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Is it possible that playing a 5 string is actually easier than playing a 4 string?
- Thread starter SmokinJoe992
- Start date
I typically play a six. I find it easier in many ways. Left hand movement is drastically reduced, which is a real benefit if you're singing. It is also far easier to play chords with a wider voicing; wider voicings keep chords on a bass from sounding muddy. It can also be harder in a few ways. I play Alembic basses that sustain for days. One must be cognizant of sympathetic ringing on strings that aren't being played, so muting is critical. At 13 and 14 pounds, both of my main basses get a tad heavy by the end of the night.
Personally, I didn't have any trouble getting used to a six string bass. I took my six and only my six to my gig the night I took delivery of it. A couple of clams in the first set, but from there out I had no issues. One thing I have noticed, however, is I play a six in a completely different fashion from a four. I end up playing lines on a six I wouldn't normally play on a four as the possibilities are a bit different; intervals that are impossible on a four without right hand tapping are easy on a six. I've also noticed that I don't much care for five-string basses. Every time I have a five in my hands I find myself wanting either a four or a six, but that's just me.
In the end, it boils down to what the individual is comfortable playing. I keep a gaggle of four string basses in the harem to keep me honest. I let others play the five string offerings.
Personally, I didn't have any trouble getting used to a six string bass. I took my six and only my six to my gig the night I took delivery of it. A couple of clams in the first set, but from there out I had no issues. One thing I have noticed, however, is I play a six in a completely different fashion from a four. I end up playing lines on a six I wouldn't normally play on a four as the possibilities are a bit different; intervals that are impossible on a four without right hand tapping are easy on a six. I've also noticed that I don't much care for five-string basses. Every time I have a five in my hands I find myself wanting either a four or a six, but that's just me.
In the end, it boils down to what the individual is comfortable playing. I keep a gaggle of four string basses in the harem to keep me honest. I let others play the five string offerings.
Ha! That's amazing considering it's Yves, most well known for playing very extended range instruments.
For all those who say no one worth a darn plays more please take a look at the enclosed and tell me Buddha Man at worth a mention. Hell yeah there are many players out there that get it done with four, but there's plenty out there that get it done with 5,6, even 7 strings. "Hey if my Grandpa got it done on the upright with gut strings, what makes me think these steel strings are gonna sound any better?----And he had to walk 10 miles to school in the snow---up hill--both ways!" LOL
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Neck shape, nut width and string spacing all become more crucial when moving to a five string. Make sure you can spend a got deal of time on what you are considering buying. I played a Standard Fender Jazz briefly. Liked it so I got it. The fretboard was so wide I couldn't adapt as I have smallish fingers. I sold it two months later. During that time I tried an Ibanez; string spacing was way too tight. Then I tried a Yamaha BB series. To my hands the neck was perfection and it sounded killer. It has been my number one for quite some time.
5 string allows me to have better technique, allows me to have the bass higher up when sitting so I don't have to bend over (hurting my back) and it allows me to not shift as much.
Yeah, and for me after trying many fivers--even owned a Dingwall for a while--at the end of the day, for the music I largely do(which ranges from American roots music to reggae to indie/pop/rock and beyond), those "extra" low notes aren't just largely unnecessary, they actually sound kinda ..."wrong". They stick out like a sore thumb! So I end up not using them on a fiver anyway. Not to say I don't record stuff that requires some low low stuff--I do a fair amount of electronic music as well - but for that I use synths.
Yeah, 'cause that way the part has personality, character, flavor. Even if you're not sliding, just the physical act of going up the neck imparts an energy or quality of some kind to the performance. I've used fivers for the extra low notes when I needed, but I've never looked at it as a means to "shift less" to make things easier. Not that I haven't encountered parts that were made easier to pull off with a five string, but that was never the impetus for me playing one, it was just the low notes that were the selling point for me.
Bass is easier than guitar because it has less strings. Trumpet and saxophone are really easy because they have no strings.
Try a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V. They are pretty decent and can't be beat at that price IMHO.
I got a fiver a few months after I started playing seriously. I switch back and forth on a weekly or even daily basis. I don't find one any harder than the other. They are just different. I'll play one song differently on the 5 than I do on the 4. As far as staying in one position on the 5 for all your notes....yes you can do that but the 4 and the 5 both have 20+ frets for a reason. I think the 5 makes it easier to transpose songs to a lower key, for church gigs for example, to compensate for singers with a limited range. I like that I have the option of more voicings with the 5. But at the end of the day, it's what you get used to and what you like. If you play mainly a 4 you're gonna like the 4 better because you know what works. Same goes for the 5. I play both about the same and enjoy both about the same. Sure, you CAN do more with a 5, but it HOW you do what you do with either.
It's what you get used to. I can't say that enough.
It's what you get used to. I can't say that enough.
Having started my musical career (if you can call it that) as a guitar player, I always found a 5 string bass easier to play.
I prefer large necks (like 58 Les Paul or Nocaster large) and most 4 string basses have really tiny necks, especially up at the nut and I was never comfortable with that.
I prefer large necks (like 58 Les Paul or Nocaster large) and most 4 string basses have really tiny necks, especially up at the nut and I was never comfortable with that.
It's where I'm most comfortable. 4 strings are wonderful, but 5 strings are just more flexible instruments in my experience. Take your pick for reasons why: less shifting if you want, playing the same notes in a higher positions so your hand stretches less, more notes in the low position, playing in A at the 10th fret with palm muting to mimic an upright... you name it. It's not "better", it just offers more options.
I do think a 5's "easier" most of the time for all the reasons already stated. But sometimes I just like the way a 4 feels in a certain context. I'm a big advocate for being proficient at both and going back and forth as desired. It takes a while, but I find it's no harder than learning an alternate tuning, say. ...in fact, easier.
I don't know that I would say it is easier. I've got a Peavey Grind 6 (6 string) that I play pretty much at all of our practices and gigs, and while it took some getting used to, I find that I really enjoy having both the lower and higher register of notes to work with. I still move up and down the neck a lot though, but have just more options...
Just converted my other upright to five string. Now all my basses are 5 strings. Are they easier to play----sometimes---especially if you are into string crossings rather than shifting. I personally love them for the extended dynamic range. Upright has forced me to pick notes based on tone colour rather than hand position. Yes you can hit that note three different ways, but each one has its own special tone colour. Famous Jazz Saxophonist Lester Young, AKA--The Prez. made a living by knowing which ones to pick based upon the tone colour required by a specific song passage.
