Do you play differently on a 4-string vs a 5-string?

[micguy]

I play a 5 like a 4 with five extra notes.

You're missing a large part of what makes a 5 better than a 4. Those notes that you play low on the E string....Shhhh, don't tell anyone, they sound bigger and better when played on the B string.

After I built a second 5, and got past the moments where I stared at the fretboard, thinking things like "I have a middle string?", I transitioned to playing all 5's pretty quickly. There are so many advantages to a 5 that a 4 always seems like a compromise to me. Hence, I no longer own any 4's.

Last night, at rehearsal, one of the guitarists (he's really good at that) was eyeing one of my basses; I let him mess around on it for a few minutes. Seeing a guy who confidently flies around on a 6 string, but has small hands, try to negotiate a 1 7/8' wide bass neck was....entertaining for me.

 

[onda'bass]

You're missing a large part of what makes a 5 better than a 4. Those notes that you play low on the E string....Shhhh, don't tell anyone, they sound bigger and better when played on the B string.

After I built a second 5, and got past the moments where I stared at the fretboard, thinking things like "I have a middle string?", I transitioned to playing all 5's pretty quickly. There are so many advantages to a 5 that a 4 always seems like a compromise to me. Hence, I no longer own any 4's.

Last night, at rehearsal, one of the guitarists (he's really good at that) was eyeing one of my basses; I let him mess around on it for a few minutes. Seeing a guy who confidently flies around on a 6 string, but has small hands, try to negotiate a 1 7/8' wide bass neck was....entertaining for me.

I hate the notes on the B string up high say past the 7th. I am not a box player so the 2 octaves under my hand don't matter much to me.

 

[micguy]

I hate the notes on the B string up high say past the 7th. I am not a box player so the 2 octaves under my hand don't matter much to me.

You need a better B string.

 

[Dust2Dust]

TL;DR - 5 strings be dammed

I was stupid and bought (my only) 5 string that is just too damn heavy. I tried to endure it but was still having problems anyway trying to come to grips with a string that is thicker than .105

.125 was too big and .120 was too floppy

 

[Yahboy]

I have 5 34 scale 19-20mm string spacing 4 string basses and a 34-35.5' multiscale 5 string bass with 16.5mm string spacing. Everything fine to me.

But I can't play 6 string bass due to the C string make my fretting finger suddenly confuse when move from 4 string bass.

 

[Yahboy]

You need a better B string.

Multiscale 5 string bass along with balance tension set bass string has nice clarity B string tone till 13th frets.

 

[micguy]

Multiscale 5 string bass along with balance tension set bass string has nice clarity B string tone till 13thView attachment 7406162 frets.

You don't need a multiscale - in my case, 34" scale= basses, with a good balanced tension set (with a tapered B) works great - a 130 B is a tension match to a 95E, if your B string is smaller than that, there's your problem. Floppy B strings aren't a bass problem, they're a string problem.

 

[LowTorque]

You need a better B string.

A G on the 8th fret on the B string will sound different than on the 3rd fret of the E string. Like any other note played on different strings. That has nothing to do with the strings.

 

[micguy]

A G on the 8th fret on the B string will sound different than on the 3rd fret of the E string. Like any other note played on different strings. That has nothing to do with the strings.

I know all that, and the Physics behind it. A lot of folks don’t like the sound of their B string up high, because a lot of B strings are stiff and dead sounding. But some aren’t - so, in that case, it is the comb filtering determined by the fret you’re playing, the pickups’ positions and combination, and the string tuning that gives you thst sound.

Notes played on the B string sound great to me - the more prominent fundamental gives them real authority. But…I play ampless gigs with really nice PA’s, which do those fundamentals justice. Bass guitar cabs don’t do that - my guess is you’re playing through an smp and cabs, and as a result, what you’re hearing isn’t optimal. If that’s the case, the issue isn’t the bass, it’s the rig.

 

[KB5]

My main bass for 35 years has been an early Tobias Killer B 5 string. The only 4 string I have right now is a Thunderbird. I tend to play the T-Bird with a pick and everything about how I approach the instrument is completely different. It's more to do with the completely different personality of the two instruments than the number of strings though.

 

[LowTorque]

I know all that, and the Physics behind it. A lot of folks don’t like the sound of their B string up high, because a lot of B strings are stiff and dead sounding. But some aren’t - so, in that case, it is the comb filtering determined by the fret you’re playing, the pickups’ positions and combination, and the string tuning that gives you thst sound.

Notes played on the B string sound great to me - the more prominent fundamental gives them real authority. But…I play ampless gigs with really nice PA’s, which do those fundamentals justice. Bass guitar cabs don’t do that - my guess is you’re playing through an smp and cabs, and as a result, what you’re hearing isn’t optimal. If that’s the case, the issue isn’t the bass, it’s the rig.

First you said, it's the strings, now it's the rig. How about you just accept that some people like the sound and some people don't? It works for me in some songs and in some songs it doesn't. If it always works for you great.

 

[TonyP-]

I’m primarily a 5 player, but I have been playing a lot of more 4 latey.

I dont play any differently but the vibe and feel is different. Almost all my 4 are jazz basses with Dimarzio model Js for that sound as well.

Which I was never able to achieve completely in a 5 string, even when I was consulted about making a pickup to achieve it that sound.

I would propose the only difference to me is the feel and a very particular sound that I can get with one particular set of pickups on a 4.

 

[pbass2]

You need a better B string.

I hate the notes on the B string up high say past the 7th. I am not a box player so the 2 octaves under my hand don't matter much to me.

On both my fives 34" scale, including the one with flats I use the B string all the way up to the 12th fret. And I'm not a "box player" . I play all over the neck for a simple part if that's what gets me the sound I need for a particular tune. The fiver was never about convenience for me, it's about options and versatility.

Like any stringed instrument the timbre is a little different up there than on a thinner higher tuned string played in a lower position, but that's a feature. And actually, at least with mine, at the end of the day when recording where I've played the same notes in different positions like that, nothing jumps out, it's all integrated. None of that "it sounds like a different instrument" phenomenon. I've certainly had lesser fivers though where that was not always the case.

 

[pbass2]

You don't need a multiscale - in my case, 34" scale= basses, with a good balanced tension set (with a tapered B) works great - a 130 B is a tension match to a 95E, if your B string is smaller than that, there's your problem. Floppy B strings aren't a bass problem, they're a string problem.

Well, it depends. I used to go no lower than 130, but I'm on 125 B's now on both mine (a roundwound bass and a flatwound bass, both 34" scale, 45-125) and I get what I feel is a clearer-sounding B all up and down the neck that's a bit more integrated with the rest of the bass tonally than when I used a 130. Sure they could maybe feel a little stiffer/tighter, but I don't even notice it now. Actually helped with not hammering on the B string too hard, as we know how that can go.....

 

[Ric Vice]

It’s just a matter of adjusting to the B String once I had that under control it’s 5 string EB and 4 String DB for the most part. My one exception is a Godin LR Baggs Acoustibass the originals with the sympathetic octave of metal tines never came in a 5 string.