower neck - so during a gig where I'm switching off, the 4 strings are physically less demanding in every way...

Lastly - my 4s and 5s share similar string spacing, so despite the wider neck, the feel is similar...


-georgestrings
 
#18
Mike M. said:
Same here. It's nice having that low B when the situation calls for it. If it's not needed then I'll play my 4 strings.
Click to expand...


I use my 5ers when I need to go below D, which is about 1/3 of my current playlist... I don't mind playing in drop D, but anything below that I prefer a 5er for, and sometimes use them for D as well - it depends when in the setlist the song falls... My band typically plays around 50 songs during a gig, in a bunch of different tunings - but we do a decent job of keeping the flow of the show moving...


- georgestrings
 
#20
I used to play a fretless five for years! When I got back into rock & roll I went back to four. Now my five feels really tight. I might look into one with wider string spacing, but I'm not really gassing for another five.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back