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Did You Regret Your First 5 String?

#21
Paul M said:
I started writing my first post before there were other replies. I completely forgot about alternate tunings!

I play with a couple of guitar players who just don't understand the difference between guitar chord shapes and the actual key of a song. The guitarist will say to me, for example, let's learn this song, it's in E.

Then when we get together he's playing in E flat or D. When I tell him that, he says, "yeah, I'm playing in E but I tuned my guitar down."

With five strings, I can adjust for such bone-headedness on the fly without detuning the bass, which can sound terrible if your bass is not set up for it.
Click to expand...

I had a similar situation some years back when I was hitting the five hard and was playing with some fellows that would tune down to C. They couldn't get it through their heads that I didn't have to tune down and would pull their hair out trying to convince me otherwise.
 
#22
Bought my first 5 string nearly 20 years ago have never regretted it. I kept my 4 string around for a few months, then sold it. I took to the 5 string pretty quickly and it feels natural to me and actually my 5 string is a 4 string. I don't have to use the B string if I don't want to.
I do still own my first bass, a '75 Fender P-bass, but I rarely play it and never gig with it. I keep thinking I need to stay practiced up on it. I have to admit that I would be lost on some songs without the 5th string.
 
#24
I'll play. I bought a 5 and have come to regret it.

This is not the fault of the instrument; it's all on me. I am simply not a good enough player to manage it. I can practice and practice and practice on the 5 exclusively, not seem to get anywhere, and pick up the 4 and within a minute am playing what I couldn't play in weeks on the 5er. This is happening to me right now with some choir music that really wants a low D - I figured I'd play the whole concert on the 5 rather than attempting to go back and forth... maybe it was the going back and forth that's the problem.

It isn't. Part of this may be very short fingers, but I doubt that's the operative problem. It's just lack of skill.

I guess I don't regret the attempt, but on the other hand I should have known that since I'm not great with four strings, five might be a problem. Fortunately I don't have a whole lot of money invested in the instrument. Well, I should say my husband doesn't have a whole lot of money invested in the instrument. He bought it for me, quite lovingly, and that's the reason I a) still try to play it, and b) can't sell it. :)
 
#26
The only thing I regret about my first 5 string is that I sold it...a Carvin fretless 5, as well as my 2nd, a Godin BG5.

This was over a decade ago, and I made the decison to go back to 4 strings for some reason - tone, philosophy, feel...also, a new Sterling 4 (they don't make them like they did in the 90s...)

Recently I came back to the 5 and it felt like coming home. It is an adjustment, but it's not just about the notes below e. D is invaluable, below that is pretty muddy. But, I find that a 5 opens up many more possibilities, including allowing me to play phrases in lower octaves than I could on the 4. Absolutely worth it.

I do find my 6 string to be kinda silly, FWIW

also, these days I only play urb and my poor 5 is in the closet, so ymmv
 
#27
Absolutely Not! For many years I actually thought it was the best musical decision I ever made. Having that low B string opened up a lot for me. Especially writing music were the low end goes below E and having that low end available. I also played a lot of blues back then and that was when Stevie Ray Vaughn was at his height so a lot of guitar players tuned down to D. I mostly play a four string now but always have my five string when I need to play below E. When I first got it I just ignored the B string and would kinda' us it like an effect. I slowly incorporated it into my regular playing and it eventually became quite natural (about 6 months).
 
#28
I do regret my first five string. It was an Ibanez Roadstar II strung E to C. It is one of the few basses I have ever sold and the C string had no value to me. Partially because of that bass, it was over a decade before I tried another fiver. I still have that one- a 1997 Fender American Standard Jazz.
 
#31
It was difficult, but regret it? No. It was really a necessity for the style of music and band I was playing in at the time. I only recently got a 4 again for my arsenal, and I go back and forth between the two, which is a good thing. Sometimes when I play the 5 I miss the 4, and then when I play the 4 I miss the 5.
 
#32
Did You Regret Your First 5 String?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hell no ... it changed my life!!!

jeff25b.jpg
 
#34
Nope. My first fiver it´s now one of my 2 main basses (I only have 2 at the moment :) ). But I modified it to my specs. I love the low notes and the wider fretboard but also love playing my jazz. Actually everytime I want to go fulltime as a fiver player I take the jazz to play it and it´s such a joy to play ....and its sound it´s fantastic too with its Sadowsky flats.
I have gas for a 6er for chordal work..damn gas!
 
#35
Paul M said:
I started writing my first post before there were other replies. I completely forgot about alternate tunings!

I play with a couple of guitar players who just don't understand the difference between guitar chord shapes and the actual key of a song. The guitarist will say to me, for example, let's learn this song, it's in E.

Then when we get together he's playing in E flat or D. When I tell him that, he says, "yeah, I'm playing in E but I tuned my guitar down."

With five strings, I can adjust for such bone-headedness on the fly without detuning the bass, which can sound terrible if your bass is not set up for it.
Click to expand...
This is an excellent point, I have never tried that but certainly have needed to.
 
#36
I had the advantage of buying my first 5 only about a year after picking up the bass. I bought an OLP Spector 5 off of eBay for a couple hunnert bucks. That one lasted about a year, by which time I was sure I was going to stick with 5, and I upgraded. For a while I gigged with a 4 and a 5; I'd sometimes switch basses in the middle of a set because some songs suited one or the other better.

I haven't gigged with a 4 in over two years. I just picked up an RBV, and am getting ready to put my 4s up for sale. I'm never going back.

-jb
 
#37
I didn't like 5 strings until I realized I needed 18mm string spacing to make the best of it. Still don't love it but I've been making due. I tried a American Std. Precision 5 that felt very natural. It's all about finding your comfort zone. I couldn't figure out why I was having so much trouble adapting until I stopped playing ones with such tight spacing. I can play 18mm spaced pretty effortlessly.
 
#38
lbbc said:
The only thing I regret is selling my first, and only, 5'er...an Alembic Rogue because I couldn't get used to the extra string and longer neck...should've given it more time!
Click to expand...

Similar story (But a Spoiler). I owned it at the wrong time / musical situation in my life. Wish I had it back, I could use it now.
 
#40
I play both. Although I am selling my Spector Rebop 5string its only because my 4 string Rebop is getting most of the work because of band im in. I do find I use my custom 5 more in my rock band. So its a matyer of choice. It just takes a little getting used to ezpecially if ur going back and forth.try a bunch out and see what you like. The Spectors, Shecters, and Ibanezs all are pretty easy to play.
 

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