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Has anyone here abandoned their 5 string basses totally for 4 strings?
- Thread starter HalfManHalfBass
- Start date
I used to play trombone many moons ago...
Cheers Spiritbass glad you like it!
I put it together ages ago inspired by Terry Pratchett who created a character called Beau N'Idle and a guy I saw play trombone with a band on the river walk in San Antonio when on a trip who appeared with a bass, tenor, alto and soprano and announced "you can never have too many bones!" So that's my version of Bone Idle.
I put it together ages ago inspired by Terry Pratchett who created a character called Beau N'Idle and a guy I saw play trombone with a band on the river walk in San Antonio when on a trip who appeared with a bass, tenor, alto and soprano and announced "you can never have too many bones!" So that's my version of Bone Idle.
Instruments are like a tool box of tools, the more tools you have at your disposal the more you can work on. However self preference and personal choice is the bottom line. Some tunes really sound transparent with that low B frequency Bed which is far away from Vocal, Guitars, Keys etc....But a 4 will be what the doctor ordered on many a great tune in many genres and styles. Play on!
Hum I don,t know, I thought about going back to 4 strings EB after playing a 4 strings EUB for a year, also when I listen back to my last band recording, I could have done all that music with only 4 strings.
But I've started to make cover on youtube and most of the time I need one of my 6 strings basses. It is just because I the original is played with a 6 I want to play it with a 6 and do the song note for note.
But I've started to make cover on youtube and most of the time I need one of my 6 strings basses. It is just because I the original is played with a 6 I want to play it with a 6 and do the song note for note.
Yup. Tried multiple times to get into the 5-string thing, even tried a 6-string at one point. Just no... 
I've been playing for over 40 years, and have a Sadowsky standard NYC Jazz 4 and Alembic 4 Rogue that gets the most time live. Have the Drop D on the Sadowsky which I use to great effect, but always wanted the extra low notes, and often detune the E string in the middle of a song for the extra "drama" but have to quickly retune after the song is over
So I bought a Sadowsky MV5, great instrument, low B is tight and neck is fast. I just can't get used to the first and second position on the A and D string, and find myself getting lost. This as a Tammy awarded bass player so my 4 string technique has worked very well for years, but I find myself thinking too much about notes instead of falling into the zone: actually behind the beat sometimes, and that has NEVER happened with me.
I'm going to give it some time, but I suspect the 5 string bass will be a novelty axe on stage on main use will still be relegated to the four strings. Perhaps for me a good octave box (to replace my Boss OC-2) is what is needed, any suggestions???
Many thanks!
PA Andertone, Tucson AZ
So I bought a Sadowsky MV5, great instrument, low B is tight and neck is fast. I just can't get used to the first and second position on the A and D string, and find myself getting lost. This as a Tammy awarded bass player so my 4 string technique has worked very well for years, but I find myself thinking too much about notes instead of falling into the zone: actually behind the beat sometimes, and that has NEVER happened with me.
I'm going to give it some time, but I suspect the 5 string bass will be a novelty axe on stage on main use will still be relegated to the four strings. Perhaps for me a good octave box (to replace my Boss OC-2) is what is needed, any suggestions???
Many thanks!
PA Andertone, Tucson AZ
I'm not sure what getting lost on first position of the A and D strings means. Those strings should be very familiar to you and they are both right where they should be. Perhaps pulling the B string (for playing, you might put it back for storage to allay any concern over neck problems) and just playing on the familiar 4 for a while will get you used to it. My brief acquaintance with an SR505 taught me that if I were going to use a five, I wanted a wide spaced five. It also taught me that I like CGDA on a four much better though so I don't expect to go back to five. I doubt that option will work for you; if a BEADG five has you getting lost on the A and D strings a CGDA four will really lose you! I tried a Micro POG sub octave pedal and it just sounded too weird for my tastes, but it could work well for people with different tastes.
Ken
Ken
Not totally, but I find myself playing 4 course basses more often and have even thought about moving my Warwicks to fund more 4s.
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
Same here.. I have 4s, 5s and 6s but find myself gravitating more to the 4s, especially my Peavey Sarzo & Palaedium basses along with my Kawai FIIB.
Commreman
Faith, Family, Fitness, and Frets
I have 4's and 5's. I used to play mostly 5's a bunch of years ago, but surgery for a separated tendon in my right elbow made me go back to 4's. I have been totally healed for quite some time, but now I am primarily a 4 player, and I enjoy it more. I keep one 5 in the stable for those gigs that call for it.
I am a four string player 95% of the time, and I have contemplated at times abandoning my 5, However in my current band there are a good 5 songs we play that would either be problematic to play or just would not sound right without the low b. So while I do consider myself primarily a 4 string player I do keep my one and only five around for those "Oh crap I need a B string!" moments.
For experienced bassists, I think the transition is much harder than for a newbie. In my case, I stiff fluff notes so haven't played either of my 5's on stage yet and I have been trying them on and off for 7 years now.
Foe me, I found it didn;t give me a lower string, it pushed the strings I knew a string distance away. I am getting better, but still fluff noted on the A and D strings which are out of the position I have known for 41 years.
Foe me, I found it didn;t give me a lower string, it pushed the strings I knew a string distance away. I am getting better, but still fluff noted on the A and D strings which are out of the position I have known for 41 years.
Ya know, I played fives for a number of years and could never really get that into it. I really like the concept, but I feel the reality is lacking, so I bailed. Never tried a fanned fret bass, but I don't think I will. I really, really like everything about the standard Fender style bass. It's what I keep going back to, after owning twenty or so basses.
NFW
In fact, I have been thinking about selling the only four string I still have - a USA Jazz with a 2-Tek bridge and other tricks - but I am just too emotionally attached to it. Even if I never play it again.
Don't sell your only 4. When I started playing 5ers going to the 4 was strange because I kept thinking of the low string as a B. I sold my old P bass and a couple of years later played someone else's 4, and the awkwardness was completely gone.
Aussie player: Bless you, exactly my story, playing down by the nut after being used to 1.75" P-bass 4 string spacing means alot of fluffed notes where before it was effortless.
I also notice octave pops (root on A string, octave on G) is much less dramatic.
Been following your posts for years now, thanks, and keep em coming!
I also notice octave pops (root on A string, octave on G) is much less dramatic.
Been following your posts for years now, thanks, and keep em coming!
Count me as a 4-only returnee. I had 5ers in the 90's and early 00's, but ditched the last of the 5ers, in 2005. With a Hipshot Xtender, and a MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, and thoughtful equalization settings, my needs are met. From time to time, I still entertain the idea of a 5er, but I go back and forth between that, or an EUB 4-string.
I tried to get into 5-strings but they just aren't as much fun for me. You have to spend more effort keeping the 5th string muted so I couldn't just tear and up and down the frets like on a 4, which I love to do. One reason I went toward the 5 was because I was in a band that played a lot of modern hard rock FM station type of stuff.. which I personally don't even enjoy to listen to. I realized I was doing all this stuff because I had come to feel obligated to for one reason or another and not because it was what I was enjoying.
So basically, I really think you should just stick to what you enjoy and stop worrying about everyone else thinks. If your living depends on playing certain genres genres it may be a different story, but if you are a hobbyist or part timer I would just focus on having fun so you keep your interest! There's no shame in a 4 string!
So basically, I really think you should just stick to what you enjoy and stop worrying about everyone else thinks. If your living depends on playing certain genres genres it may be a different story, but if you are a hobbyist or part timer I would just focus on having fun so you keep your interest! There's no shame in a 4 string!
I used to have a Tobias and a Stingray 5. After a while I realized that I was only playing notes on the low B because I could, not because they sounded good. I tried tuning it to C with one higher string (cant recall the exact tuning). But again I felt I ended up overplaying with the extra string.
After a while I found myself just better able to find a groove and not overplay on a downtuned 4 string.
I may go back to a 5 or a 6 string at some point, specifically to have a bass to show off on or something. But I have a lot of other basses on my wishlist before I get another 5.
Classic Ray, Stealth ray fretless, USA Deluxe Jazz etc etc.
After a while I found myself just better able to find a groove and not overplay on a downtuned 4 string.
I may go back to a 5 or a 6 string at some point, specifically to have a bass to show off on or something. But I have a lot of other basses on my wishlist before I get another 5.
Classic Ray, Stealth ray fretless, USA Deluxe Jazz etc etc.
