Going on two years now and I can't even think about... [5 string content]

[jjk2007]

Nice looking bass! What is it?

Looks like one of the newer Yamaha TRBX basses.

 

[luciens]

I went through a 5 and 6 string period for several years and it was a great experience. If nothing else, that's where I learned my muting technique that I still find crucially needed on my 4 strings. The main reasons I left 5 and 6's and have gone back to 4 are logistical. My aging arm can't handle those wide necks as well, they weigh more and tend to have worse neck dive. As if my Tony Franklin's neck dive isn't just as terrible, but....

That said, it's not inconceivable that another 5 string could be in my future one day. It just depends on if a need for the lower notes arises and I could find one I could physically handle at least on a part-time basis....

L

 

[MLC_BassPlayer]

So.........I started on 4's. Was shamed into using a 5 string when I joined a country band. Got quite comfortable on them. Having the 5th below is a benefit for that genre and, like someone said earlier, a lot of country songs are in D so the 5 offered a lot of flexibility. That said, I found I rarely used the B string and the G string in the same song. Eight years later I quit that band. Started playing other genres and went back to 4's, some of which are strung BEAD. If I need the B string, I grab one bass. If I need the G, I grab another. If I need both in the same song I say "Holy cow, that's never happened before" and then figure out which one to exclude.

My hands are small. I'm quicker and more musical on the neck of a 4 than that plank of a neck on a 5. I really like the BEAD stringing - it works for me. Your mileage may vary....

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I like em both. Some times you want a p bass with flats, some times you want gospel/church 5...

Exactly!! And some times you need that old school funk that only sounds just right on a 4 string jazz bass.

 

[foolforthecity]

So.........I started on 4's. Was shamed into using a 5 string when I joined a country band. Got quite comfortable on them. Having the 5th below is a benefit for that genre and, like someone said earlier, a lot of country songs are in D so the 5 offered a lot of flexibility. That said, I found I rarely used the B string and the G string in the same song. Eight years later I quit that band. Started playing other genres and went back to 4's, some of which are strung BEAD. If I need the B string, I grab one bass. If I need the G, I grab another. If I need both in the same song I say "Holy cow, that's never happened before" and then figure out which one to exclude.

My hands are small. I'm quicker and more musical on the neck of a 4 than that plank of a neck on a 5. I really like the BEAD stringing - it works for me. Your mileage may vary....

My mileage has definitely varied. I finally found a fiver that fits me so well in every aspect and at 7.6 lbs I can roll it all night. My Fender Jazz Elite fiver seems monstrously large by comparison, neck and all, and weighs in at 10.2 lbs.

My solitary complaint regarding my Ibanez is the low-visibility side markers. Right now I use tiny stickers but one day I'll either go with Luminlay or tritium or maybe just bright white. But from a playability perspective I can't find anything I like better in a fiver.

 

[eriky4003]

I'm glad I'm not the only one it took 6 months to adapt from a 4 to a 5. I believe I made the 5r pretty much exclusive for those 6 months and then 4s and 5s were second nature.

 

[Passinwind]

I'm glad I'm not the only one it took 6 months to adapt from a 4 to a 5. I believe I made the 5r pretty much exclusive for those 6 months and then 4s and 5s were second nature.

Took me a year and then I mostly went back to my fours and forgot about it. The fiver is fretted though, and the only fretted bass I've owned in the last 35 years or so. In any case, I think the OP's point is well taken about doing it now, because why not?

 

[Bonafide]

4 strings is harder but also great.

Why are 4 strings harder for you? No flame, just curious. I play mostly 5's and 6s, but 4s seem like a bit of a mini vacation when I use them.

 

[Zoffy]

I've had a 5-string Yamaha BB sitting in a case for about three years. I just can't get into it. I'll pick it up every now and then, but then put it back in favor of a 4-string. I go through periods where I want to sell it, but then think, "Nah, one day I'll want a 5-string." I will probably keep it 'cause one day I'll want a 5-string.

 

[InhumanResource]

I guess Im a freak, about 10 years ago I was intrigued about trying a 5 because I was also the singer in a band at the time and my range was around the D,E side of things. When I started playing a 5r for the first time it clicked right away. The scale extension was a revelation. Walking UP to E is so cool. Then i joined a country band and a lot of the songs we played are in D. Now it is second nature and when I play a 4 string I am reaching for the B that isn't there. I know everyone is different but I don't understand why you wouldn't want to play an instrument that isn't as versatile as a 5. I have seen players saying that they can tune down a E to D and so on, but why not have a B ready to go, and when tuning down one string for one or two songs ,that throws off muscle memory. If one has small hands, ok, but maybe it is just a matter of players using a 4 for so long that it just doesn't work, and I get that, but for me I can't ever see myself using a 4 again. I don't see me going to a 6 though because my style is to hold down the bottom, and I rarely go up on the G string.
A

I had to take 3 runs at fivers over the years before settling on my L2500. It is comfortable and I love what it does tonally, but it'll be a long while before I am as fluent on it as with a four string. There's just a poise I have on 4 that isn't there yet on 5.

 

[JW56789]

I converted to fives in the mid-80's and never owned any fours until on a whim I bought a Squier Jazz a few years ago. I was convinced I really couldn't go back and forth, and I was wrong . . . . or maybe the time was just right to have a four again.

I think of them as two different instruments, I was never much for that 'bass with an extra string' thing. I love the playing across the fingerboard and the ease of transposing and the occasional depth-charge low C's and D's on a five, and yet a four is fun for straight up rock where you're chugging along in open E or A or playing old records the way they were cut.

The funny thing: After years of playing neckthru, 24-fret fives, a 21-fret four-string Jazz felt like a mandolin in comparison !

 

[tb-player]

I started playing 5s early on and loved it. I've always said the five string isn't a 4 with an extra string. Scales arpeggios and overall shapes are different/extended. If you learn it as it's own instrument, it's difficult to go back to 4.

With that in mind, last year I sold all my 5s and went back to 4, just because. It completely changed the way I play. I've enjoyed the reverse challenge.

 

[SJan3]

Nice looking bass! What is it?

It's a Yamaha TRBX505

 

[eriky4003]

I've had a 5-string Yamaha BB sitting in a case for about three years. I just can't get into it. I'll pick it up every now and then, but then put it back in favor of a 4-string. I go through periods where I want to sell it, but then think, "Nah, one day I'll want a 5-string." I will probably keep it 'cause one day I'll want a 5-string.

I had purchased a used BB300 in '94 as a backup to the Rick for gigs. Loved the sound and playability so much that I would choose my bass for the night based on which strings were newest. When I purchased my first five, I thought to try a Yamaha due to the love of tone and playability. Ended up with a BBG5S.

 

[Jefenator]

5-string, 4-string, guitar, mandolin... whatever the instrument, the main idea is to put in some hours and come out of the COVID lockdown with something to show for it. (Besides a "beer baby" and a near-clinical case of anxiety.)

 

[Chad Michael]

And some times you need that old school funk that only sounds just right on a 4 string jazz bass.

Behave...

 

[Rib 13]

While Im happy to say that I am one of those folks that can switch back n forth from my 4s and 5s with little difficulty, I am back on the 4 Wagon again.........my latest purchase is a USA Stingray Special HH. Its the first brand new 4 string instrument I have bought in over a decade

 

[lowphatbass]

Why are 4 strings harder for you? No flame, just curious. I play mostly 5's and 6s, but 4s seem like a bit of a mini vacation when I use them.

Physically a 4 string is not harder for me to play, I'm equally comfortable on 4 and 5 string basses.
Playing in a band that covers a hugely diverse range of songs, often in lower keys is far easier on a 5 string for me. It quite often boils down to that low D and low C to be honest.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

...going back to 4 string.

As the late George Burns would say (in another context); "I still remember how. I just don't remember why". And that's sort of how I feel about playing 4 string bass anymore.

Like others, when I first picked up a 5 string I felt like a fish out of water. My left hand was so confused. Perhaps I'm slow, but it took me a full 6 months to get to where I wasn't fumbling, a year I think, not to be in my head about 5 string. But here I am, approaching the two year mark and 5 string is home. I'll play my (one) 4 string occasionally as I did tonight. But now the 4 string feels odd, knowing that I could have that extra lower string, if only I'd put the 4 banger away and pick up any of my other basses.

As an extra, I've been fiddling with 6 string during the pandemic and got some relief of 3 outdoor summer performances where I did play my 6er for the first time at one of them. Going from 4 to 5 feels like it was more difficult than going from 5 to 6. I just needed to spend some quality time with the 6er, but it took only a week or two of practice to add the extra upper string. I supposed I'd have had a longer adaptation if I'd jumped from 4 to 6.

Anyway... I thought I'd share that for anyone contemplating making the jump to 5 string or might be hesitant to do it for some of the above reasons. All I can say is, if you've been thinking about it, now is the time. Why let a perfectly good pandemic go to waste?

Good thread starter. If I could add a comment, if you are going to switch to a 5 string or a 6 string, that you play songs where it is more convenient or the extra range is necessary.

If you play a 4 string, switching to a 5 string but playing songs that only require a low E as the lowest note, you're not likely to get the point of the exercise.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I just did. View attachment 4068930

For that bass, I'd jump through hoops of fire! Really nice bass!