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Famous players that only use four string?

#42
Roscoe East said:
Um...if you can't slap in the key of B, C, C#, D or D# on a 4-string bass tuned EADG, that's the musician's fault, not the instrument's.
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To clarify- I mean on the low notes... IMO/IME slapping above say Ab on an EADG 4 lacks substance. I can slap a four in the aforementioned keys, and I can sing falsetto- but many would thank me not to. ;)

Edit: Actually, after re-reading my quoted post, I see that I did specify low B, etc.
 
#43
Most of them - 4-string is pretty standard. But at the same time, a lot of the great bassists have also experimented with other configurations. Chris Squire (my go-to example for most stuff) is best known for his 4-string Rickenbacker, but he also sometimes uses a 5-string and an 8-string, and he has this one huge custom Tobias 4 that's got about a 40 or 42" scale length and tunes down to low A, if I remember right. In an interview, apparently he asked Tobias to "add frets" to the end of a regular EADG setup, so that's how they tackled it. Most of his odd basses he uses for only one or two songs, and plays the bulk of a show on one of his more standard 4s - the Rick, a Lakland P, the swirly green one, one or two others.
 
#44
So, an answer to the OP is there are plenty of "Famous" (love that appellation) players that use the 4.

This topic more generally keeps coming up on TB. And, it should because the bass guitar is still an evolving instrument. So, players want to know where things stand.

The Classical Bass crowd went through this same thing almost two centuries ago (:eek:), when the composers started writing pieces with bass notes below the normal 4 string register, and the players had to come up with the goods. If you check out the Classical upright crowd today, you will find 5 stringers, 4's with extension (their version of HipShot) and 4's without extension. The instrument and configuration depend on what is required for the job. That's why I was asking therhodeo for play material references.

In Classical, the playing capability is ultimately determined by the player and not the details of the instrument. A great player is great on whichever instrument configuration. I believe the same thing is true for EBG. A pro player will tend to use whatever is required, while staying within their style. For example, Will Lee mainly plays 4's. He also plays 5's when required.

So, the question really for the beginning EBG player is what does your first gig require? Cases could be made for either config; but, really the learning can be done on either as well.
 
#45
therhodeo said:
Hicktown is one specifically thats played an octave down from where most people have it transcribed. Bass is on the C# on the B string and the guitar player is in Drop C# himself. I've played it on both instruments.
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Absolutely right, and I kind of forgot about that, because back when I used to play that tune I moved the part up so I could double stop the minor third hook - which sounds better to me in the register up.
 
#47
I think The reason so many 4 string old school players STILL play 4's is because thats what they learned on and spent decades playing. It didn't make sense for someone like Marcus Miller to switch to anything else. Yes there are benefits to extended range basses but they use them when they want/need to. for the most part it's a "If it ain't broken... don't fix it" kind of thing.
 
#50
I like Victor Wooten's take on it...."Play what you are comfortable with"

If someone tries to say you're less talented for only playing a 4 or that they are a better player because they have a 5,6,7, 8+ string bass, don't even waste your breath arguing with them...they don't understand the point of music in the first place. I'm a 4-string kind of guy because of my hands being smaller. For the music I play (grunge and alternative rock) I don't necessarily need a 5'er. Tuning down to D is about the lowest I'll go. Being a solid player is of the utmost importance :bassist:
 
#51
I have a 5 but I never use it anymore unless I'm practicing or I absolutely have to on a gig. Spent a few years trying to get used to it and I never did. Not that I couldn't play it, but it was always uncomfortable for me and not a lot of fun. Plus I busted myself trying to wedge in low notes just because they were there. Once I made a conscious effort not to do it, I realized that the low B existed mainly as a thumbrest. But I still have it and I'll never sell it, just in case.
 
#52
I played 4's only for about twenty five years, and then ten years ago I got a 6.... I loved it, and still have it, but found myself ignoring the C string.. I recently picked up a couple fives, and I think they will be the thing for me. I love the ability to throw in a low D if called for, and sometimes a C. Taste is whats called for.
 
#53
activebass said:
+1 for bassteban.

I enjoy playing on a 4 string, but during my days in two cover bands playing 6 nights a week for over 2.5 years, a 5 string was absolutely essential. The low B string just gives you so much more options and some songs would simply sound lame if you could not play a low B or D and had to play them on the A string.
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Couldn't agree more. The band I'm in plays "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder in D as opposed to the key of E. Playing that D on the A string just does NOT have the same effect as playing a D on the B string. We play a lot of songs in lower keys and for that....as you said...the 5 string is essential.

I still love (and miss playing) my 4 strings. But that low B comes in very handy.
 
#54
earlofmar11 said:
My point is that I'm actually tempted to try one, but that maybe I should wait until I've exhausted the possibilities that 4 strings offer. When I'm asking about famous players I mean that if these people can get so much more out of their instruments than I can at this point, it may be better for me to keep working on expanding my skills on the instruments I have now, rather than introduce one more variable...

And of course, it saves me the cash ;)
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Famous people can get stuck in ruts like everyone else.
;)

If you live to be 100 you will likely not exhaust the possibilities a four offers. Or a five or six for that matter.

Here's a fact most don't seem to consider... famous players typically don't play very many songs. Would you also like to be limited to their song options? If not, why be limited to their choice of instrument?

So why would you want to risk introducing one more variable, particularly if it might be one you find you actually like?

Beats me. As does the willingness by so many here to construct their own boxes to fit in. Would you feel the same if someone else put you in that box? I doubt it.
:hmm:
 
#55
Roy Vogt said:
Well, pretty much anyone before Anthony Jackson or Jimmy Johnson....:D
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Yep. And IME synth bass really propelled the advent of the low B (in more than one genre) and simply being musically adventurous the high C to go with it. Some folks realized that with "proper" technique you could learn to control a low B and for others that six strings aren't as unweildly as many think. Fretting hand thumb placement FTW.

Imagine how many of these four string bassists would've developed if they only did what those who came before them did?

I'm not saying there's any problem sticking with a four. And there shouldn't be any problem not sticking with one either. Just that the opinions of others and history aren't very good determining factors from an artistic POV for what to use.
 
#58
Roy Vogt said:
Well, pretty much anyone before Anthony Jackson or Jimmy Johnson....:D
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yup. Chronology is destiny. Why master 5 if you already kick out the jams on 4?

But I favor five - don't like spending psychic energy ensuring that the extra string is not resonating, and the narrower neck feels more nimble…BUT I like having those extra notes on the bottom, and the broader range of timbre choices by being able to play lines on lower strings/higher frets and getting a fatter sound. Also a broader range of chord options.
 

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