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How long did it take you to get used to a 5-string?

#41
i got a sr505 this jan after exclusivley playing only 4s for about 4 years. i picked that bass because i already felt comfortable with it. i could have played a gig with it right away but really knowing the new notes and positions it took me a little while and things fell in place gradually and now its as comfy as any 4 out there
 
#42
Probably the day I brought it home. But I was able to practice 3 hrs a day or more at that time, so it helped ease me into it. I thought getting a fretless 5er would take some adjustment, but that also took about a few hours. I do have trouble with playing a 4 now, though. Keep forgetting I have to shift all the way down for low G, or let an open E ring, rather than jumping back up a string, and my left hand just isn't used to that small a neck anymore.

Also, I have an SRA505 now, and it's a lot more comfortable for my left hand than the Washburn MB-5 I started out with. I use the Washburn to increase the strength in the left, because it has higher action as well as a wider and thicker neck.
 
#43
Bongolation said:
Never did.

Complete waste of time and money and full of unanticipated negatives.
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How long did you dedicate yourself to it? Most folks get used to it in fairly short time when they put all of their practice time into it.

spade2you said:
The transition from 5 to 6 was a cake walk.
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I had the opposite experience. Going from 4-5 was very quick (I still sucked at 4-string, so the transition to sucking at 5-string was barely noticeable ;)), but going to 6 took a long, long while. It's easy to avoid using the B-, but the C is always under your hand on a six, and finding comfortable measurements/spacings took some time.
 
#44
I started back playing bass at the beginning of the year. I had quit playing out years ago and switched to plinking on guitar. I started back when an old friend offered me a spot in his band. I started back with my 4 string and bought a new 5er after about a month. I took me about a week to get real comfortable on it, though for about a month after, I would sometimes get on the wrong string. Easy switch though really. I go back and forth betwen my 4's and my 5 pretty easily.
 
#46
Well.. it took me a while like a few days skipping the low B on a regular basis but its not uncomfortable. And its great (when 5th strings tuned to low B) when playing a song like Run To You. More or less you could ask yourself if you get the same satisfaction. ;)

Cheers!
 
#50
GangstaBean said:
I might be getting and SR505. For those bass players who've played 4ers for years and now play 5ers, how long did it take you to get used to it?
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It took me two full months to get to the point where I was comfortable gigging on five, and even then I had to concentrate. HOWEVER, I played four string for over twenty years before I switched over, and I believe that's why it took me so long. Or maybe I'm just slow. :hmm:
 
#59
Switched to a 5 about 3 years ago.

First couple of gigs were awkward, not bad - just something didn't feel the same but it smoothed out after that.

Biggest problem I had was the wider neck and slower action, I'm not sure that's a 4 to 5 thing but probably going from Ibanez 4 to a Schecter 5 (I think it was 34 or 35" scale). That futzed me up more than than the number of strings.

At first I thought I made a mistake because I didn't use the low B much. It took me about a year to really incorporate the low B and it has changed the way I play.
 

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