Do you have to have a 5?

[Plectrum72]

Four reasons I currently own/use a 5-string. These songs regularly pop up in our setlists. There have been others in the past and I'm sure there will be more in the future.

Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson (feat. Bruno Mars)
Dance Monkey - Tones and I
In the End - Linkin Park
50 Ways to Say Goodbye - Train

 

[E Joe]

I play 5 so often I kinda consider it the standard bass now. I’ll bust out my 4 only on gigs I know won’t need it, like certain folk gigs and trad jazz. Resisted it for way too long and made up endless excuses to bandmates not to get one.

The majority of work I get is corporate/wedding and it’s pretty much required to be playing 5ers on those gigs.

Jaco never transposed Don’t Stop Believing to D.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I own two 5-string basses but I rarely play them. The timbre of the B-string just isn't right for the genres of music I normally play. It also makes the neck bulkier and the bass heavier. I'm better off with a 4-string 99% of the time. I keep one or two 5-string basses in my arsenal for those very rare occasions when I need one (so yeah, I guess I do need one) but I don't think I've played either of them for close to a year now.

 

[otp57]

I like the idea of having that low B string. As a practical matter though, what are the real benefits of it. I'm not sure if the perks of having those couple of notes out weighs the practical advantages of the lighter weight, smaller neck etc that would be in play 100% of the time.

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

With a 5 or 6 stringer you can play most songs across the neck. not up or down the neck.
To me this is a better way to play. I still like to go up and down the neck of a four stringer for show.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I like the idea of having that low B string. As a practical matter though, what are the real benefits of it. I'm not sure if the perks of having those couple of notes out weighs the practical advantages of the lighter weight, smaller neck etc that would be in play 100% of the time.

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

I’d say it all depends on how *you* want to play, really. Do you want those notes? If you don’t want those extra notes, you don’t need them… unless you think you might encounter some professional situation that demands that register, with no substitutions.

 

[thunesBARROW]

Yes.

 

[KidAmnesia]

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

Personal bias from your own experience is what should drive all your decisions. Play the bass you want to play, not the one other people might think you should based on their own personal experience and prefferences.

 

[sheltjo6]

I like the idea of having that low B string. As a practical matter though, what are the real benefits of it. I'm not sure if the perks of having those couple of notes out weighs the practical advantages of the lighter weight, smaller neck etc that would be in play 100% of the time.

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

I had a 5 string bass at one time, then I replaced it with a 4 string.
The neck was too wide and I rarely used the B string.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Do you have to have a 5?

 

[chadhargis]

I have 8 basses....4 four strings and 4 five strings.

They are tools. It's like asking a carpenter "Do you really need a framing hammer and a finishing hammer?".

I started on five strings because I liked the wider neck. Felt better to my big hands and still does. I hated 4 string basses. I got so used to playing the low E at the fifth fret versus the open string which never sounded right to me. But slowly I started acquiring 4 string basses.

I can now navigate a 4 string pretty good. But a skinny J bass neck still cramps up my hand. On gigs I mostly play a 5 string because it can do everything my 4's can do...and just a bit more. Better to have and not need than need and not have. I find I use that low D and low C quite a bit.

All of my 4 string basses are the "classics". I have two P basses...one with flats and one with rounds. I have two J basses...one fretless one fretted. There are times when you want that classic tone and nothing gets you there like the actual classic bass. My five string basses are all more modern. All are active. They can cop just about any tone. Just good versatile gigging basses.

You can see my reviews of my basses by clicking the link in my signature.

 

[Jefenator]

I think of 5 strings as "modern meat & potatoes". The body of material that deploys ER bass is well established and ever increasing IME.
Coming from 6, you might occasionally feel like there's something missing - especially when you have a lot of stuff to do in the upper register.
Going to 4 doesn't bother me at all when the genre doesn't call for the low B string range. I still prefer 4 for rock & traditional country.
If I had to rebuild my BG arsenal from scratch, my priority would be 5, 4 & 6 strings in that order. (Maybe veer towards 4 if the oldies rock group was more active than the contemporary dance band.)

 

[mrjim123]

Although I've been intrigued, and I've always thought a 5 would be really useful on some songs, I've never owned one, for these reasons:

1. I have smallish hands, so even accessing the E string on a 4 with my little finger can be a bit of a stretch.

2. I played a 5 briefly in a music store, but I kept confusing the B and E strings. Ugh, you mean there's gonna be a learning curve?

3. My fear is that I might actually find I like the 5 better than the 4. Oh no, NOW what am I going to do with all of my 4's?

 

[misterCRUSH]

A five has been wonderful for me. I play jazz, so the ability for instance to play Eb at the 4th fret is great. It sounds so much better to periodically dive down into those lower notes for walking. I really love the range and options I get with a five. It works for me really well.

 

[2112]

I have fingers like tuna cans, so fivers were always a struggle for me. And, for quite some time, I belonged to the "fivers baaaah!" crew. But recent experiences have opened my eyes some. Check it out if you like:

My Journey from 4 to 5: The Memoirs of a Convert

 

[City]

New Bro Country....yes fiver needed. Old Country....nope stick to a four....Rock, a fiver comes in handy. My arsenal.....one fiver solid body for rock....one fiver, fretless semi-hollow for a kinda unplugged approach, the rest are fours. As I age I see the fours getting more use just due to the music I am being asked to play.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I like the idea of having that low B string. As a practical matter though, what are the real benefits of it. I'm not sure if the perks of having those couple of notes out weighs the practical advantages of the lighter weight, smaller neck etc that would be in play 100% of the time.

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

The short answer is no. If you mostly play music from the 50’s-60’s-70’s not really. Most music then was guitar driven so notes below E were not required. With the increased use of keyboards it extended the range of the arrangements in modern music and now in a lot cases a low B is needed (Uptown Funk for example) often.

There are ways to accomplish coming up with notes lower than an E without a 5 string, but there are going to be trade offs. Everthing from alternate tuning to octave pedals are available and it’s up to you to figure it out what’s best for you.

IMO, if you are going to be a commercial working bassist playing music developed in the last 40 years, you better be prepared to come up with those lower notes. For me, a 5 string was the best way to accomplish this goal.

 

[waveman]

I don't use 5's. I tried that a long time ago, and it wasn't my thing for a couple of reasons:
1. I don't like the feel of the necks
2. Certain small percentage drop D songs are more difficult to play unless you tune the E string down, at least for me anyway
3. It really messes me up moving between 4's and 5's due to muscle memory, so I made the choice to stick with 4's

The only real benefits to a 5vr to are
1. How easy it is to move around the neck and adjust which key you are playing in since having the lower string allows you to not have as many open note patterns that have to be adjusted when you change keys
2. The extended low range on a couple of songs

FWIW, I have drop D tuners on most of my 4's so I am only missing a few notes on the low end.

 

[Callused Finger]

i have a CC J-V that i never play.
really should sell it.

 

[GIBrat51]

I like the idea of having that low B string. As a practical matter though, what are the real benefits of it. I'm not sure if the perks of having those couple of notes out weighs the practical advantages of the lighter weight, smaller neck etc that would be in play 100% of the time.

I am considering options for a very "modern" bass. I have a 6 string and that neck is so wide the instrument is a beast to play. It is not really giving me a good read on the value of the low B. I am still leaning towards a modern 4, but I don't want any personal bias' from my experience with that 6 to influence the choice

Well...
Like a lot of things in Life? This is something you'll have to decide for yourself. As with other basses, 5-ers are not all the same. There may be ones with neck you can live with - or there may not. You'll just have to do a lot of searching. Personally? I've never found one that makes me want to take it home. Although my hands need XXL gloves, the fingers on those gloves are usually about 3/4" too long. I don't have hands; I have wide and stumpy-fingered troglodyte paws. I can't deal with wide necks - or strings that are real close together... Trying to play a guitar, for example, drives me up a wall...
What kind of music do you want - or need - to play? There's a lot of music that is easier to play on a 5-er; and there's a lot of music that really does call for that extra string. But, if you're musically stranded in '50s - early '70s Rock; Rockabilly; or Motown/R&B? 4 strings will work just fine. When I was in a band - in the early '70s? We didn't have a time machine, so anything written after 1972 didn't exist yet. Nothing we played - nothing - would have been played easier, or would have sounded better if I'd have played a 5 string bass. And, to be honest? That combo amp would have made nothing but fart noises if it tried to deal with a B string... Today? The amp I have now can easily deal with a low B, but not needing it still applies to the music I like to play. Whether you'll benefit musically from playing a 5-er or not, is something nobody but you can decide...

 

[Shindig73]

It cracks me up when I see responses about learning the low B string, but then they all have drop D tuners. Because I’m not used to it, playing in drop D messes me up more!