Double Bass anyone play a 5-string?

[KSB - Ken Smith]

To start playing the Bass go with a regular 4-string Double Bass. Even the majority of the Symphony Bassists in USA use 4-string with or without a C-extension. The Fifth String, whether you need it or not will be there on the 5-string. All the great Jazz players in history have mainly played ONLY the 4-string.

I play in 2 Symphonies locally now and could use a 5-string from time to time if I wanna hit all the lower notes at ‘tempo’. Like in Beethoven’s 5th there is a run played that at a fast tempo can be best played on a 5-string as the extension is difficult even with ‘keys’. BUT, most people will play it up an octave anyway as it is hard to hear those low notes clearly at a fast tempo. Some orchestras with split it ½ each high and low.

But with a few exceptions only will you ever really need an actual 5-string Bass unless you are a pro symphony bassist in the Vienna to Germany region.

Just learning?, then don’t kill yourself. I have been studying the 4-string all my life and have only touched the surface. 4-is plenty enough strings to master……….

The availability of 5-string Basses that will have a low B equal to the E and A is very difficult to find. The average Bass is weaker on the E than the A anyway so finding a good 4 is enough shopping to begin with.

Forget about $500. for a playable Bass! Would you have your son or daughter learn how to drive a car in the snow, rain and ice without good breaks, power steering and a set of good tires? NO.. You wouldn’t. Buying something that LOOKS like a Bass for 500 will help you give it up faster that you thought about learning. A decent set-up from a luthier can cost that. A new fingerboard recently ran me 2k+ on my Italian Bass with a Shim fit that I provided nonetheless. So figure it was actually $2,500. Including the extra wood and the neck leveling. Also my Bass was an 85-year-old Italian and not a NEW Chinese. You would be lucky if the neck wood on a 500 Bass is half as good. I just bought a neck graft block for another restoration and paid about $350. for a top-notch piece with the grain matching my back and ribs. So what do you think you can get as a complete Bass for $500? No matter how cheap the labor is in China, wood is wood. You get what you pay for… IF you’re lucky!!

Expect to spend 2-3k and don’t forget about a good Bow. The better the Bow, the easier it will be to learn and the better you will play and sound…….. good luck…..

 

[Paul Warburton]

I've often thought of going back to 5 but I just cannot justify it... well, maybe if paul were going to sell his bass...

I'm thinkin' about it.......

 

[Paul Warburton]

To start playing the Bass go with a regular 4-string Double Bass. Even the majority of the Symphony Bassists in USA use 4-string with or without a C-extension. The Fifth String, whether you need it or not will be there on the 5-string. All the great Jazz players in history have mainly played ONLY the 4-string.

I play in 2 Symphonies locally now and could use a 5-string from time to time if I wanna hit all the lower notes at ‘tempo’. Like in Beethoven’s 5th there is a run played that at a fast tempo can be best played on a 5-string as the extension is difficult even with ‘keys’. BUT, most people will play it up an octave anyway as it is hard to hear those low notes clearly at a fast tempo. Some orchestras with split it ½ each high and low.

But with a few exceptions only will you ever really need an actual 5-string Bass unless you are a pro symphony bassist in the Vienna to Germany region.

Just learning?, then don’t kill yourself. I have been studying the 4-string all my life and have only touched the surface. 4-is plenty enough strings to master……….

The availability of 5-string Basses that will have a low B equal to the E and A is very difficult to find. The average Bass is weaker on the E than the A anyway so finding a good 4 is enough shopping to begin with.

Forget about $500. for a playable Bass! Would you have your son or daughter learn how to drive a car in the snow, rain and ice without good breaks, power steering and a set of good tires? NO.. You wouldn’t. Buying something that LOOKS like a Bass for 500 will help you give it up faster that you thought about learning. A decent set-up from a luthier can cost that. A new fingerboard recently ran me 2k+ on my Italian Bass with a Shim fit that I provided nonetheless. So figure it was actually $2,500. Including the extra wood and the neck leveling. Also my Bass was an 85-year-old Italian and not a NEW Chinese. You would be lucky if the neck wood on a 500 Bass is half as good. I just bought a neck graft block for another restoration and paid about $350. for a top-notch piece with the grain matching my back and ribs. So what do you think you can get as a complete Bass for $500? No matter how cheap the labor is in China, wood is wood. You get what you pay for… IF you’re lucky!!
Expect to spend 2-3k and don’t forget about a good Bow. The better the Bow, the easier it will be to learn and the better you will play and sound…….. good luck…..

Sometimes, Ken and I agree to disagree about some stuff, but, the above post should automatically come up to clear up all the BUNK a Newbie is confronted with when thinking about a quick, cheap bass purchase!
Please consider the experience available from someone like Ken (and many others) on this forum!

 

[Chasarms]

Sometimes, Ken and I agree to disagree about some stuff, but, the above post should automatically come up to clear up all the BUNK a Newbie is confronted with when thinking about a quick, cheap bass purchase!
Please consider the experience available from someone like Ken (and many others) on this forum!

Wow Mr. P.

Such nice words for Ken after he leaves you off the list of great jazz players.

. . . All the great Jazz players in history have mainly played ONLY the 4-string . . .

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

I left Paul off the List? An oversite I'm sure...

Actually there is a difference between the 'Great' Players that are the Fathers of our sound and 'good' players that play well.

I play pretty good myself but was left of the list too.. Another oversite? No... It's not the list I belong on.. that's all.. nothing more.. nothing less..

Paul, thanks for the kind words a few posts back. Don Z. just lent me your CD. I'll have a listen asap...

 

[Chasarms]

. . . I play pretty good myself but was left of the list too . . .

Yea, but you make some of the coolest EBGs in the world. So, you got to be famous anyway!!!


I wasn't trying to stir the muck (well maybe a little), but just take a poke at Paul.

 

[Paul Warburton]

Yea, but you make some of the coolest EBGs in the world. So, you got to be famous anyway!!!


I wasn't trying to stir the muck (well maybe a little), but just take a poke at Paul.

 

[nonsqtr]

Okay, well, I got my bass today. I'm taking all your advice, but I'm taking some of it "now" and some of it "later".

The bit about the 4-string sounds reasonable. I can live with four strings for the time being. That'll be enough of an adjustment for a while.

About the cheap Chinese part, yeah, I totally hear what you're saying. (By the way, I owned one of Ken's early electrics, and if it were an electric under consideration, I'd be right there with y'all, I wouldn't even be wasting my time and energy looking for a cheap bass - but that's 'cause I'm real good on electric, and I know exactly what I want out of an electric instrument - esentially, I've been spoiled by playing good basses like Smiths all my life).

On the other hand, I'm just not ready to invest that kind of money into an upright at the moment. I don't even know enough to know what to look for. My requirements at this stage are very simple, a "playable" bass that will build finger strength and allow me to bootstrap on technique, while I'm learning about the things I should be looking for when I get the next one, six months to a year from now. The tone almost doesn't matter so much, 'cause I have no intention of gigging with this bass, or using it in the studio. It's only for practice at home.

To draw an analogy, if I were starting out on electric, this would be like buying a cheap Yamaha or a cheap Ibanez or something. As long as it can get decently low action, and there are no blatant bumps or dead spots on the board, it's enough to practice with. Then, when I can actually "finger" the Stanley Clarke licks, only then would I consider buying an Alembic. So similarly, on this upright, I can work towards getting the optimal tone out of the instrument I have, while I'm learning what "good tone" really means on an upright bass. Without a reference point, it's hard to make a comparison. And even if that reference point happens to be on the poor side of the spectrum, that's okay. So much the better to create motivation to upgrade.

You guys are probably right, I'll be wanting to trade up very shortly. No problems, I already found a guy who's willing to buy this bass six months from now. It's a Milano brand MB-1, apparently a standard "student bass", and I selected it out of a group of similar instruments as having the best sound and being the most playable. It came complete with bow, bag, rosin, strings, and setup for 600 bucks. It's definitely playable, the strings aren't all that great but the action is fine and the sound is okay. Really, I couldn't justify spending any more than that, at the moment. I have a working bass, and that's what counts. Now I can start practicing.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you guys for all your input and good advice, and also let you know that the idea of taking a few immediate lessons has definitely registered. This instrument is sufficiently different from an electric fretless that I can clearly see there is some risk in proceeding without guidance. On the other hand, I'm already making this thing sing, after less than 24 hours. Sweet! Music to my ears. Even the wife is pleasantly surprised. That's a good sign.