Is it "cooler" to play a 4 string bass?

[5StringBlues]

I wonder if this thread will make 40 pages, like the Delete thread did?



It seems as relevant.

Only 8 more pages to go!

 

[Two-Spirit]

Theres more selection with 4 string basses and I rarely used the B on my other bass. You can always substitute notes and octave higher and I'll sound awesome.

 

[alembicbones]

4 strings are cool, as are 5 strings, as are 6 strings. For me I like the functionality of a 5 or 6.

As for cool, I'm too old to be cool (ask my daughter)!

Bones

 

[Two-Spirit]

6 strings make you look like a nut who really wants to play lead guitar. You hide them in the closet like a deranged son. The truth hurts

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[Brad Johnson]

I tend to avoid people who hear with their eyes.

 

[5StringBlues]

Theres more selection with 4 string basses and I rarely used the B on my other bass. You can always substitute notes and octave higher and I'll sound awesome.

That's not necessarily true.


Boogie On Reggae Woman won't sound any good at all.


Ever have to play under a B3 and a 4 piece horn section? Those lower notes help.


And again, there's more reason to play a 5 or 6 than just the extra notes.

 

[Two-Spirit]

That's not necessarily true.


Boogie On Reggae Woman won't sound any good at all.


Ever have to play under a B3 and a 4 piece horn section? Those lower notes help.


And again, there's more reason to play a 5 or 6 than just the extra notes.

I meant the six, it scares em, means we don't know our place. It depends how much you need the bottom string. I might eventually get another 5

 

[A9X]

I meant the six, it scares em, means we don't know our place.

What a load of rubbish.

 

[Robertron]

Without my B string I'd have to move around the neck more. Without my C string I wouldn't have as much range while tapping.

Play however you want just make sure you're playing well.

6 strings make you look like a nut who really wants to play lead guitar. You hide them in the closet like a deranged son. The truth hurts

I love my deranged son.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I meant the six, it scares em, means we don't know our place. It depends how much you need the bottom string. I might eventually get another 5

That's about as intuitive as a club owner complaining about how loud you're going to be because you walked in with an SVT. Again, I don't find myself working with people like that. If I come in as an unknown quantity and someone goes off on what I'm holding before I play a note... thanks for the heads up.

 

[craigmack1979]

With the absolute necessity of the low B-string in these various genres, it makes one wonder how the bassist before about 1975 got along without one.

I mean, really, when you need a C#, you only have one choice, right?

(Be gentle... at times, beavers say inappropriate and highly inflammatory things. They don't know any better.)

All my favorite bassists play 4 string basses .. Stanley … Verdine …. Marcus … Vic .. Sting .. James J . Some people play 5s cause it’s cool yet b string always humming . I have both 4/5 and feel more comfortable on 4 string for old skool funk

 

[RichterScale]

Number of strings is irrelevant.
As long as my hair looks good and the chicks are diggin it.

 

[RyanOh]

Boogie On Reggae Woman won't sound any good at all.

It won't? I play it all the time...on a 5 string, and yet never touch the low B on that tune. It's a 4 string line.
Please clarify your 4 year old post.

 

[elgranluis]

I always thought that if I ever needed a 5 trying bass , I’d simply buy a set of 5 strings and re-do the nut to lose the G.

I would be one note short to play Chromatic Fantasy, but it’s not like anybody wants to listen to that anyway.

 

[Raulplaysbass]

I did that for a little while, B, E, A, D. It didn’t stick around long.

 

[JMacBass65]

Always. Everything else is for wankers.

 

[Marko 1]

Number of strings is irrelevant.
As long as my hair looks good and the chicks are diggin it.

I don't have much up there, so I might wear a cool hat,

another thing to look cooler is wipe the cheap logos off my headstocks.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Most probably; nobody in the audience or even your band will care how many strings you have. They will care about the results you are providing, no matter the tool in hand. "Coolness" ought to come from your music.

 

[Snert]

Some people play 5s cause it’s cool yet b string always humming

If you mean droning or resonating out, then that's not the fault of the bass, it's the player's poor technique.