Going back to four strings?

[Doc Ellis]

Anyone here play a five or six stringer for awhile only to return to a four later? I play an active sixxer now in more of a hard rock thing, but am feeling a pull back to basics. Another group I play with is classic rock/bluesy, and I am getting an urge to get a passive P and/or J with flats.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experiences, Tb'ers are the best.

 

[vstring3]

I did. I didn't use those extra 5 notes enough...I found that I'd rather tune my 4-string's E down to D or C for some songs.

 

[gruvit]

I played a six only for a while, thought it would be good for me to get back to basics going to a four so I got rid of the six and got a four. I soon realized that fours don't really "feel like home" to me to I managed to get a fiver and I'm pretty sure that's where I'll stay. I don't use the B a whole ton, but it feels better to me to have it there just in case and one of my biggest issues in finding a bass is finding one that feels right and just feels like it belongs when it rests in your hands. I thought about going back to a six again, but I really didn't use the C often enough to make it worth it. I figure if I really need to use a C I'll get another fiver and tune it E-C.

 

[bassteban]

I've gone through periods of favoring 4, 5 or 6 strings but I try to pick up the others to keep familiar. Right now I usually go 4 as that works best for my main gigs, but the 5 & 6 are both handy at all times.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I tried it for a while a couple of years back after playing just 5s and 6s for years. The 4s were a lot of fun, but I started to miss all the freedoms the extra strings offered. Sold them and went back to 5s and 6s (6s exclusively for over a year now). Doesn't matter to me what sort of music I'm playing- even when playing simple parts, a 6 offers a lot more options for me than a 4.

 

[RicoDirenzo]

I've gone through periods of favoring 4, 5 or 6 strings but I try to pick up the others to keep familiar. Right now I usually go 4 as that works best for my main gigs, but the 5 & 6 are both handy at all times.

I have 4,5 and sixers, 2 are fretless and I use them all! 4's, however, are not my first choice as I am eternally addicted to 6 stirngs!

 

[scowboy]

I play worship twice a week and have been playing my Stingray 4 mostly. I did play my 5 on Wednesday night I could count the number of times I used the B string on half of one hand. I have enjoyed the 4 sting a lot these days.

 

[Hoover]

For the first 5 or so years after I got my 6-string I tried to use that bass for every gig. But eventually I conceded that The Right Tool For The Job is the smartest philosophy for any sensetive professional musician to abide by, and (irrespective of the number of strings) sometimes The Right Tool was not my 6-string bass. Ever since then I let the music dictate which bass I use. So for the meat&potatoes rock'n'roll band I gig with, I use a passive 4-string exclusively. For the alt country/indie rock semi-unplugged trio I gig with, it's 5-string fretless exclusively. The only times I use the 6-string now are when the music explicitly calls for extended range or the partucular timbral qualities that my 6-string possess.

 

[Ben Lesser]

I'm too attached to my 6er to ever really go back to a 4. The feel, the lack of immediately available range, the smaller neck... these things throw me off when I pick up anything smaller than a 6.

 

[Sufenta]

I played a 5 for a time when I was in a band where the guitarist/primary song writer played a 7-string guitar. Since then, all my band's guitarists have played 6s and I went back exclusively to 4s. I still write some lines in D and for those I just drop tune my E.

 

[Doc Ellis]

Thanks people, great insights so far. I am finding myself smack dab in the middle of "the right tool for the job" and the "extended range freedom".

Perhaps my backup 6'er will get flats for the classic rock/bluesy thing.

 

[thirtypoint87]

I played a 5 for years and eventually found that I rarely played on the G string. These days my two main basses are two 4-strings: one tuned E-A-D-G and a 35" scale instrument tuned B-E-A-D. If I need a high note I just play up the neck.

 

[countrybassist]

I love my 5 and I wouldn't go back. I just so used to teh feel of the neck.

 

[RicoDirenzo]

Thanks people, great insights so far. I am finding myself smack dab in the middle of "the right tool for the job" and the "extended range freedom".

Perhaps my backup 6'er will get flats for the classic rock/bluesy thing.

Yes...I have threatened to put flats on one of my sixers but I've become addicted to DR coated strings. I wish Fender coated strings included six sets...I haven't looked for awhile...have they?

 

[spade2you]

When I got my 6 string, I didn't stop playing 4. When I need range and/or don't want to jump around, I play the 6. If I don't need any range and don't need to move around, I can still grab the 4.

 

[Jumbotron]

I played nothing but a fretless 5 for seven years, then I built a fretted four that's getting a lot of play right now. The thin neck is fun and easy to get around on, and there's something about the E string on a 4 that's different than on a 5.

 

[smeet]

I've never understood why you wouldn't want the extra string. Pianists don't want a piano with fewer keys just because they won't use those extra notes, right?

The right tool for me has to do with sound and feel, regardless of the number of strings. I can ignore the extra strings if the music doesn't call for using them.

Now I can understand liking the smaller neck or a lighter instrument, but other than that, I don't get it.

What am I missing?

 

[MK1]

I tried 5s for a few years and never liked them. I rarely ever use the B string. I went through a couple of them and never liked the feel and sound of the B string. My last 5 string was an Ibanez SR705. I sold it a bought a 4 string MIA P-bass and never looked back.

 

[gidbass]

Ditto for me too. Thought a 5 string was the be all end all, but i never really enjoyed it like I do my 4.

 

[Ziltoid]

I don't see the use of going back to 4 string considering I do have those 4 strings on the 6er.

The only reason might be the appearance I guess.

that's imo, to me, ymmy and all that crap...

edit: Nevermind, I like my 4's