New to 5 string, now 4's feel odd

[Aidil]

Enjoy your new B string! Maybe a 6 string is next??

After 5 string, some would go to a 6, and only a few would go even further to a 7.

I don't play my 7 much. They are more for practicing melodies, chords and some other stuffs. With a 7 strings standard BEADGCF tuning, the bass player can get all natural notes from the open strings. Or, with F#BEADGC tuning, the bass player can now do lower notes than the keyboard/piano player can.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

Yeah once I started fives I see no need (for me personally) to play four strings anymore, unless for the purposes of teaching a beginner who is learning on a 4 which is usually the norm. Having a low b is so nice and if you only want to use four strings then just use four, you don’t have to hit the 5th string all the time but it’s there if you want so why limit yourself? It comes in handy all the time. No more, “gahhh, gotta tune to drop D” or “oh poop, they tuned a half step down when they recorded this.” I think what you’re experiencing is the norm for most of us who play a 5 string.

 

[A9X]

I play mainly 5's (3x) and 6's (5x) these days, and 4's feel a little foreign to me now. I still have bunch of 4's and I'm going to keep a couple, one for sentimental reasons and a others just because they're pretty, but the rest can go. I can't see me going back.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I ain't going back to 4 string. In fact I see no reason for anyone to play one.

An inability to perceive the benefits that addressing the challenges of a 4 string instrument brings does not indicate that they don't exist.

Personally, I don't see why anyone would play a 5-string tuned B-E-A-D-G when the same range, greater versatility, and a significantly smoother line can be achieved with a 6-string tuned B-D#-G-B-D#-G. Perhaps relearning the relationships between strings is a challenge on an entirely different level to learning to mute a 5th string

 

[madjazzbass]

I've no longer had a 4 string bass since probably 20 years ago, after 10 years with a 5 string (in which the last 6 years never even played the 4). Then I've added and sold a bunch of 6 strings, some more 5 strings, and even a couple of 7 strings, but never once I've had any desire to own another 4 string bass.

Yes, a 4 string would feel odd once you've accustomed to a 5. It felt psychologically challenging when a 4 string bass was presented to me with no other options to play. And IME, it's not the same case when I jumped to the 6 and 7. I can go back and forth to among the 5, 6, and 7 string basses easily. Do I regret this or missing the 4 string? Never.

So, you'll be fine with your 5.

Thanks, I'm sure I will.

 

[Rib 13]

Continue to rotate them. Still mainly play the 5 for a while until you feel that you are just as proficient on it as the 4. Then play them both equally .
Soon you will be Jack of trades and master of none!!

^This....I go back n forth prn between both for a long time that my mind can now differentiate the two pretty easily.
For myself, both have advantages and disadvantages, so Im glad I am able to do this

 

[AxtoOx]

I've tried, but once you get used to a 5er, I'm stuck.

 

[madjazzbass]

I left 4 strings 20+ years ago and don't plan on owning or playing one again. Technically, all a 5 string or 6 string are is a 4 string with one or two extra strings. Enjoy your new B string! Maybe a 6 string is next??

Well, before I move up/on to a 6 string (Bass ), I think I'll take a "stab" at a Fretless, 4 or 5 I'm not sure at the moment, but more than likely it'll be a Fretless 5'er ... that won't be for a while though ... Unless I get a piece of that Mega Millions jackpot; then it's 5'ers on me for everyone on TB.

 

[A9X]

Unless I get a piece of that Mega Millions jackpot; then it's 5'ers on me for everyone on TB.

I'll hold you to that. I wanna fretless Ibanez SR 5.

 

[Phlipper]

I feel ya!

Back in Nov I got my first 5er in two years and found that I struggle a little going back to 4s. The spacing is 16.5 on the 5 banger and 19 on all three of my 4 bangers, and I think this contributes to the fumbling.

Takes me almost 20 mins when I switch to really start grooving.

 

[madjazzbass]

I'll hold you to that. I wanna fretless Ibanez SR 5.

Dude! If I ever won the MegaMillion Jackpot, I'll have 1 Ibby SR-5 delivered right to your front door ... for everyone on TB

 

[MotorCityMinion]

It happens to me with my 4 string basses. I play one bass, usually until the strings are dead. When I pick up a different bass after it's been some time, the neck dimensions and weight of the bass all feel a little odd, like breaking in a new pair of shoes.

 

[smart51]

I switched to 5 and stayed there. After I realised I hadn't taken the 4 out of the box for 10 years I sold it. Recently I've started playing 4s again. I resisted for years, being almost scared in case I ran out of notes. It didn't take long to become comfortable with either. I've started playing fretless and short scale too. Now anything feels natural.

 

[Hummergeist]

All I have now is two 5s and I can't imagine playing anything else. But I know myself well enough to understand that things change all the time, so...

 

[A9X]

Now anything feels natural.

Same here. I move between 34" 4/5/6, 33" 6, 30" 4/6 and 25.5" 6 (guitars) without too much difficulty. I just have preferences.

 

[Lagado]

I try and pick the one right tool for the job, even if that's an elastic band.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I've only had a 5 string Bass for (approx.) 2 weeks or so but I took to it quicker than I thought, and now when I pick up any one of my 4 string Basses it feels weird . I wouldn't say I've "mastered" the 5 string, but then (in over 25 years) I never "mastered" the 4 string either , but the new 5 feels so right, so comfortable and sounds so good it feels (to me) like I've been playing it longer than 2 weeks; I'm guessing it's probably because the 5 is the only one I've been playing since I got it. Did/Does this happen to anyone else who strictly played 4 strings?

Yup. Played a five exclusively for 5 or 6 years. Thought I'd never play a four again. Then, I bought another 4. I sold my 5 a week later, and wondered why I ever thought having a fifth string was a good thing. God it was nice to get that thing out of my way. And the string spacing on 4s is soooooo nice once you've been playing a 5 for that long. My god. I will never buy a 5 again.

But for the time I did, it was perfect.

 

[burgerdj]

Same. I bought a 5 in my early days and it just didn’t work - spacing was too wide and I just couldn’t get my head around the B. Flash forward 15 years or so and I bought a 5 for a particular band and suddenly everything clicked. I still like 4, but my 5 feels like my best pair of boots. It just fits and takes me where I want to go. I find I play 4 and 5 differently. I’m much more economical on 5.

 

[Lagado]

Most spend more time trying to mute a B string than they actually do playing it. I can't see the point of using a 5 for things that do not require it.

 

[A9X]

I can't see the point of using a 5 for things that do not require it.

Playing across rather than along the neck or not having to retune for songs in a lower key. It's not hard to mute unused strings if you have decent technique.