How often do you need more then 4 strings?

[Dincrest]

If you play modern metal... you need the extra range. There is a reason why fanned-fret basses are almost a requirement in bands like Krosis.

If you play Broadway/theater/showtunes... you need the extra range, especially since songs are in all different keys, so you need to be able to transpose quickly. Many theater bassists have 6-strings for that reason.

People who play bass in their churches need that low B for gospel music. Big name gospel bassists like Andrew Gouche play extended range basses and use that range.

And some songs are a little easier to play on a 5 than a 4. For example, playing the bassline to Luke Bryan's "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)" on 4-string requires a lot of fingerboard jumps, whereas playing it on a 5-string requires fewer and shorter jumps, since you can play "across the street" rather than "down the road" from the closed E on the B string.

I think a 5-string is essential for a cover band these days, since 80s and 90s songs are what's popular in that scene. Many 90s songs were in drop D and the 80s is when 5-string basses started gaining traction to compete with the low notes of synthesizers.

Even contemporary pop music requires low notes. The first note in "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo is a low C#. The studio bassist played it on a 5-string. If you want to play it on a 4, you'd need to drop down to drop-C tuning (CGCF) or something.

 

[GreyBeard]

All the time. I've been playing 5 since the mid 90s. My playing technique uses all 5 strings.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

I am a 5 string player. Most of what I play I learned on a 5 string so that material is easier on a 5 string . I have two 4 strings and I can get by with both of them but I have to think harder and they trip me up quicker than just playing my fivers .

 

[Cleezmo]

I play in a cover band, 3 piece doing all sorts of stuff - Duran Duran to Green Day, Stones to Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac to Gary Clark, Jr. We have a handful of tunes in Drop D, a few that I can use a low C on (but not required). I can play that whole set list with a 4, but I have to de-tune for those handful of songs in D. It's easier just to play a 5 string and not worry about detuning.

But in all honesty I find I go through cycles of 4- and 5-string preference. For years I was only a 4-string player, then I got a Modulus Q5 and was pretty much only playing that bass on every gig, for the better part of 10 years. Then I felt like going back to 4s mostly, and the 5-string was mostly a backup for a handful of years. Then I got to where I'd play one for one set, the other for another set.... And then in March I got a new Reverend Mercalli 5 and have been playing it exclusively on all my gigs. Ask me this question in 3-4 years and my answer might be different...

I will say that, when I got my first 5 string, I told myself I'd learn to be a 5-string player, not a 4-string player who occasionally hits a low B to tell everyone "I have a 5 string!" At this point I can easily swap between 4 and 5, but I play a 5 differently to maximized the potential benefits.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I always use my low B. Can't even think of being without it.

 

[Jogobass]

When you have a 5 string you don't want to get back to 4 string. But I guess the same applies to 5 string and 6 string.

 

[Snert]

I'm on my B string pretty much every song. Even if I don't need anything below the E, I still prefer playing the E--F# on the B string. And that low D is simply delightful.

Want? Always on electric, because there is no real downside to having the extended range and alternate positions available. I love playing in the middle of the neck and having two octaves available without shifting.

I've only played 5-6s for 20+ years and no longer have any 4s and haven't for many years.

Play what works for you.

A 4 string will not work for me. That's why I only play a 5 daily.

All of this.
I have 9 basses in my close rack, 5 5s and 4 6s, and I have 2 more of each in the spare room, as well as 12 4s that are seldom touched. Almost all of the 4s will be sold when the market picks up, or I can find someone worth donating them to.

 

[Not Insane]

Just curious for those that have 5, 6 ,7 string basses how often do you actually need the extra notes that a 4 string cannot do?
I do own one five string but play it like a 4 string probably 98% of the time when I use that bass. I guess I could have probably lived without one but have it "Just in case I need it"

As one guy said, when asked why he liked the five string: Fretted E.

It's not just that you can go lower. I'm learning a song right now where I center on the low G on the B string rather than the E string. For this particular song it is much easier to play.

However, like one guy said, when you need it, you need it. It's also fun to start of Brown Eyed Girl on low D rather than low E.

 

[Not Insane]

When you have a 5 string you don't want to get back to 4 string. But I guess the same applies to 5 string and 6 string.

I learned on a fiver. In fact, for the first year or so that I tried to play four string, two things threw me off: I was missing the low notes and with the fiver I rarely needed to depend on open strings, but I had to depend on them a lot with the four. But now I consider the four an easier instrument to play for a lot of classic rock. Still, I prefer the fiver.

 

[sethlow3]

A huge amount of the time. Like 80% of my latest gig.

I play a lot of rock covers that on their record tunings are either Eb standard, D standard, Drop Db, drop C, and sometimes B. This isn't a huge amount of metal either. Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Metallica, Soundgarden, etc… So it's pretty standard fair from over 30 years ago.

Then there's another genre I like playing…Dark Wave. Notes below E1 are all over that stuff since it's very keyboard dominant.

Modern R&B? A four tuned standard will not cover everything there either…loads of B string on that stuff these days.

And finally country which many people make money from around here has notes below E1 on a vast majority of songs now.

In many ways, a five is the more modern tool for the job where fours tuned E standard are more old school these days musically.

 

[Jogobass]

I learned on a fiver. In fact, for the first year or so that I tried to play four string, two things threw me off: I was missing the low notes and with the fiver I rarely needed to depend on open strings, but I had to depend on them a lot with the four. But now I consider the four an easier instrument to play for a lot of classic rock. Still, I prefer the fiver.

I like having an extra string below whatever I'm doing. That low D or low C or just playing E string parts on the 5th fret of the B string.

 

[bigjames]

Just curious for those that have 5, 6 ,7 string basses how often do you actually need the extra notes that a 4 string cannot do?
I do own one five string but play it like a 4 string probably 98% of the time when I use that bass. I guess I could have probably lived without one but have it "Just in case I need it"

I mean, technically, do you ever really NEED the extended range? Is it life or death? Probably not...but once you have it, you will find opportunity to use it. Admittedly, I find the B string more useful than the C string (on my 6).

 

[Bass Ape]

Need, Probably not
Want, Yes, All the time. I play 5s and therefore use the full range of the tool that is my instrument.

 

[Thir13teen]

Just curious for those that have 5, 6 ,7 string basses how often do you actually need the extra notes that a 4 string cannot do?
I do own one five string but play it like a 4 string probably 98% of the time when I use that bass. I guess I could have probably lived without one but have it "Just in case I need it"

That's like asking someone with 4WD how often they really need it. The answer is usually "rarely" but when you need it - thank god you've got it.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

how often do you actually need the extra notes that a 4 string cannot do

Not all that often, but I play notes very frequently on the B string of my 5 string that a 4 string can do, however, those notes are in a much more convenient place on the 5 string than they would be on a 4 string.

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[jdthaddeus]

Just curious for those that have 5, 6 ,7 string basses how often do you actually need the extra notes that a 4 string cannot do?
I do own one five string but play it like a 4 string probably 98% of the time when I use that bass. I guess I could have probably lived without one but have it "Just in case I need it"

I like to have the option for variety. From the root on the E string, instead of going 2 frets up on the D string to catch the 5th, I just drop straight to the B string.

I have a lot of fun with octaves and improv, so I use the 5th string quite often.

 

[Jazzdogg]

All of my five-strings are 35" and I find it much easier to play further up the neck than to reach down to half position for the same notes. I haven't played any of my four-string basses for several years.

 

[Barticus]

All of this.
I have 9 basses in my close rack, 5 5s and 4 6s, and I have 2 more of each in the spare room, as well as 12 4s that are seldom touched. Almost all of the 4s will be sold when the market picks up, or I can find someone worth donating them to.

Yeah it's funny/odd that this discussion even comes up anymore. Oh well, if someone wants to play 2.3,4,5,6,+ I don't care I just know what tools work for me.

 

[BargeOn]

I love playing G or F above the 5th fret on my 5ers. And on that nice, fat string. I can get 3 octaves acrosss the board from there. That low E-flat comes in handy at times too.

I get the impression that some guys don't pick that up, feel like if they don't hit that open B a few times a night they're not getting their money's worth. I've been trying to talk myself back into a 4 but haven't done it yet.

 

[MrAB4003]

I don't have a NEED for a fifth string, so my answer is never. I tune my 4 string basses to D Standard (DGCF) so I can have access to the low D and Eb. I don't really need any notes lower than D1.

However, there are times that I WANT a higher 5th string (tuned to A#) for chords and economy of motion.