Umm.. i like to have a little fun on TB occasionally, it’s a little bit of humor directed towards the “jaco only needed 4” folks, that I particularly enjoy…
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is it worth buying a 5 strings ?
- Thread starter 10emmanuel
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Jaco was a genius bass player, who redefined the entire role of electric bass in jazz music. Five-string basses did not become widely available until after Jaco had died (tragically young) in 1987, though they did exist as custom-built instruments before then. Or so I've been told.
So many replies. I didn't read them all. Ask 2 people and you'll get 3 answers. If I can boil it down to a simpler form...
Does the music you play now ask you for lower notes? Do you want or do you envision needing more versatility down the road if not now? Logic holds that the extra lower string doesn't keep you from playing everything you play on your four string. It's still a 4 string but with a lower extra string. But having said that, how quickly you adapt to the 5 string depends on your mental orientation. Initially it will feel different.
To explain what I just said... With my four string my mental orientation was EADG. So my tactile reference was from the low E up to G. If your orientation is GDAE, you may have an easier time adpating to 5 string because everything will feel the same, except that extra low string. It took a bit of getting used to and not playing 4 string at all for a time accelerates adaptation. After getting fully adapated to 5 string my 4 string feels foreign, but after 5 minutes of reacquaintance it's natural again and I can go back and forth easily. Interestingly, when I bought my first 6 string it was an easier transition.
Ok... neck size. Someone said that a 5 stringer can be heavy with a thick neck (paraphrased). While some CAN be, that isn't necessarily the case. While I have some basses with a wider neck and perhaps string spacing, one of the most elegant, 4 string/guitar player crossover 5 string basses is the Yamaha TRBX 505 or 605. They have extremely elegant and sleek necks. So easy to play. My TRBX605 weighs only 8.5 pounds, about the same weight as my Deluxe Stratocaster. Now, I do have basses that weigh 9 to 9.5 pounds. My buddy's Zelinski Mule 5 is lighter than most of my basses and the nut width is just as narrow as my 4 string (too narrow for me). Neck balance is also key to comfort that will make a heavier bass seem lighter.
My SIXER is the lightest bass I own. Just a little neck heavy, but the friction of the strap counters it. Go figure.
Does the music you play now ask you for lower notes? Do you want or do you envision needing more versatility down the road if not now? Logic holds that the extra lower string doesn't keep you from playing everything you play on your four string. It's still a 4 string but with a lower extra string. But having said that, how quickly you adapt to the 5 string depends on your mental orientation. Initially it will feel different.
To explain what I just said... With my four string my mental orientation was EADG. So my tactile reference was from the low E up to G. If your orientation is GDAE, you may have an easier time adpating to 5 string because everything will feel the same, except that extra low string. It took a bit of getting used to and not playing 4 string at all for a time accelerates adaptation. After getting fully adapated to 5 string my 4 string feels foreign, but after 5 minutes of reacquaintance it's natural again and I can go back and forth easily. Interestingly, when I bought my first 6 string it was an easier transition.
Ok... neck size. Someone said that a 5 stringer can be heavy with a thick neck (paraphrased). While some CAN be, that isn't necessarily the case. While I have some basses with a wider neck and perhaps string spacing, one of the most elegant, 4 string/guitar player crossover 5 string basses is the Yamaha TRBX 505 or 605. They have extremely elegant and sleek necks. So easy to play. My TRBX605 weighs only 8.5 pounds, about the same weight as my Deluxe Stratocaster. Now, I do have basses that weigh 9 to 9.5 pounds. My buddy's Zelinski Mule 5 is lighter than most of my basses and the nut width is just as narrow as my 4 string (too narrow for me). Neck balance is also key to comfort that will make a heavier bass seem lighter.
My SIXER is the lightest bass I own. Just a little neck heavy, but the friction of the strap counters it. Go figure.
I do believe Jaco would’ve been devastatingly good on a 5 or 6 in reality, like his son Felix, who is a complete beast on the bass…
Thanks! It's a USA made Peavey Millennium that I modified with different pickups and a preamp.
I just wanted to throw something else out there. IMO the biggest reason NOT to get a 5 string is the necessary adaptation, whatever that takes. I'm going to go on a limb and say that 95%+ of 5 string players don't regret playing a 5er primarily if not exclusively. I have a fabulous 4 string bass that I overimproved in every way. Easy to play. Sounds fabulous. It hasn't been gigged in over 3 years. It hangs on my wall and gets played every few days for sentimental value. A 5 string player once adapted can easily play 4 string if desired.
Some folks claim issue with 5 strings could be size, weight, string spacing etc. You can see from the specs below from the 4, 5 and 6 string basses that I have hanging on my wall, there isn't a correlation between string count and weight or dimensions.
Squier VM Modified 70's Jazz 4 scale length 34". Nut width 38mm. String spacing 18mm 10 pounds
Yamaha TRBX605, Scale length 34". Nut width 43mm. String spacing 18mm 23-5/8" radius 8.5 pounds
Ibanez BTB675 Scale length 34", nut width 47.5mm. String spacing 19mm (I think) 20" radius 9 pounds
Fender Jazz 5, 34" scale, nut width 47.6mm 9.5" radius weight 9.8 pounds
Ibanez Gio 6 string Scale 34". Nut width 54mm. 16mm radius. String spacing 16.5mm. Weight 8.25 pounds
It's interesting how one adapts. The first 5 string I came home with was the BTB675. 35" scale length. Wide nut width. I thought it was way too big for me, but had 45 days to return it. So I ordered the Yamaha TRBX605. 34" scale length, narrower nut, lighter. The thing is by the time the Yamaha came in I had practiced on the BTB. The crazy thing is that I ended up keeping both (then adding later on, for whatever reason I can't explain. I LOVE my Squier Jazz 4, but after a short while getting used to the 5's I have no practical need for it. I'll pick it up and it feels great, easy to play, sounds awesome. But when it's time to go out to play- it's going to be a 5er and once in awhile the 6. But as great a bass as it is, the 4 stays home.
Some folks claim issue with 5 strings could be size, weight, string spacing etc. You can see from the specs below from the 4, 5 and 6 string basses that I have hanging on my wall, there isn't a correlation between string count and weight or dimensions.
Squier VM Modified 70's Jazz 4 scale length 34". Nut width 38mm. String spacing 18mm 10 pounds
Yamaha TRBX605, Scale length 34". Nut width 43mm. String spacing 18mm 23-5/8" radius 8.5 pounds
Ibanez BTB675 Scale length 34", nut width 47.5mm. String spacing 19mm (I think) 20" radius 9 pounds
Fender Jazz 5, 34" scale, nut width 47.6mm 9.5" radius weight 9.8 pounds
Ibanez Gio 6 string Scale 34". Nut width 54mm. 16mm radius. String spacing 16.5mm. Weight 8.25 pounds
It's interesting how one adapts. The first 5 string I came home with was the BTB675. 35" scale length. Wide nut width. I thought it was way too big for me, but had 45 days to return it. So I ordered the Yamaha TRBX605. 34" scale length, narrower nut, lighter. The thing is by the time the Yamaha came in I had practiced on the BTB. The crazy thing is that I ended up keeping both (then adding later on, for whatever reason I can't explain. I LOVE my Squier Jazz 4, but after a short while getting used to the 5's I have no practical need for it. I'll pick it up and it feels great, easy to play, sounds awesome. But when it's time to go out to play- it's going to be a 5er and once in awhile the 6. But as great a bass as it is, the 4 stays home.
Well... Hate to burst your bubble, but... no, not everybody on TB loves 5-string basses. How do I know? 'Cause one of those folks that don't love them - is Me. I don't hate them; it's just that there are a couple of reasons - good reasons - for me not to waste my time and $$ on them.
1) Almost all of them have necks that are much too wide for my stubby little troglodyte fingers to play with any dexterity or comfort. I have trouble with a standard Fender P-Bass neck; anything wider than that? Definite no-go... And, while there are a few 5-stringers with necks narrow enough for me? Very few of them are left handed, and the ones that are - like a Rick 4003/5? Well, they're sort of a unicorn. I've never seen one in person; never mind a left handed one.
2) Not a single song I've ever had to play - or like to play now, in my old age - in the 50+ years I've been playing a bass, would be played any better on a bass with 5 strings. I even had a BEAD 4-string bass for a few years; even that B string wound up being... well, pretty useless for me. So, that bass is just a normal 4-stringer now. EADG's always worked just fine for me; it still does. So, there's no good reason to change that I can see...
Please understand; I'm not saying that 5-stringers are silly; or useless; or anything else. Lots of people have them; use them; like them; and, for the music they play? Probably actually need them, too. Those folks will never get any grief from me if they play one - for any reason. But, they simply have no place in my bass herd...
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I have an Ibanez Mezzo 4-string. I didn't care for the stock sound, so I pulled out the electronics and put in a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound PJ set with Bourns mini pots. The controls are wired Volume-Volume-Tone, like a Jazz bass. I installed the fourth pot, but left it disconnected. The "P" pickup fit perfectly. The "J" pickup didn't. I paid a luthier to slightly enlarge the "J" pickup cavity. Now it plays and sounds great.
As a side note, the stock Ibanez Dynamix pickups are passive. So, you could pull out the preamp and give the stock passive pickups a try. Since I'm a Seymour Duncan fanboy, I skipped that step.
If I ever buy a 5-string, it will be a Mezzo. I prefer shorter scales and the 4-string Mezzo is very comfortable in every way (contours, weight, neck profile, etc.). And at $380, it's a total steal.
Good luck in your search.
To me fours are like an old friend that makes me smile and feel good. ...Like a cool old Jeep or truck or convertible that's great fun for known conditions but you wouldn't want to be your only daily driver. Fives are a more complete instrument for the modern world: More songs these days are composed assuming the bass is a five, and more folks than ever assume the bassist can transpose on the fly. Fives accommodate both.
Not sure about that.
I wouldn't call laziness to not doing something that you don't see a need for, you know?
Right on!!!It's not!
I was just adding to the silly negative comments
I just picked up my first five string (after 25 years of playing fours) for mostly these reasons. Playing upper extensions also may be easier on a five string without needing to shift position. I've also had some wrist issues (ganglion cysts) that make playing in the money zone on my four kind of difficult. With a fiver, I can play those notes in a more comfortable wrist position I think.
Edit: clarity
(mod edit to remove deleted quote)
In my opinion "can't" is most often used when "won't" would fit better. Anybody absolutely can, it's just a matter of the balance between interest+motivation and effort required, and the thresholds for that will vary from person to person. Time is limited, and people will have different priorities as to how to spend theirs. I don't feel comfortable calling someone else lazy just because their priorities don't match mine. But that's just me.
In my opinion "can't" is most often used when "won't" would fit better. Anybody absolutely can, it's just a matter of the balance between interest+motivation and effort required, and the thresholds for that will vary from person to person. Time is limited, and people will have different priorities as to how to spend theirs. I don't feel comfortable calling someone else lazy just because their priorities don't match mine. But that's just me.
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Just remember, it wasn't all that long ago when double-basses actually only had 3 strings. They existed all the way up into the late 1920s in some parts of the world. Those 3-string basses were considered solo repertoire instruments. The fourth string was added to increase versatility in ensembles.
Look even further back and the renaissance viola da-gamba "bass" I briefly played in university had 7 strings and gut "frets" you could set on the fingerboard. What a pain in the gut that was.
Grab your bass and make some music.
Look even further back and the renaissance viola da-gamba "bass" I briefly played in university had 7 strings and gut "frets" you could set on the fingerboard. What a pain in the gut that was.
Grab your bass and make some music.
I really don't know what an "intermediate" player is in terms of level of competence, but if you are relatively new to bass in general, I recommend a 5 and stay away from 4's altogether. I played 4's for 40 years before changing to a 5 and I struggled badly for the first couple of years always hitting wrong notes on the wrong string and it was intimidating to the point of forcing me to play more conservatively.
After using a P 5, Jazz 5 and Alembic 5, over the next decade I grew proficient enough to play out live comfortably but at some point realized that I was not me any longer and so went back to 4's where I am much happier and fluid around the fretboard.
Another point, there is a thread on here about high profiled studio guys playing bass lines in what is really a show case competition between them. It is interesting to note that they all tried to out pace each other with speed and no-one used the 5th B string that was at least audible.
It kind of cemented for me at least, the part time value of a 5th string when holding a bassline is the game. The other thing is that the pioneers of the instrument showed the world what music can come from 4 strings and there is no lacking of memorable talent based on 4 strings.
Lastly, there are tonal differences between 4's and 5's where emphasis is placed on lower A and E strings compared to a more seldom asphyxiated E and over asphyxiated B. Let your own ear decide and try to be conscious of neck comfort in playing a 5 string compared to a 5. The wider neck on a 5 is not for everyone, especially me.
