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Is there really a NEED to own a four string bass?

#43
I prefer playing a 4 but own a bunch of 5s to. Usually when I get a new bass it is a 5 as the 4 string I like most is used at every job while I rotate out the 5s. I also like a wider neck and many of the 5s are too narrow. So, I am getting a custom 5 built by Neal Moser. There are very few times I actually use that low B. But on those songs I really want the 5. I just plan ahead what set to use what bass.
 
#44
TrevorOfDoom said:
i like to joke with bass students that 5 strings were invented to help bassists become lazier, that you have to be creative and intentional with a 4 string.
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Yeah, because having a couple more notes available for certain situations is totally lazy and if the music you play calls for the occasional low D or C you should totally quit the band because the music that's being played is clearly not creative enough. :ninja:
 
#47
Kwesi said:
Is there really a NEED to own a four string bass?
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Well I don't know if I could say that you NEED it; however, I think it's probably easier for a beginner to learn on a 4 string than on a 5. Also, there seems to be more training materials for beginner that are geared toward 4-string bass than 5-string. So, I might say that you'll probably "need" a 4-string if your beginning.
 
#49
for many style applications, a 5-string can also be thought of as basically a 4, with 5 extra notes.
so the bulk of one's work, style and technique on a 4 is still intact, with no foreign-feeling high-C string cluttering up slap technique, etc...
but the awesome, immediate (as opposed to detuned) availability of those 5 great low notes is now onboard.
 
#50
If I could only have one bass, I would prefer a five string, but fours are alot of fun, IMO. To me a four is like a convertible on a sunny day. Sometimes a five can be like a station wagon in November.:)

That said, a good five is like rolling down the freeway in a BMW M5 with the sun roof open!:D
 
#52
Dr. Cheese said:
If I could only have one bass, I would prefer a five string, but fours are alot of fun, IMO. To me a four is like a convertible on a sunny day. Sometimes a five can be like a station wagon in November.:)

That said, a good five is like rolling down the freeway in a BMW M5 with the sun roof open!:D
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I suppose if you put a gun to my head and I could only have one bass I'd get a Sadowsky MV5. Fortunately I am able to have 2 basses so I can have a great 4 that I play more often, and a nice 5 for when I want/need.
 
#53
I tried a 5-ver about 3 years ago. I just couldn't get the hang of it. The b- string totally wacked my sense of the world. I am almost ready to try one again though. I would like to have the flexibility on certain songs that my bands do to not have to play an open E - a fretted E would sound better. I also would like the low D available without having to de-tune my E string. I would never get rid of my 4s though.
 
#55
Kwesi said:
I played 4 and 6 strings for a couple of years and after a while felt that I didn't effectively utilize the range that 6ers would give but I'd find myself missing the B string when I went down to my 4. As a compromise, at least until I think I can really put a 6er to work, I've gone strictly 5 string basses. There wasn't much of adjustment at all for me and I feel just as comfortable on them as I did on any other bass that I've owned. I've found that a huge advantage of 5ers is that because of the lack of a high-C, it's much easier to do complex slap, pop, double thumbing grooves and do them cleanly (think Wooten's "You can't hold no groove"), though I'm sure it could be done with practice. The thing is, while those kinds of things are just as easy to do on a 4 I now have a B string to thump on when I want to. I really feel like picking up a 5 has only taken a 4 string, given me more notes and voices, and subtracted nothing.

I'm not saying that 4s are no good by any means but as a comfortable 5 string player is there any real need to own one? Does anyone else feel this way about 4s? Just looking for for some opinions and good discussion :)
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I would play a 4 every time I could. But t depends on the gig.
This week, pretty much all 5 string stuff 'cept one song which I played my hollowbody archtop on.

For a while all I played were 5 strings. And thought I had no use for a 4 string.
Things change.
BTW, all my 4 string have HipShot D-Tuners.
 
#56
boomtisk said:
Yeah, because having a couple more notes available for certain situations is totally lazy and if the music you play calls for the occasional low D or C you should totally quit the band because the music that's being played is clearly not creative enough. :ninja:
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ouch! i've been burned! ;)

no, i believe strongly (and have great evidence) that creativity needs boundaries to flourish and grow. one boundary i've given myself is the use of 4 strings. i have to think about how my tone sits in the mix, and how to best construct basslines to maximize both rhythm and melody in the songs, and in a dense band mix, how to do both without stepping on toes. had i a 5, i could just play everything as low as possible, but that wouldn't be very interesting or creative, would it?
again, different strokes for different folks.
 

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