Do 4 string basses sound different than 5 string basses?

[devo1]

Potentially more mass on the 5 string makes the tone sound a little deeper. I know the more strings I add the more surgical I am with my playing. Ends up sounding fuller and and more reserved instead of more aggressive when I play a 4 string. It's probably a combination of a lot of factors.

 

[micguy]

It's rare to find a 4 string bass with dual truss rods or carbon stiffening rods.

In my little herd, you'll find carbon rods are rather....common. But you may be on to something - my carbon reinforced 4 stringers do just fine in the big/heavy sound department. The one I keep tuned to D standard is an absolute monster in that regard.

 

[Alex Bass]

I never played a 5 but it may be due to the extra wood most 5 strings have.

 

[Korladis]

I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I’m trying to find a 5-string that sounds as good as my 4-strings. I find that passive 4&5 string basses (of same make) sound quite different. I think this has a lot to do with neck/bridge/etc. mass. Even when I string my 4-bangers BEAD they sound different than the 5er’s. I find overly “active” 4/5-string basses to sound more alike.

Indeed. Maybe it's perception, but I prefer how my BEAD tuned 4-strings sound over how various 5-strings I've tried sound.

 

[Honch]

Which can be moved or partially eliminated by adding weight to the headstock with something like a a "Fat Finger".

No. Quite the contrary. Removing so much weight until it turns headless. Adding weight moves the deadspot downwards still at annoying places...and to make it go down so it disappears totally will make hazardous weight to any headstock, risking its stability and a neck dive that is unheard of.

Fender Headless Bass

 

[bucephylus]

This is my only apples to apples 4 to 5 reference.

They both sound great. The 4 has more cajones than the 5; though either can get the same result by proper preamp adjustment.

 

[redneck2wild]

No. Quite the contrary. Removing so much weight until it turns headless. Adding weight moves the deadspot downwards still at annoying places...and to make it go down so it disappears totally will make hazardous weight to any headstock, risking its stability and a neck dive that is unheard of.

Fender Headless Bass

Note this line in the article you linked to:

• "At this point, Gene attached a 11/2-pound C clamp to the head of a stock P-Bass neck as ballast, to dampen neck vibration. This had the effect of moving the dead spot down in frequency and almost disappearing."

I stated that the dead spot could be moved or partially eliminated by adding weight to the headstock. The article states the EXACT SAME THING.

Have you tried a FatFinger clamp or FatHead plate on a 4 String Bass?

The Groove Tubes Fat Finger I have moves the dead spot down to the 1st fret on the G string.
That new dead spot is certainly less noticeable than it was at the 5th fret.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

How much a five string can sound like a four string is largely dependent on how clean the player’s technique is.

 

[Honch]

Have you tried a FatFinger clamp or FatHead plate on a 4 String Bass?

yes, several in our music store. When we went belly up no one wanted them at the sale. No one care for them even if I showed them clearly what they did. If I want to relocate any dead spot it's way up there, not down below, disrupting another fret or tone or resonance. Headless instruments regardless of wood does this. Besides all this, most basses are already neck diving by the dime a dozen. No need to put fuel on that fire.

And come on:

"At this point, Gene attached a 11/2-pound C clamp to the head of a stock P-Bass neck as ballast, to dampen neck vibration. This had the effect of moving the dead spot down in frequency and almost disappearing."

11/2 lbs clamp at the headstock was what it took! Do you really think the headstock would last the first time you hanged it on you shoulder? It would splinter the wood and destroy the neck. It weighted more than the bass in total. Whenever the head had gone south you'd end up with a headless anyway...

Any fathead or fatfinger isn't enough to shuffle it either way. Let's see if you can find a YouTube video of anyone even thinking of that or do an empirical experiment to destroy a couple of basses, no matter how cheap.

Yeah, I could eleminate all dead spots too, if I made a bass heavy as a grand piano and didn't wear it at all, playing it as a pedal steel guitar, for sure. 4 hefty roadies to move it around, no big deal. On a vice made of nice marble. Holding it. Sure thing.

 

[mmbongo]

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the replies to this, as it has really put my mind at ease. All of the reasons why they sound different make perfect sense, and I can stop searching for that elusive 4 string. In fact I'll probably sell most of my 4's and just keep a select couple. I have five rather high end 4's and to be honest most of them sound very similar to each other so I can keep my faves and move on

 

[7615]

It has to be a mass issue doesn’t it? If you have basses of the same wood, electronics, etc. the only (I know there are always variables as it’s wood and people and imperfect and ...) difference is the mass and width of the fingerboard as well as the mass of the neck.

I have played an active 5 for a long time. I don’t really care for 4 strings. I try. I want to be a “P” guy, but I just can’t. I like the sound and feel of my Roscoe. Best 5 string neck I've ever had.

That is what I would go with. My heaviest (12lbs) passive 4 string (I only play 4's) has the most oomph on the bottom of all my basses. Only the active bass gives more. In my experience the more wood the more resonance. I play mostly 8- 9 pound basses - but the 2 I have that weigh in at 11 & 12 - have incredible clarity in the bottom (they just are difficult for anything more than a 1 set gig).

 

[GIBrat51]

Well, so far the answer seems to be:
- Yes
-No
- Maybe; it depends, and
- uhh.. I dunno.
My answer? I don't know, and don't much care. And, with 24 4 string basses already, I'm not going to spend a nickel of my money, or a minute of my time, trying to find out, either...