• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

is it worth buying a 5 strings ?

#441
I have played a 4 string bass for 16 years, never touched a 5er, then i had some extra cash and upgraded my bass to a 5er. I bought a top end bass and took a gamble! This all within last month... So, my result is realising that if i play in the middle of the neck, i hardly have to move up and down the neck, i make use of the B string very often, the fatter B string makes notes like E, G, F etc even sound Fatter and fuller. These notes are also so close to my hand position too. A two octave scale is far simpler to play on a fiver than on a 4 string. I dont look back and feel i made the right decision. Beauty of it all is that i can always sell my new bass and play my old one etc if my feelings change. You will never know until you try... so a month on, i am still more comfortable on my 4 string as expected but love the 5er and know i will get used to her. What helped is that i went from a SR500 to an SR5005. Same string spacing, similar neck, similar feel and same body size.. so all is quite similar for my change over.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StevieMac, Ralf1e and mcnach
#442
Ozzman500 said:
I have played a 4 string bass for 16 years, never touched a 5er, then i had some extra cash and upgraded my bass to a 5er. I bought a top end bass and took a gamble! This all within last month... So, my result is realising that if i play in the middle of the neck, i hardly have to move up and down the neck, i make use of the B string very often, the fatter B string makes notes like E, G, F etc even sound Fatter and fuller. These notes are also so close to my hand position too. A two octave scale is far simpler to play on a fiver than on a 4 string. I dont look back and feel i made the right decision. Beauty of it all is that i can always sell my new bass and play my old one etc if my feelings change. You will never know until you try... so a month on, i am still more comfortable on my 4 string as expected but love the 5er and know i will get used to her. What helped is that i went from a SR500 to an SR5005. Same string spacing, similar neck, similar feel and same body size.. so all is quite similar for my change over.
Click to expand...
Pics of the sr5005, please!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oleran
#443

Attachments

  • 58527397-C012-4410-A4C7-CE461BA159BD.jpeg
    58527397-C012-4410-A4C7-CE461BA159BD.jpeg
    678.5 KB · Views: 69
  • A3977A10-7A25-4F27-B5CE-43117C352243.jpeg
    A3977A10-7A25-4F27-B5CE-43117C352243.jpeg
    1 MB · Views: 73
  • 20D47A0E-DD5E-48CB-B72C-37DBFA21A064.jpeg
    20D47A0E-DD5E-48CB-B72C-37DBFA21A064.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 70
  • Like
Reactions: aus_bass and StevieMac
#447
10emmanuel said:
Hello mates! One does really need a 5 ? I am interested about it but since I am intermediate player I dont want to slow down my learning or even complicate my already gained progress, but maybe the 5th also teaches me new things , like expand the scales and stuff...

Its easy to say " go get one" , just keep in mind that I dont have a big budget to own 2 basses so I would have to sell mine 4 string to get a 5.


What do you guys say?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

While I did post a while ago, I guess it wasn't really in response to your question. So...
Really, this is something you'll have to decide for yourself. If what you want to play now - or think you may want to play in the future - would be played better and easier on a 5er than a 4? Then... yes, get the 5er. I doubt that the switch will be all that hard for you, considering your skill level right now. It would be much harder for me, since I've been playing 4 string basses since 1968. And, while that is one reason I don't want to switch, it's not the main reason. Which is that I'm consciously, deliberately, living in the musical world of '50s - mid '60s Rock, Rockabilly, C&W and Blues - and I just simply don't need one. For some of what I like to play, I don't really need 4 strings. But, unless you want to live there, too? Well, depending on what you play; you might not necessarily need a 5er, but for some of it, you'll be glad you have one. But, like I said; that's for you - and only you - to decide...:thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: factory presets and misterCRUSH
#448
All right, here's my attempt to add things to this thread that haven't already been said (too many times)
It depends on what you like and what you're doing.
Most of the cons listed for 4 vs. 5 have some type of mitigation, and then the question is, if the con is a problem, is the mitigation good enough? (a good example is drop tuners vs alternate tunings vs a fifth string, which we have discussed to death)
If you can only have one bass and you need a 5, get a five, no brainer. But do you need it? Maybe you don't. But do you want it? If you do, just go for it. Switching to a 5 from a 4 won't have a negative impact on your learning. I started on four, quickly decided that five would be way cooler, and the switch was not difficult at all. I like low notes (even though they're never needed as much as younger me would hope), I haven't been very into alternate tunings, and if you play covers by a whole bunch of artists and have to deal with transpositions, having that extra string can be handy.
On the other hand, sometimes looks do matter. If you show up to a Beatles tribute band audition with a 35" 5 string bass with active electronics, you would probably seem slightly out of place. I hear they tend to prefer things Hofner-shaped.
I say I'm a five string guy, but now I'm in a tribute band where most of the songs' basslines just make more sense in their original E flat standard tuning. The remaining ones I just adapt to it. Turns out I like E flat standard! I bring a four string to that band, and I'm starting to question everything...

TLDR: Do what you want, have fun, don't overthink it (which is exactly what we just spent hundreds of replies doing :laugh:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: misterCRUSH
#450
The OP indicated that he is an intermediate player. If he playing gigs, I suggest DO NOT bring the 5 string to play any gig until he has developed solid skills with the 5. For beginner to intermediate players adding that extra string is very easy to introduce mix-up while playing. I would recommend putting the 4 string away and concentrate all your play to the 5 string (not for gigs, but for practice ONLY). 5 string bass requires an all-in effort to develop the necessary muscle memory.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JPK_DK, misterCRUSH and Bass-ball
#455
Ozzman500 said:
I play my 5er Every day, but when i pick up my 4 string, i am right back in my comfort zone. I am really enjoying the 5 and hope that i get as comfortable with her as i am with my 4 string.
Click to expand...

New to the thread so my thoughts on 4v5. Nice looking basses I should add, Ibanez are impressing me lately. As of this year I play solely 5 string but have been playing EUB for some 15 years because of the type of gigs I was involved with but with age catching up on me its guitar only from now on and I'm surprised some players still carrying a torch for 4 string basses. Why turn down an extra string? With me I was busy doing big band stuff and often came across charts with notes lower than standard tuning, Eb being the most common but it was disappointing having to play a higher Eb where it was obvious I'd run out of notes, like endings so I decided to try 5 strings - instant gratification. I don't go with the thinking that says 4 strings are adequate for the reasons I've just stated so the bottom line for me is a 5 can play what a 4 can't. Simple as. Sure, there are more tunes available for 4 strings and if you've managed so far with that, great, and they're going nowhere so carry on by all means but when I think of myself as a bassist it's without conditions attatched - you want a low C? coming right up and everyone's happy, and most important, I could provide what they were looking for. Saying that my low B is 75% thumb rest, or 50% when I'm utilizing the B for positional purposes around the 7th fret so you could say it's only 'occasional', and I'd have to agree but you'd be sorry to lose that low D for Deacon Blue's Real gone Kid the band want to cover...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ozzman500, chris_b and misterCRUSH
#456
The_Bass_Troll said:
I have five 5-string basses and the rest are 4-stringers. I prefer 4-string basses because, for me, 5-string bass necks are too wide for my comfort. I now tune most of my 4-string basses B-E-A-D because I find I use the low B, C, C#, D, and Eb, more than the highest B, C, C#, D, and Eb on the G string with 20 frets.
However, I have played around with a neck tuned in fifths instead of fourths. If you tune your bass Bb, F, C, G, you will have every note you get on a 5-string plus a bonus low Bb.
Click to expand...
So you don't really like 5's you prefer 4's But you bought 5 of them just in case maybe. You really are the bass troll aren't you
 
  • Like
Reactions: Planetguitar, mcnach and DJ Bebop
#458
vindibona1 said:
I appreciate everything you've said until the last sentence. I've found the adage "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it" to be the key to saving my bacon in so many situations.

The human is extremely adaptable. And there are so many variations on basses that I believe it would be impossible for someone to find a 5 string that they can bond with. I have a personal example.

I needed a 5 string for a show I was doing. Without going into the story of how I ended up with it, my first 5 string was a used Ibanez BTB 675. I was coming off of a Squier VM70's Jazz4 with a slim neck. The BTB had(has) a 35" scale a wide flat neck with 48mm nut and 19mm string spacing. I got it home and thought "gosh, this is so big". But it had a 45 day return policy so I hung onto it. In the meantime I ordered a Yamaha TRBX605 (in current avatar). It had a 43mm nut, 34" scale and 18mm string spacing (I think). The Yamaha came and I loved it (after changing strings). But I held onto the BTB and continued to practice with it and the Yamaha. At 30 days I couldn't part with either.

Yes, it took me some time to get comfortable with a 5er, but once I did my Jazz4 became an orphan, more or less while I still love it. Unless I'm doing a show most gigs only have an optional low D because the singer likes the key of D and the Jazz4 has a drop D tuner. One day I'll bring it to a gig, just for nostalgia. Adaptation is a funny thing.
Click to expand...
I bonded with my Spector 5 string. I love it. I have a ff 5 Ibanez, a Shekter ff studio 5 a G&L Legacy 2000 5 string. As well as a few very nice Matsumoko built 4 strings and two G&l legacy 4 strings But the Spector Euro is the one I reach for before I go out the door to play. I just can't help it I'm weak lol.
While I'm here the myth about the difficult transition from 4 to 5 or standard fretting to variable scale did not apply to me. I settled down to either or both within a couple of weeks. Probably cos I'm too old to learn something new so I just got on with it.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back