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

[kkaarrll]

played the fretless 5, and the 4 banger today during some reggae

hmmm
I started on 5

that 4 string made it fun and easy

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

No. Not going back.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

I'm typically a 5-string player, but right now I have a 4-string that I'm going to tune CGDA. I'm waiting for my Kalium strings to come in. In the meantime, I just have the bass EADG, and it's so unsatisfying. I feel like I have an incomplete instrument. I tried playing the lower notes an octave up and it just doesn't work. I don't know how people get by in 2017 with an EADG bass, sorry. It's so nice to have those notes below E.

 

[MrLenny1]

Nope. First 5 in 1991. 4 string does not feel right any more.

 

[RickyT]

No chance of going back.

I played a 4 for about 6 years then in 98 got my first 5. 2016 I moved to a 6 with a Low F definitely no going back now. A 4 feels like a little toy bass to my hands now.

 

[speyer]

I have been a 'one bass' player since I started out on a four string about 17 years ago (I doubled on upright for a while tho). 3 years into it, I bought a six string and stuck with that for almost 10 years. 4 years ago I switched to a 5 string as my musical tastes and styles shifted. Anyhow, I just bought my first 4 string again after 13 years of playing 5's and 6's... and I'm LOVING it.

My band covers about 30 songs in various styles and to my surprise, there's only a few songs that require my 5'er. Playing my 4 string PJ is so much fun because I have been playing larger scaled 5's and 6's my whole life and therefore, I find it it very easy to play. This has allowed me to enjoy my playing and the music more than ever before. The shift to a 4 was much easier than I anticipated... moving songs to lower positions on the neck just came naturally and I don't ever get lost on the fretboard or feel like the B is there or not. I pickup my 5'er (which feels huge sometimes now) and my hands automatically make the adjustments to settle into the big neck, kinda like riding a bike. So, going back and forth between the four and five was a bit weird for me at first... but after about a month it has become pretty natural.

So, I am one who is very happy going back to four strings! My playing has improved because it's physically easier to get around on and as a result of that... I have more fun playing! Also worth mentioning is that my PJ4 through my all tube amp nails that sound I've been hearing in my head.. so I'm in tone heaven too. Only downside I can think of - I'm now gassing HARD for an alder/rosewood Nordy PJ5.

Quoting myself 3 years later! Lol

I got my Nordy PJ5 wish; that came true two years ago. And I have since sold my 4 banger because I enjoy playing the Nordy 5er so much. What a great bass!

However, I recently found a really nice AM STD Pbass that totally smokes. It's alder maple and weighs a pound more than my 5er but it's just so comfy to play. I think the reason I really enjoy a 4 string is because it's traditional, it's just simple. In a lot of ways... I relate and reference the same fingerings I use on my upright which is very traditional. When I pickup my 5... I tend to fret the E on the B and go into a sort of extended range mode, much like the way I played on a 6er.

All good stuff! And yes... I am one that is still digging the 4 string on a regular basis.

 

[nostatic]

I don't consider it "going back" - I'm always trying to move forward. These days I'm playing 4-string fretted and fretless, 5-string B-G fretless, 5-string E-C fretted, and have a 6-string on the way.

They are all different instruments that have different strengths and weaknesses. Kinda like my multiple personalities...

 

[willsellout]

I play both. There's no need to limit yourself.

 

[Teijo K.]

I've never used a 5 string bass, instead I changed from 4 to 6 in the late nineties. I did buy a nice 4-string Sting Ray to "get back to basics " around 2005 or so, but felt that it did not give me anything that I could not get from my 6. There is the same four strings in there. So I solf the Sting Ray and never looked back.

 

[pappabass]

Like all of us, I started on a 4-string. I picked up a 5 string at the music store and played it and had to have one. It fit well at the church I was playing at, also they played a lot of songs in F, a 5- string helps. Years past, no longer play at church, the little venues I play and now are more acoustic, and a 4 string fits better. I still have my very nice 5, but I'm back I'm back to the 4

 

[Geri O]

I really hate threads like these.

What's worse is that they get revived....

 

[jlepre]

Nope

 

[Bob_Ross]

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?

First of all, I don't consider myself a "5 string bass player". I'm a "bass player"
The material will dictate whether I play a 4-string or a 5-string or a 6-string or an 8-string or a fretless (etc.) bass. Those are just the tools. Bring the correct tool for the job. If you're building a bicycle you don't bring a chainsaw. If you're building (playing) Primus covers you don't bring a P-Bass with flats.

I personally love those opportunities when the material dictates that I bring a 4-string bass, because I started on the 4-string bass and I'd been playing 4-string bass for 15 years before I ever got my first extended range bass. Even though I've been playing 6-string since 1989 and 5-string since 1995, the 4-string still feels like "home", and I love going back home.

But I'm just going home to visit; the next gig may dictate that I bring the 5-string.

 

[chris_b]

I always look for agendas when these posts start up. We should all be playing the bass that is the best fit.

I don't consider moving between different basses as going forwards or backwards: just playing what's appropriate.

After 20 years, my natural home is a 5 string bass, but if I would happily play a 4 string bass if the band leader required it.

 

[Bassman Spiff]

I play both, but prefer my 5s.

I stopped by my guitar player's house yesterday as we were working on vocals, and picked up his 4 to noodle around. I definitely missed the B string.

I octaved those notes and it was very obvious to me, as it sounded inferior. That said, my guitar player (who is also a very capable bassist), hardly noticed at all. D'oh!

 

[AndreasR]

Not going back, but I use both.

 

[Discount Saint]

I'll tell you in a couple of weeks when my new Reverend Decision gets here :$ I figure there are lots of songs that I play which don't use the Low-B, and it might be nice to have a nice PJ sound to contrast against my Fender Dimension.

 

[amper]

I started on 5, but now only own 4s. I miss having the B-string for a thumb anchor, but it only ever got used for the occasional emphatic octave drop. It was never really an integral part of my playing, save for that I found the neck width more comfortable than a 4-string, when I first started playing bass.

I sold my Jazz Plus V back in 2012, when I was desperate for cash, knowing it would be easier to replace than either my piezo StingRay or my custom Warwick. I no longer miss the fifth string, but I can see myself buying another 5-string at some point in the future.

 

[bassbenj]

I've never used a 5 string bass, instead I changed from 4 to 6 in the late nineties. I did buy a nice 4-string Sting Ray to "get back to basics " around 2005 or so, but felt that it did not give me anything that I could not get from my 6. There is the same four strings in there. So I solf the Sting Ray and never looked back.

One of the reasons for going to a 5 or even a 4 rather than a 6 is that some basses are not made in 6 strings. Such as my G&L L2500 or My Carvin AC50. Same goes for 4 strings like say Rics. So if you want a Ric you either play 4 or try to get by with some custom conversions.

But hey If I ever go back to 4 strings be warned that then NOBODY will "need" more than 4 strings!

 

[mbell75]

Funny this thread was bumped, I was just thinking about this while playing my 5 string today. First time I tried a 5 string was years ago, a Fender Jazz 5. Didn't like it at all no matter how hard I tried. Pretty much because of the wider width, that 1.87" at the nut just didn't like my smallish fingers. Just wrote them off basically. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when a thread popped up here asking if a 5 sting was a need. I said nope but members here brought up some good points that got me thinking. Then a few days later, friends I jam with wanted to cover a song in drop D and one in drop C. I play sub short scale basses (Fender P Junior). So I did the down tuning my E to D and then C# thing and it worked ok but it was hard to remember that the usual frets for my notes had all moved. I still think more about what fret I move to next rather than the actual note. So I started thinking I would try a 5 string again so I could keep my EADG tuning and just add in the lower notes I needed on the B string. Got an Ibanez Mikro 5 string for $199, no tax and free shipping. It only has a 1.77" width at the nut and that one inch less width compared to the Fender 5 I had played makes a massive difference. Much easier for me to play. Long story short, I love it and I haven't touched my Fender P since. Just has a great tone I love and its very versatile with the two pickups. Even when Im playing songs in standard tuning Im finding I like the B as a thumb rest and I REALLY like having the E string where it is on the 5 as opposed to the bottom string on the guitar. Easier for me to play it more aggressively and not worry about pushing it off the fretboard when I bend which would happen at times on my 4 string. I dont think I'll ever be without a 4 string, but I have certainly warmed up to the 5 very quickly and I dont see switching back anytime soon.