Four string, or a Five string?

[elavate7]

i play 5, so i would say go for the 5 for numerous reasons
1. the low B comes in handy, expecialy gospel,r&b, country, hip hop, and rock
2. it makes playing a little easier for you
3. it looks cool

i only play finger style, so the 5 is perfect for me as well as the styles i play.

 

[IngerAlb]

my rule of thumb is - if you have to ask others, the answer is no.

Quoted for truth!

Get a 4 string bass man and if you'll need a low B that much in the future, convert it to BEAD

 

[elavate7]

Your opinion is based on the completely misguided concept that the B string is only useful for playing below low E. I've been playing five string for a decade now, and the fact is that the B string is *always* useful, even for bass lines that stay in four-string land. A five string gives you extended range at every playing position, not just down low. Meaning, you can cover a full two octaves without having to shift positions.

And while this won't be true for everyone, I became a better bassist after switching to five string.

I'm certainly not saying five string is better than four... it's merely better for some of us, and for more important reasons than the low notes.

when i think of bass, i think of BOTTOM!!!! and that low B helps you get down there....so i totally agree with you!

 

[Mike M.]

Go for five! I joined the music team at the church I attend last September armed with my Squire P bass and had no complaints from anybody. Right away I noticed how many of the songs we did had a 5'er in them and I soon felt like I was missing out on something. Bought my first 5'er last December and for me there's no going back to a four string. I absolutley love having that fifth string at my fingertips and IMO it just makes total sense having it. And I'm an old guy, too! (Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?)

As far as slapping goes I'm still new to it and have a long way to go, but there are tons of players out there who have no trouble at all slapping on 5, 6, 7 and on 8 string basses.

Just take your time and play as many as you can to find what works best for you.

 

[jamisonsalamand]

my rule of thumb is - if you have to ask others, the answer is no.

If you don't have a need for the fifth string, there is no need to have a bass with one. If you will not use it, it will get in your way. If you will use it because you have it, you will not use it based on need, but based on availability - you will not improve anything...

I understand what you're saying, but I wasn't quite asking about if having a B string would benefit me. It would be helpful having extended range without shifting really far, as well as with songs in tunings lower than drop D. I'd have more options, and know I could put it to use often.

What I mean is, I don't want to get a really good bass in a five string version, and have playing it be so inconvenient that the tone and features aren't worth using it. Whereas I could've gotten an equally good four string that will never be inconvenient to play, and if I get a difficult-to-play five string after that, i will still have the really good four string to go back to. I'm trying to avoid that.

I'm pretty sure I can send back basses ordered through Musician's Friend within 45 days, so this might have been a stupid question to ask, but it couldn't have hurt hearing opinions.

 

[Engine207]

I'm thinking now that I'll definitely want a five string eventually...

...It will be a while after I buy this that I'll be able to get another bass.

With these two statements in mind, I think the choice is obvious. If I had it to do all over, I'da added a fiver 20 years ago.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

For this reason exactly, you should get a five string now.


P.S. I have smallish hands, and found the difference in playability between 34" and 35" to be insignificant. My first 35" bass seemed tougher, but then I realized it was because the OEM strings had much higher tension than the strings I was used to. I switched to one of my usual brands, and all was well.

I disagree. You can do 99% of any gig with a 4 string, and if you're still learning 4 is plenty. There will always be time for other basses.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I disagree. You can do 99% of any gig with a 4 string, and if you're still learning 4 is plenty. There will always be time for other basses.

Maybe YOU could, but I couldn't... not without detuning my low E string by a ridiculous amount for modern rock. BEAD would not work for me, because I often need the G string.

More importantly, I wouldn't WANT to play four string: I play better on five strings even when I don't need the low notes.

If a player wants to go to five, he should do so as soon as possible. There is no reason to become proficient on four before moving up.

FYI, I played four string for 20+ years before switching to five string exclusively. I'd never say five is better overall, but it's definitely better for me, for every genre. Your favorite is four, others prefer six or more... they're all good, there is no "best" number of strings.

 

[fractiouslowend]

Ever since I switched to 5 strings I have no use for a 4 string. But for me, slapping and popping are more difficult on a 5 than on a 4. But I don't do much slapping, so that makes your decision a bit more difficult than mine.

As for 35" scales, I don't get the people who claim that there is some "huge" difference between them. I mean we are talking 1 inch out of 35? Maybe you'd notice on a fretless, but you'd have to be at your absolute limit of stretching intervals or something to sense any difference at all on a fretted. I've got a 35" Modulus and for the life of me I can't figure out what all the whining is about.

some riffs that i can play easily on a les paul become a struggle on a strat. that's only half an inch difference out of 25, but it's definitely noticable

 

[mntngrown]

Go to youtube and listen to a bunch of Albert Collins songs.
The first reason is the blues has always been handled exquisitely by 4 string players throughout the ages so a tradition is established. Next consider the fact the star, Mr Collins puts a capo on his guitar and limits the instruments range into his preferred sweetspot. (I think )
Now consider his bass player of many years Johnny B Gayden who has a history of other forms of music and therefore plays a 5 string.
Point being if you can play and you know your genre 4 or 5 works. Just a choice IMHO

 

[bassbenj]

I disagree. You can do 99% of any gig with a 4 string, and if you're still learning 4 is plenty. There will always be time for other basses.

I disagree totally. Maybe 99% of the notes at any gig played with a 5 string can be found on a 4 string, but then 99% of the notes at any gig will be correct too. But it's the sour notes that get all the attention. Point is does the music you are playing call for extended range? If it does and you don't have it, it's just more "wrong notes".

And the whole idea that a beginner starts with a 4 string (because presumably counting to 4 is easier than counting to 5) is completely wrong. A 4 string bass and 5 string bass are two different instruments played with different approaches. You might as well be saying that every beginner should start by learning to play a guitar and then switch to bass because then going from 6 strings to 4 strings (tuned the same) will be easy. Many guitar players think so. But it's also nonsense. Two different instruments. Two different approaches!

And as for "plenty of time later", you might as well just suggest the guitar thing because there will be "plenty of time later" to switch to those lower four strings transposed to a bass! More nonsense! Go read "The Music Lesson" by Victor Wooten. Learn that there is too little time in life to be wasting a lot of it. You don't get ANY of it back!

If you want to play a guitar, you go buy a guitar and learn to play it. If you want to play a 4 string bass you get one of those. AND if you want to learn to play the 5 string bass, you don't build up to it by studying the 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, and finally the 5 string bass. You just go find a nice 5 string, buy it, and dig in! It's really as simple as that.

 

[bassbenj]

Maybe YOU could, but I couldn't... not without detuning my low E string by a ridiculous amount for modern rock. BEAD would not work for me, because I often need the G string.

More importantly, I wouldn't WANT to play four string: I play better on five strings even when I don't need the low notes.

Same for me. I tried the BEAD thing years ago. It seemed so obvious. I figured I never used the G string anyway, so it was a perfect solution. So I did it. And yes, it works out pretty nicely...UNTIL I discovered that I only THOUGHT I wasn't playing the G string. Once it was gone, i immediately discovered that I was indeed playing it, even if I didn't THINK I was! After that revelation I quickly gravitated to 5 strings.

And like you even though I don't use the low notes much I clearly play better on 5 and don't have that feeling of constant limitation I get when playing a 4.

 

[bassguita079]

Man I totally agree!!! After deciding I wanted a 5er, I constructed one. That was the end. I didn't start on a 4 string, then work up to a 5er. You just buy the thing, or make it, and learn it. My philosophy with having a 5 string is, I'd rather have the B and not need it than NEED it and not have it. Some of you may disagree but its always worked for me...

 

[owen_liam]

I think it's down to the individual bass. A good musician will make a 4, 5 or 6 work in any situation but a bad instrument will always hamper you.

I play a 4 string Stingray and a 5 string Jazz. I pick one or the other up purely based on tone and my mood! They both offer things that the other cannot; it simply depends on what I feel like I need at any given moment.

I don't think I'd say to any player you definitely need a 4 or a 5. You definitely need a bass that turns you on, that's all!

One thing I enjoy about 5s though is being able to play in different positions to get different tones. Playing in F at the 6th fret for example - one can access different things easily that would be less obvious on a 4. It also gives a very different tone to playing at the first fret would - I love the warm, mellow sound you can get playing low notes higher on the neck using the fleshy parts of your fingertips.

I guess what I'm saying is that one should choose the instrument that does it for you; don't choose an instrument purely because it's a 4, 5 or 6 or whatever!

 

[IngerAlb]

I can't help but smiling when I hear this "I felt limited on a 4 strings bass, so I moved on to a 5er or more" Lots of great (and iconic) bassists managed to play throughout their entire career on 4 string basses and they certainly didn't sound like they were limited at all. I'd say if you're skilled, you can make the crowd move even if playing on 1 string.

I understand what personal preferences are (I have my own, too), but there's no need to use such arguments to justify why switching between 4 or 15 strings.

 

[Basshoofd]

I can't help but smiling when I hear this "I felt limited on a 4 strings bass, so I moved on to a 5er or more" Lots of great (and iconic) bassists managed to play throughout their entire career on 4 string basses and they certainly didn't sound like they were limited at all. I'd say if you're skilled, you can make the crowd move even if playing on 1 string.

I understand what personal preferences are (I have my own, too), but there's no need to use such arguments to justify why switching between 4 or 15 strings.

Ofcourse there is. If someone feels like they should play an extended range instrument, they should try it. It's not about managing to play something, it's about feeling comfortable with what you're doing. Your entire post doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Ric5]

Get the 5 ... quit messing around with 4 stringers.

 

[IngerAlb]

Your entire post doesn't make sense to me.

Some ppl are saying it like they've moved to a superior level or like 4 strings are a rudimentary thing of the past while evolution has brought us to 5ers and up. Playing an instrument with a certain number of strings is a personal choice. It works for some, and it doesn't for others. It's not better, nor worse, and it depends on so many factors. That's why saying "get a 5er, you too will feel limited on 4 strings" is not true. It can help you practice certain techniques or playing styles, but it won't make you instantly a better player.

 

[MarTONEbass]

chicken salad

 

[lousybassplayer]

I generally prefer 4s, but at some times in some venues I prefer the low B string. Put it this way, if you only need 4, get 4 and enjoy the benefits thereof in terms of neck clutter and dimensions. But if you need a 5, there is nothing a 4 can do that a 5 can't.

Now me, I have played the field as far as string count, and have determined that even numbers are perfect.