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Back to 4!

#61
I have had a couple of fives recently. The Lakland DJ 5 was a great bass but I would only play it for a set and then move back to four. I loved absolutely everything about it but it never felt like home.

I really thought that I was just going to swear allegiance to 4 strings for the remainder of my life after multiple flings over the years with a 5. Then I got a Dingwall SJ5.

I play it full time now and use a P for a couple of songs. And even that is not necessary. I just feel guilty if I leave my favorite P home alone in the dark.

The Dingwall's Low B is so stinking amazing that I am all over it whenever it is appropriate to the song or run. It never feels like an extra string. It is my new personal E. It is truly home now. I could give a crap about whatever anyone else thinks I should be playing, or what popularity dictates.

The 4 vs 5 debate is an emotional one, akin to Fender P, hot vs not. I have never understood this.

Play what you love. Play whichever feels like your favorite pair of jeans. Don't ever let others dictate what instrument you play.

There is a reason that I have never gone near a six. Way too much car for me. And while there has never been any outside influence/pressure to play one, I would refuse to fall for it.

Now yank on that 4 and give everyone (including me) the finger ! :hyper:
 
#62
Zoomie said:
I could give a crap about whatever anyone else thinks I should be playing, or what popularity dictates.

The 4 vs 5 debate is an emotional one, akin to Fender P, hot vs not. I have never understood this.

Play what you love. Play whichever feels like your favorite pair of jeans. Don't ever let others dictate what instrument you play.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100% on all of the above...


- georgestrings
 
#66
Just one little caveat-- for those of us who got their start playing "Doghouse" basses, a 4-string feels pretty natural. I like the fact that 4-stringers have very manageable neck dimensions (yes, I'm even including those wide G&L necks) while maintaining a wide string spacing that really lets me experiment with my right hand technique.

Truthfully, I never got used to 5-strings, but I'm trying to, as it is almost impossible to get a gig with the majority of metal bands in my area without one. I'm not going to take one of my 3 4-stringers (2 of which I will be selling off soon) and mod the nut to accommodate BEAD tuning, especially since I use them for other styles of music. I don't have the finances for a collection of a dozen or so instruments, especially since I'm trying to save up for a new upright!

So, yeah, it looks like I'll be selling 2 of my 4-stringers and pick up a five-string. But the four-string configuration still feels like home!
 
#69
Actually I *went* to 4 this year, after 12 years on bass, started with 6, bought a 5 as a backup bass, because some of my heroes played 6 strings.

Finally realized that heroes are just that and from within I'm a classic kind of guy, who prefer timeless stuff over the latest, coolest gadgets and on top of that, I'm never going to be the next Anthony Jackson / Nathan East / John Myung and I'm not going to lug all that extra weight just to chase a dream. So I followed my instinct and bought a precision, so far so good...
 
#70
calypsocoral302 said:
I'm not going to take one of my 3 4-stringers (2 of which I will be selling off soon) and mod the nut to accommodate BEAD tuning, especially since I use them for other styles of music.
Click to expand...

How much do you really need the notes below an E and how much do you play each of those notes? From what you have said I am guessing the answer to the first part of that question is "a lot" but the second part is worth considering. I tune my basses in fifths starting on C which totally eliminates the need for a five string -- except when I think I might be able to use a six string and then a fifths tuned fiver takes care of that. The fifths tuning isn't for everyone but my experience with those low notes is that Eb gets used A LOT, D gets used quite a bit and everything below that gets used once in a while because it is there. In fact my main player comes standard with a Hipshot extender key on the low string which I have set up to switch between A and C and I have never used that switch during a performance. I just have no real need for the low A, Bb, or B.

If you are only using the notes below an E occasionally then keeping a four tuned BEAD that you can switch to for songs that need it may be a better option than you think. Or if you use notes down to D a lot and lower notes not so much as myself and several others who have commented on this recently have found, the compromise tunings like drop D, DADG, noted above or D standard, DGCF, could be a good option for you. Converting one of your basses to an alternate tuning and selling one will probably be financially better than selling two and buying a fiver. And if the alternate tuning would work for all your playing then selling two and buying none will put your DB fund over the top even quicker. I don't think you would need to mod the nut to try the two D based tunings either.

Ken
 
#71
meh, Jaco only needed 4 :hiding: Also, my car only needs 4 wheels ;)

I'm not sure why TB'ers are so passionate about the number of strings that a fellow player chooses to play, play what's comfortable and what you like. I choose to play 4's, it's what I feel at home on. I tried 5's but I just found that I used the "B" string as a bouncy thumb rest. Plus I never had a "B" string that I thought felt/sounded good.

I still want to find a 5 that I like, it's something about the way low notes slam into your stomach...but I have also thought of doing a E-C five and getting a D-tuner.
 
#72
I don't think there's really a right or wrong number of strings. I think it mainly depends on each persons hand size. My hands fatigue much faster on a 4 due to my fingers always being flexed (curled). I like having a high c string because for me its all about the distance to the e and a strings. I prefer 5 strings tuned eadgc, standard 6 beadgc and my 7 is tuned g#beadgc(and yes i tune it g# not f#). I mainly use the high c for chords and tapping but its really not as much about range as it is about my hand being in a comfortable position to play the e and a strings which I probably use the most. As far as low b and lower, a lot of people don't like it because of reasons that don't have much to do with the bass itself. A lot of amps do not handle low b well. I've also noticed how often you change strings to be a big factor for the low b. some 4 string basses sounded good with old strings and some people like that vibe but Ive never heard an old b string sound good. In fact there's been times when I only replaced the low b string because the other strings still sounded fine.
 
#73
I had a 5 string for about a month and returned it. The b string sounded like it was part if another instrument and the bass was too heavy (ray35). Returned it and got a 4 string jazz which felt perfect. Eventually I'll get a 5 string if I find one that feels right. The extra string itself wasn't awkward to get used to.
 
#74
One of those discussions to avoid obviously. It's all bass who cares if it is a 4,5,6 or extended range. I hate that either or crap. Play what You want to play.
 
#75
I play a 4 almost exclusively. Seeing that my back is 48 + years old and sometimes doesn't like me lifting heavy crap, I've been moving to reducing the weight of everything I carry to gigs. 4's will always weigh less than 5's.

That said, there are times when having that low scale from B to E just sounds right for some songs I play in my bands. If we are playing more than two songs in a set like that, I'll gladly strap on the 5'er. But I won't wear it for a three hour stint. Those days are mostly behind me now.
 
#76
Im one of the fiver guys thats tried to like fours..but just cant.
i do have a cheap squier p/j that i mess with..but just never gig with it. I just dont like the spacing on the fours. thats the end of my story..no hate..no jealousy. I like the look of a fwnder p tho. just.dont feel right.
 
#78
Don't wanna get trolled again,
but I started on a 4, mostly in Drop D. It's not an alternate tuning for me, but a primary.
Got a hipshot on a couple of of the 4 bangers.

Went right to a six from there, and try to rotate between 4 & 6 regularly.
I've found the six string is handy for doing guitar-type parts on the bass while the lead player is off doing his thing in my 3 pc.

Do have a couple 5 strings, and they don't get much use short of testing amplifiers and stuff.
(Unless my gtr player brings out his puke-green Fender again.....)

It's whatever the job entails. a 4, a 5, a 6, or something exotic.
There is no right way, there is no wrong way.

I have a Kramer 8 string (4 string w/ octaves)
It definitely fills the space, little tough on the fingers to play for a while.
 
#79
Not assigning any judgments here, just making an observation.

A few weeks ago I played a fill-in gig for a friend of mine's band that was being inducted into my state's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony / concert had about 12 bands on the bill, with every band having their own bass player. The tally at that event?

4-stringers: 11
5-stringers: 1

Now keep in mind the YOUNGEST players in any of these bands were probably in their mid-50s (my friend just turned 60). So it may be a generational thing. But for me (who's 47) it was kind of comforting to know that as a guy who has only twice in his life tried a 5 (and both times immediately went back), I maybe am not in as small of a minority as I thought I was. Yet, anyway.
 

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