..with an extra string (or two) getting in the way. I have 5's and 4's - I play both regularly at this point. When I get a gig where a 4 works, it's a lot of fun to not have the B string (and the bigger neck, and the extra weight) in the way. It kinda feels like....cheating or something.
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Found a song that’s better on 4 string
- Thread starter John Metta
- Start date
..with an extra string (or two) getting in the way. I have 5's and 4's - I play both regularly at this point. When I get a gig where a 4 works, it's a lot of fun to not have the B string (and the bigger neck, and the extra weight) in the way. It kinda feels like....cheating or something.
And yet many six string slingers find that the extra two strings don't get in the way.
It forces you to become disciplined.
More constrained.
While I agree there are occasional and usually slight technical advantages to playing 4-string over 6-string, nothing in your post or the song's bass line makes me assume that is the case here. Could it be that the tone or possibly setup of your 4-string is better suited for the song; I.E. it has nothing to do with 4 VS 6 strings.
For the record my #1 bass is an early Yamaha, TRB6P and I am sure I could play the song just fine. But I have other basses that would probably sound more authentic. Off the top of my head, I would guess my Modulus Flea 5 would be the best bass in my arsenal if I was really concerned with nailing the tone and feel.
I never warned to 5+ strings. They feel less defined, or something? They just don't sound the same, on the basic 4 strings. Not sure if its the extra tension, pitch interference, etc.
It's been years since I've heard it. It used to be on my playlist cassette as I was going back and forth to university in the 90s. It came out the year I went in to my first year of university. I was dating a woman who looked just like her - which kinda freaked her out a bit because we all knew Alanis when she was far more "pop" (and when she was on You Can't Do That on TV) and she was a bit more "zaftig" in the face back then... lol!
Now that I've gone back and listened to it... It actually sounds like the Stingray5 he's played a few times. He didn't use it much, but it's got that "gank" from the ceramic pickup the Stingray5 came with.
Now that I've gone back and listened to it... It actually sounds like the Stingray5 he's played a few times. He didn't use it much, but it's got that "gank" from the ceramic pickup the Stingray5 came with.
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The right instrument can provide the mojo to understanding the song. I am a Beatles fan. Nothing sounded "right" on any early Beatles' songs I played until I picked up and strummed a Rickenbacker 320. "Across the Universe" never sounded right until I played it on a J-45. (Yes, JL had a J-160 instead, but you know, similar guitar)
5 and 6 strings are great, just not for me. I own one 5 string and it’s probably probably the least 5er bass I could find (Ibanez SR505). The other 8 basses I own are all 4s. I’d much rather use a D tuner (which I have on 4 of my 4s) or just drop tune BEAD or some other drop tuning than play a 5er. I play a lot of drop tuned stuff (drop D and Drop C) that is damned near impossible to play on a standard tuned 5er anyway.
I wish I could really bond with a 5er but thicker neck profiles, wider nut widths, and 35” scales just aren’t my jam.
I wish I could really bond with a 5er but thicker neck profiles, wider nut widths, and 35” scales just aren’t my jam.
These posts always freak me out a bit because I believe there is a totally unrealistic sense of a given Musician’s worth in 99% of the cases . When I hear a song I’m listening to the melody, lyrics and underlying chord structure. The bass, the guitar etc. are probably the last things on my mind. I don’t want to hear things through the myopic lens of a musician.
it’s even more pronounced when a bass player thinks that their work defines or determines if a recording makes or breaks a piece of music. Five string, four string, eight string or whatever, the listener doesn’t care.
A solid composition stands on its own. If someone wants to argue that song X is driven by the bass line, then fine, but I’m talking about 99% of what I hear.
it’s even more pronounced when a bass player thinks that their work defines or determines if a recording makes or breaks a piece of music. Five string, four string, eight string or whatever, the listener doesn’t care.
A solid composition stands on its own. If someone wants to argue that song X is driven by the bass line, then fine, but I’m talking about 99% of what I hear.
I'm assuming it must be in your head unless it is a string spacing issue. I've found nothing that can not be played on my 6 that could be played on a 4. A 6 string is just a 4 string with 2 extra strings.
So it's okay if I think of my four as 3 two strings, stuck together?
I think it comes down to the individual. Having more strings has advantages and disadvantages, and for people like us, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. For others, it's the opposite. I personally think that a lot of it comes down to time and familiarity, though. Essentially, with enough time and familiarity, there aren't any disadvantages, only advantages. (It's like driving a stick shift - the only people who complain about stop-and-go driving or dealing with the clutch on hills are people who don't actually drive a stick shift. For us, it's simply a non-issue.)
That's some four-dimensional thinking there, dude!
So it's okay if I think of my four as 3 two strings, stuck together?
Hah - I know it's kind of goofy, but it can be an interesting exercise! It can be a forcing function to get you out of the box patterns and begin using more note range on individual strings, and it can sometimes change the way you might approach a line considering that one note can be played in multiple positions on the fretboard depending on the note. I wrote a post that touches on this for two octave scales on only two strings. I know that for me, personally, big jumps on the fretboard are kind of an issue for me - I just don't do them, and my lines reflect that. But if I were to embrace single string and two-string methodologies, I might be more inclined to play larger intervals (like a seventh, or a tenth) using only one string or just two strings instead of doing it in position, which might open up some possibilities I don't currently have. So yeah, it's definitely a bit out of the box, but it can be useful to look at strings from a permutation standpoint. For me, at least. It's a work in progress.
Yep, I was a 5 player for years. The little acoustic dive I play at now is 4 string country. 5 is overkill.
Why don't all the top session cats play nothing but a 6 string? The different instruments simply make you play and vibe differently, aside from the fact that they obviously sound different due to physics, even if you're technically playing the exact same thing on that extended range bass as you would on a 4 banger, but just avoiding the "extra" strings. Anyone who claims they sound the same on a sixer as they would on a 4 string bass is IMO not a very deep musician.
So it's okay if I think of my four as 3 two strings, stuck together?
Hah - I know it's kind of goofy, but it can be an interesting exercise! It can be a forcing function to get you out of the box patterns and begin using more note range on individual strings, and it can sometimes change the way you might approach a line considering that one note can be played in multiple positions on the fretboard depending on the note. I wrote a post that touches on this for two octave scales on only two strings. I know that for me, personally, big jumps on the fretboard are kind of an issue for me - I just don't do them, and my lines reflect that. But if I were to embrace single string and two-string methodologies, I might be more inclined to play larger intervals (like a seventh, or a tenth) using only one string or just two strings instead of doing it in position, which might open up some possibilities I don't currently have. So yeah, it's definitely a bit out of the box, but it can be useful to look at strings from a permutation standpoint. For me, at least. It's a work in progress.
I was half joking, but half serious, I actually do look at the bass like that sometimes. I like that you mentioned the out of the box thinking. IMO, any different way of looking at something can be, and usually is a good thing, it helps us grow. I'm somewhat new to the bass world, but I've been a student to the guitar for a very long time, and I often think of it as 3 pairs of strings. Bass has that same 2 lower pairs, but my mind has been overlapping those 4 strings into a completely new kind of set of 3 pairs.
Man, that sounds ridiculous. Can anyone dig that?
I've played fives only since the mid-80's. For some reason, I bought a James Johnson Signature Jazz Squire (I think it was the Lake Placid Blue with the matching headstock that sucked me in). First four I'd owned since 1988.
OK, so I'll own up: For certain straight up and down rock tunes in E or A, it's just a return to my beginner days banging along on open E and A and D for certain things. Stones. Mellencamp. Petty. You know, THAT stuff. There, OK, I said it.
I can always go back to the five for that Steely Dan stuff . . . . .
OK, so I'll own up: For certain straight up and down rock tunes in E or A, it's just a return to my beginner days banging along on open E and A and D for certain things. Stones. Mellencamp. Petty. You know, THAT stuff. There, OK, I said it.
I can always go back to the five for that Steely Dan stuff . . . . .
Good choice, for they are most tasty!
And if they're as good as their CIC Classic Vibe brethren I've owned, then you have a quality bass there.MtM, I bought it as a 'hot rod' piece to up-rate the pickups, etc., but it's more than good enough as-is. I have no illusion it'll replace an Ultra or Elite, etc., but for the money, it is very impressive, and more importantly, I have really, really enjoyed it.
It's amazing how much bass you can buy for so little vs. back when I started out in the Fred Flinstone days in the 70's.
It's amazing how much bass you can buy for so little vs. back when I started out in the Fred Flinstone days in the 70's.
