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I don't think I'll ever be able to play a 4 banger again

capnsandwich

capnsandwich

Jul 18, 2006
9,120
5,190
Columbus, Ohio
#1
So, a few years ago I made the switch from a 4 string Warwick to a 5 string Tobias Toby Pro. I've since then only owned 2 other 4 bangers, and one of them I sold due to the fact it wasn't a 5'er. I still have the 4 string Fender Jazz but everything else I own is either a 5 or 6 string. I tried playing the Fender Jazz at church but found myself wanting to use the B string (that wasn't there) for certain notes but I had to go back up or down the neck in order to make myself happy.

I see a lot of other guys here recently switching from 5 and 6'ers back to 4's. It seems to be the "cool thing" to do. I just can't do it. I need the added notes to be able to play scales and chords that I wouldn't be able to touch on a 4 string.

Am I alone out there or are there others like me who can't go back?
 
#4
I am with ya Cap'n! started playing 5ers about 2.5 years ago....the first was my 55-02 (the "original" Amber) and have not looked back since.....I play Christian Music which always seems to be in "wierd" keys and needs the ability to go 3 octaves....

so...no way!
 
#8
I've been playing bass for 33 years. When 5-strings started becoming widely available in the early 90's, I made the switch immediately because to me it just made so much sense. It still does. I would never play fewer than 5 strings now that I'm where I'm at in my career. Why rob myself of those lovely and incredibly useful notes?

I have played 6 and 7 strings, but did not find the same appeal there. I felt I was wandering into other band members' territory. But when I drop that low C, I am all by myself down there, making the walls flex. To me it's the essence of what makes being a bass player fun. 95% of the time you're not soloing on the upper frets, you're not being Jaco. You're holding down the bottom. And I like BIG bottom! Just ask my wife!!!! ;)
 
#9
After playing a 5er primarily for the last two years, I often miss what the 5er can do when I have a 4 banger in my hand. Specifically in the setting at church.

But I still really dig getting old-school funky on my p-bass and just feel a bit more expressive on the 4-string fretless.

I will definitely continue to play 5 string as a main axe, but will keep a couple of the choice fours around, too. (they're too much fun).
 
#10
I dont think theyre doing it because its the "cool thing to do" Matt. Many players, myself included, start to think, "Hey, 5 or 6 strings, cool basses, more availability of scales, etc."

I thought this, I did. Then I played some 5s and 6s. Ehh.. I dont like the sound of a low B, and I dont solo so the C is pointless. Plus, a 4 banger FEELS right to me. Most posts I read are ones of people saying how much better the 4 feels after being on a 5,6,ERB, etc.

IMO, YMMV, etc.
 
#12
Hey, glad to hear you are enjoying a 5er!

I like both, although I prefer a 4. My first bass was a 5 string Schecter, which I still have, so I pretty much learned on a 5. When I first put my hands on a jazz neck is when my opinion began to change. I just love the feel of the slim neck on a 4 str. jazz. Plus lately I've been learning some slap technique and a 4 str. neck is key for plucking below the high G. The strings on my schecter are just too close to pluck anything but high G. It really wears out the cuticles.

When you think about it, 5 str. only really gives you 5 extra notes, but there is something to be said for the extra availability of notes across the fretboard, as well as getting those duplicate notes on the deeper sounding Bstr.. However, IMO being able to get those same notes with horizontal movement as opposed to the same position really gets you used to that kind of movement across the neck, and this kind of horizontal movement is key to playing slap, and it just looks flashy when someone covers those horizontal intervals, looks like they are really doing something dynamic.

To each their own, but IMO 4 string is key for slap playing, and if you want lows and more options in each position, then 5 is the way to go.

jm
 
#13
I got my first 5 after I'd been playing 6 years. Have not owned a 4 since - that was 16 years ago. All my basses are 5's or 6's. The low B is an integral part of my playing and has been since that time. To me a 4 string is missing a string. :)

That said, I know several guys who play slap who don't like 5, which I understand.
 
#15
J. Crawford said:
I dont think theyre doing it because its the "cool thing to do" Matt. Many players, myself included, start to think, "Hey, 5 or 6 strings, cool basses, more availability of scales, etc."

I thought this, I did. Then I played some 5s and 6s. Ehh.. I dont like the sound of a low B, and I dont solo so the C is pointless. Plus, a 4 banger FEELS right to me. Most posts I read are ones of people saying how much better the 4 feels after being on a 5,6,ERB, etc.

IMO, YMMV, etc.
Click to expand...

Why is it that people think a C string can only be used for soloing? :eyebrow:

Same for the low B - some folks think the only things its useful for are hitting notes below E.
 
#17
SpamBot said:
Same for the low B - some folks think the only things its useful for are hitting notes below E.
Click to expand...

It took me a minute to see your point, but the way I play bass and the way I believe a bass should be played to fill the traditional bass/contrabass tonal spectrum in ensemble music, the B string's ability to go below low E would be its only justification for me -- and I haven't found it to be useful after all. :hmm:
 
#20
I play a sixer, which I find immensely helpful when sight reading sheet music, I can stay in one position and not have to worry about looking at me fingers too much.

That being said, I definitely want a 4 string, Ibanez 6'ers are just too tight string spacing wise. After that I'm thinking a broadnecked 6 would be nice.
 

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