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

[cassius987]

Is there really a NEED to own a 5 string bass? It's called "wants".

 

[MEKer]

I'll skip 5's altogether. Just gimme my beloved 4's and a Hellcat VI.

 

[mcm]

yes, to look cool playing rocknroll, which cant be achieved by playing 5 and 6 strings basses.

 

[J. Crawford]

Need? No. Want? Yes.

 

[OxJohnson]

I was a hard core 4 banger until I got a 5. No looking back.

Do you *need* one... no. Is it nice... YES.

They are just much easier to play "in position".

Ox.

 

[darkstorm]

O yes, the 4 string bass is an essential thing. Its neck width, freq range, and four not five nor six strings is historic thing as well. 4 means bass dont you know, whereas five means allmost bass or more then bass, and six well thats just a mistake by someone who thought it was a guitar, LMAO. But seriously, 4 strings is good. 5 and six can be good too but thats an abheration I tell ya. Not necc a bad one but still. Lol.

 

[cassanova]

I own two 5 strings. I do not feel a need or want to own a four string. My 5's take care of everything that a 4 can do and more, if I don't need the B or feel like using the B then I don't have to but, it's there if I do want to use it.

 

[palmann]

Since I don't own any five or six string basses, I need mine…

Gruesse, Pablo

 

[Queg]

I clicked on this thread with the thought of going the other way:
Link Removed

Danny Pearson of American Music Club made great music with it:

 

[12stringbassist]

I had a 5 string Mex Jazz for a while and it didn't get used enough. I sold it and
then spent the money on another 4-string. I've never felt the need to replace it
or even pick a 6 string bass up.

I probably 'lack adventure' or something, but 4 string bass is what I do. Moving
from one set-up to another is always going to be a wrench.

 

[Evil Undead]

I've played a 5 string but didn't really like it for a few reasons. They're cool and everything, but not for me.
I loooove my 4's

 

[mongo2]

I bought a 5 several years ago to have in case anyone asked for it. So far nobody has asked me to use it.

 

[hrodbert696]

I'm just an amateur jammer, not so experienced with different basses as a lot of people here, but here's what I have observed: I first got a cheap starter Ibanez 4 to learn the instrument. Then my second bass was a 5, Washburn T25, which is what I play on now. Sold the starter 4 to buy a more proper amp (I'm not the kind of person who can buy sixteen basses a year and hang them on the wall).

The 5 can do everything the 4 can and then some, so I'm really happy with the switch. It's cool to drop in those bottom Bs, Cs and Ds rather than having to go up on those chords all the time. There's also more economy of movement and not having to stretch down to the bottom of the neck all the time for E-G notes when I'm otherwise playing mid-neck.

On the other hand, the neck is wider and makes me work harder to get those bottom notes, just stretching my left fingers around it. So I find myself GASsing to get a new 4 now. Can't afford one, and I wouldn't get rid of my 5, but I think it would be a nicer, easier feel for songs that don't use that B string. Do I need it? No, not at my casual level of play. But I think it's the next addition to my gear.

 

[zzrpilot]

I have small hands and find the 5 string bass's a struggle so yes 4 string Bass's have their place.

Perhaps when I have been playing a few years I may change my opinion ........perhaps not

 

[Roy Vogt]

I have to have at least one four string for teaching. Most students have 4 strings as entry level instruments. It's too much to ask a new player to deal with a new instrument and a new musical concept and then ask him to ignore one or two strings in the bargain.
I primarily record with 6 strings-although I'll bring a 4 or 5 and put it in my instrument rack to reassure producers if I don't know them

 

[kraigo]

This is as good a response as I could have come up with. I've got a couple of fives and I'm comfortable with them, but I've been using my fours almost exclusively this year.

My four strings are "character" basses: My P-Bass, my semi-hollow, the sporty little Yamaha RBX4A2. They make me play differently. My fretted five is a jack of all trades, but this year the four strings have suited me better.

As SteveC said, I can do almost everything I can do on a five on a four. Get over it: it's a walloping five more notes!

KO

Of course anything you can do with a 4 you can do with a 5. It comes own to needs and preferences. I used to play a 5, now I play a 4 with a d-tuner. I found that MOST of my playing could be done on a 4. The few times I want/need a D or Eb I can get with the d-tuner. I think the E string sounds different on a 4. I like the slimmer neck for my small hands.

For a while all I had was a 5 and I didn't really feel the NEED for a 4 string. I do feel a litle need to have a 5 laying around - just in case - for contemporary jazz and church.

I like my 4 string, I play it 99% of the time. I take out my 5 once in a while to stay familiar with it. If my 5 sounded as good as my 4, it MIGHT be a different story but I don't think so at this time.

Long story short - I could be comfortable and make either one work as my only bass.

 

[kraigo]

Probably too late to respond, but I think very highly of the Yamaha BB415 five string.

KO

It's funny now that I think about it, but I was playing "Signed, Sealed Delivered.." the other night and thought--weirdly--that the low B would have really helped me out; that was the first time, really. But, hey, there could be more. I think I am working up an excuse to buy a new bass. Wondering what a good 5er for an elderly beginner might be. Any suggestions?

 

[Blake Bass]

Honestly, I've been playing for 25 years and still haven't found a need for a 5 string

I have been playing for 29 years and the majority of it has been on a 5 string..I have found many uses for the low B string..the only time I play a 4 is when I'm doing jazz standards on my Rob Allen Mouse fretless..in that case I wouldn't use the B string anyway.

 

[mrnasty]

I own six four-string electric basses. In my 35 years of playing I've found no need to purchase a five or six string electric bass guitar.

I'll admit there are times when I thought that a low e-flat, d or c would have added something to a song, but that need doesn't come up enough to pick up one of the basses. And I play 3 or 4 gigs per month, either in a jazz combo, a classic rock cover band or doing original music.

 

[PZapdos]

im not big on 4's they just sound... like im missing something.

I learned on a 4, btw.

I love 5's

i feel no need to go above a G, so if i ever owned a 6 it'd be tuned F#BEADG but thats just me