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Anyone moved away from bothering with a B-string?

#21
topo morto said:
What I tend to find is that the B sounds weak by comparison on passives, while on actives the you can get a strong B with EQ, but that leaves it sounding fake and lifeless compared to the higher strings. You also tend to get weird bell-like sounds on the B string, especially on the higher frets.

Incidentally I've never had this problem people talk about with a 'floppy' B... it's just the sound.
Click to expand...


I've never played a passive 5er, and haven't experienced what you're talking about with a decent active 5er - although I tend to use a 5er for it's lower notes, and don't usually play one very much at all above the 6th fret for the most part...

Just out of curiosity, what specific 5ers have you played???


- georgestrings
 
#22
topo morto said:
Personally I've always thought "If it doesn't have a B string, it isn't a bass". But the difficulty in finding a really good B string sound (not just the bass, but the amp/PA system/room/mix as well) is making me consider going back to 'almost-basses' that stop at E until I can afford a really good 5 - at least a Lakland, maybe a Dingwall ABZ or something. And I should be putting my money aside for other things ATM.

Anyone else decided to KISS and stick to EADG?
Click to expand...

I have a really good 5 string-all strings work equally well when set up properly.
Just very recently have I received my first 'proper ' 4 string instrument.
I can not say that there are many situations now which have me miss the 5 very much in terms of reach.
But tonally it just works so well.
I guess I'm happy and will stick with both.
 
#23
I play a 4 string but just started playing with a band that does alot of their songs in a drop B. When I tune down the bass sounds so loose and clanky. I guess I could do like the guitarist and set up my bass just for that, but I like the way it is set up now. So I think my only option is to pick up a 5er if I keep playing with these guys. :rolleyes:
 
#25
I used to play five strings, but now I only own and play fours. Sometimes I tune my E string down to a D, but that's as low as I need to go. I realized that I just didn't like the sound of the notes on the B string (not just the notes below E, but all of them). Part of this probably had to do with the basses I had, which didn't have great sounding B strings; but a lot of it was that those notes remind me of three things: smooth jazz, modern country, and nu metal — none of which I'm remotely interested in. On occasion, I'll hear a bass line that uses a five string well, but in general, it's just not for me.
 
#26
Grateful said:
I can't say I agree with that mentality, but I am pretty sure I'm stuck on 5 fivers for the foreseeable future. All the B's on my basses are excellent, and I use that B string all the time (though rarely going below the D). As other have pointed out, it's about positioning.

I also don't agree with the "I don't need 5 because I can do it with 4" bit either (because in some cases, technically, you can't). But 4's and 5's and 6's all have their places, IMHO.

Now about those 18 stringers....
Click to expand...

Agreed, although I play both 4s and 5s... I think it's kind of dumb to say that a 4 string "isn't a bass" - or a bit trollish, actually...

I also agree 100% with you on:

"I don't need 5 because I can do it with 4" bit either (because in some cases, technically, you can't).


....since many of the songs I play require notes lower than D, and I refuse to lose use of my G string, a 5er is the only answer *for me* in those situations... A BEAD tuned 4 string won't cut it, since you lose the G string - I don't mind doing the drop D thing, but it only covers so much...


- georgestrings
 
#27
georgestrings said:
Just out of curiosity, what specific 5ers have you played???
Click to expand...

Ibanez SR506 (a 6)
Ibanez GWB35 fretless, with active / passive switch
Yamaha RBX 375
ESP LTD F-205 (35")

Also, my main bass: a cheap P copy ('Vintage') strung BEAD (passive)
another random 5 string fretless (passive).

OK, none of these are high-end basses, but I got good sounds out of all of them - just in all cases the B string didn't quite have the vitality of the other strings.
 
#28
I played 5 string basses exclusively for many years. Around 5 years ago switched back to 4 string basses after noodling around on a Jazz bass in a music store. Sold all my 5 stringers and haven't looked back since!

For some reason I find 4 string basses much more fun to play!
 
#29
georgestrings said:
Agreed, although I play both 4s and 5s... I think it's kind of dumb to say that a 4 string "isn't a bass" - or a bit trollish, actually...
Click to expand...

It's just a personal (have edited OP to make clearer) feeling that "there is a lot of bass below E - shouldn't an instrument called the bass be able to handle the whole useable 'bass' range?" Which got me into 5ers.

But now I'm thinking 'well, it can't, so why bother'? and also 'I want a Dingwall'.
 
#30
As has been said already a few times, I too bought a 5 string to play with a band tuned WAY down, and that kinda required me to be able to get that low as well.

I left that project AND the 5-string bass a couple of years ago...haven't looked back, and don't intend to. I am far more comfortable on my old 4 stringers.

Side note...I did try stringing my old 5 string E-A-D-G-C (unfortunately required a new nut)...I actually enjoyed playing it that way, ultimately I sold it anyway, but If I ever got another fiver, I'll set it up like that again.
 
#31
topo morto said:
What I tend to find is that the B sounds weak by comparison on passives, while on actives the you can get a strong B with EQ, but that leaves it sounding fake and lifeless compared to the higher strings. You also tend to get weird bell-like sounds on the B string, especially on the higher frets.

Incidentally I've never had this problem people talk about with a 'floppy' B... it's just the sound.
Click to expand...

I've actually found it be the opposite lol... The B is usually 800,000 times louder than the others; this is usually a design problem with the pickups, though. Most pickups, like the ones on my Bunny 6 string, are flat and therefore don't follow the curvature of the fingerboard. So the strings at the ends (the B and high C) are closer to the PU than the middle ones and you get the uneven volume and tone across the strings.

But even my 4-holers have the same problem, to a lesser degree.

I take the cheap way out and simply play with compression/limiting all the time to even out the volume differences.

The "chorusing" sound on the B in the upper registers is also very common (you'll also hear it on the E on most basses too). You can minimize this by keeping the pickups as far away from the strings as possible, or using PU's with less magnetic pull (the magnetism seems to be what really aggravates this).

I.e. my old Gibson Tobias had Bartolinis in it and, despite all its other problems, it didn't have the chorusing problem in the upper registers.

LS
 
#32
I recently switched from a 5 back to 4s. The main reason is the bass itself, the 16.5mm spacing is just too tight for me. In addition, the B doesn't sound very good, but importantly I notice I use it so little, the extra 5 notes rarely get played so it was hard to justify it's continued use.

Plus there is just something romantic about a 4, being left on your own without the extended range. I dunno. Like fighting with a machete instead of a broadsword.
 
#34
To answer the original question: Yes. I have moved away from the 5 string. I had been using a Sadowsky MS5 and it was the best bass I ever owned IMO. I could dig in hard on the B string with no mud. Now I don't get below drop D so I prefer my 4 strings.
I was also very happy with these 5 strings. G&L 1505, EBMM Stingray 5, G&L 2500, Warwick Corvette Standard 5. In that order.
 
#35
All this over 5 extra notes?

Like many, if not most, I learned to play on four strings. Then, for about 12 years I didn't even own a four, using only fivers. Didn't think anything else could measure up.

Then purely by happenstance I got a four and decided they were just fine. Now I don't own any fivers.

My takeaway from all of it is that it does't matter a whit. It's five extra notes that are not even played constantly. Worrying about it to any degree is a perfect waste of creative energy.

Just play.
 
#36
unclejane said:
The "chorusing" sound on the B in the upper registers is also very common (you'll also hear it on the E on most basses too). You can minimize this by keeping the pickups as far away from the strings as possible, or using PU's with less magnetic pull (the magnetism seems to be what really aggravates this).

I.e. my old Gibson Tobias had Bartolinis in it and, despite all its other problems, it didn't have the chorusing problem in the upper registers.

LS
Click to expand...

Interesting. I always thought it was because the width of the string starts becoming significant compared to the length, so the string becomes less of a string and more of a 'chime'...
 
#37
Fenwick said:
I recently switched from a 5 back to 4s. The main reason is the bass itself, the 16.5mm spacing is just too tight for me. In addition, the B doesn't sound very good,
Click to expand...

It is sooooooo important to find the right spacing for 5 strings for the individual player. IMHO, it the is the single most important factor when considering a 5. Some are turned off for it being too tight (like me) others for being too wide (like, um..others).

Unfortunately there are 5 strings basses out there with crappy B's as well. So it may be that you hit the double whammy: uncomfortable spacing and a crappy B. Sorry to hear that.
 
#38
No Sir, I haven't. 22 out of the 23 years I've been playing have been on a 5'er. Everytime I pick up a 4 string bass it just feels funny in my hands. I can do anything on a 4 that I can do on a 5 but not vice versa. Keep looking around and try different string brands. I've noticed severe differences in the sounds and feel when varying strings on the same bass. Also different pups hande the frequencies differently.
 
#39
Edward G. said:
All this over 5 extra notes?

Like many, if not most, I learned to play on four strings. Then, for about 12 years I didn't even own a four, using only fivers. Didn't think anything else could measure up.

Then purely by happenstance I got a four and decided they were just fine. Now I don't own any fivers.

My takeaway from all of it is that it does't matter a whit. It's five extra notes that are not even played constantly. Worrying about it to any degree is a perfect waste of creative energy.

Just play.
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying and play mostly a four. But I thnik it is more than just the extra low notes. What I did like about the five was having an F on the 6th fret. This opened a lot of possibilities for lines that did not include shifts.
 
#40
topo morto said:
Ibanez SR506 (a 6)
Ibanez GWB35 fretless, with active / passive switch
Yamaha RBX 375
ESP LTD F-205 (35")

Also, my main bass: a cheap P copy ('Vintage') strung BEAD (passive)
another random 5 string fretless (passive).

OK, none of these are high-end basses, but I got good sounds out of all of them - just in all cases the B string didn't quite have the vitality of the other strings.
Click to expand...


It's probably a matter of the amps used, string choice and condition, and possibly setup issues and/or technique... What amps/cabs have you used with those 5ers???


- georgestrings
 

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