• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Did You Regret Your First 5 String?

#81
Absolutely no regrets, but then again I wasn’t proficient on a four-string, which made the transition much easier. Also having been noodling on guitar, I was kinda used to more strings.

I took my 4-string P to the local music store to get it set up, and get a hipshot D-tuner and new strings put on, then I walked around the store and saw a good deal on a Jazz V, so I bought it to just to see what fivers were all about.

I love the wider neck, the string spacing was still wide enough to be comfortable for me, and I rarely play an open note. Transposing is simply moving my hand up or down the neck, and it’s easier to sing when just playing in a box.

When I picked up the 4-string, I just put it in its case.

I still have that P, but a couple years later sold the two other four-string basses I had, a Jazz and a Mustang, and have three more 5-string basses.
 
#82
two fingers said:
Not at all. Now, I went straight from 4 to 6, and THAT I regret. (A high C for me is useless, although others can make it sing.) But once I went to 5, I was home and play mostly 5's ever since.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite. I played 4 bangers for God knows how many years and finally decided to get a 5. That was a big regret all around. That bass was always a hassel. I put all kinds of pickups in it to try to get some tone from Carvin to EMGs and nothing worked. And even worse than that it being a 5er I never really got th idea of what ERB was all about. I thought it was just about a 4 string with a couple more low notes. The whole scene was one big regret.

Then my luck changed. I sold that piece of crap 5er and bought a nice 6 string Alembic fretless Epic. (I was in love, what can I say?). Truthfully it was way too much bass for me at that stage, but there were NO regrets because the 6er FORCED me to learn what ERB was about. Cross-neck scales. Wide necks you simply can't grab like a ball bat. Using the B and C strings at higher frets. etc. And even more important discovering that I could no longer ignore string damping. It took me a while to come around and start to feel that I was playing that bass rather than it was playing me, but after that, all my 5ers are just 6ers to me without a slightly reduced top end.

Except for my 8 string (doubled) I never play 4 strings anymore. The limited range just drives me nuts.
 
#84
First bass I bought was the SR505. I like listening to a lot of christian music and some pop music too. It seemed to me that I was hearing extremely low tones that would come from a B string and I was inspired to buy the 5er. Come to find out that even though I was hearing the lower tones in my favorite songs, my songs were just in a higher key and so was the bass. It just made the E and A strings sound really low.
Now that I have one, I don't regret it at all. I talked to the guy at GC and explained
that I would someday want to buy a 5er and since I have music knowlege and
big hands, he made the recomendation to buy the 5 so I wouldn't have to buy another one later. And I would have no problem getting used to it.
I think it was a good call because I really don't like drop tuning and I really like having the B
string for those extra low notes.

No regrets on the 5er

Now I am thinking about the SR 600 but that may be a waste of money but I sure do like the look and feel of the wood it has.
 
#88
Not so much regret - but I've never really enjoyed it, either. I just don't like playing it. I can go down to D easily enough on my 4 string with a detuner and that's always been enough for me. 5 strings don't work for me personally, I still much prefer all my other basses.
 
#90
Misterwogan said:
I'm toying with the idea of a fiver, I've never played one so I'll have to go along to a store and try one out.

In the meantime, my question is to those who bought their five string and ultimately regretted doing it - and why?
Click to expand...

Regret it? I loved it so much I now have 16 of them. I just can't stop buying them. It's like an addiction.
 
#91
My only regret was buying new, as I lost half the value when I sold it after a year. That's not because I regretted getting a 5er, I just found that particular bass wasn't the sound I was after. I sold it to get a new 5er and am now very happy. I played my backup 4 for a few months and, as much as I like it, there are some songs where I really want those lower notes or the single-position range that the 5 gives me. I can't see a 4 being my main bass, ever since that first five. So no, on many levels, I don't regret it.
 
#94
My answer is, "sometimes."

My first and only fiver is a fretless Carvin B50 kit that my Dad and I put together. My brain says I made the right decision, because I got a bass that fills both 5-string and fretless needs at a great price. However, I'm a 4-stringer at heart and admit my heart sometimes wishes my fretless bass was a four...
 
#95
Zero regrets, especially every time I see flats in the key signature. The hardest thing was remembering which string I was on and keeping that one extra string from buzzing. Also, I approached it as a four string with an extra string that was used as a thumb rest and only played Eb and below on it. After I got past that mentality, it really opened up the possibilities. Love the 5 string now.
 
#99
Yes, only for a while. I bought a Lakland 55-02 which was my first active bass. I didn't like it at first so it went in the closet and I impulsively bought a DJ5. After about a year I decided to sell the 55-02 but took it out to play it "just to be sure". At that point I figured it out and sure am glad I didn't sell it. And I still have the DJ5. Both get lots of playing time.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back