new to the bass world

[tgriley62]

I can barely get by with 4 strings. Anymore and I might as well become a brain surgeon. I would be just as qualified

 

[mikewalker]

I'm in the "recommend starting out on a 4-string" camp - but a 5 string with a high C (instead of a low B) is one of my favorite toys. EADGC for the win!

 

[rylie]

Maybe I missed a post on the physical difference.
What size are your hands?
Noticeable difference in 5's to 4's neck width.
What is your tolerance to sustained weight hanging on your shoulder?
Generally, 5's are heavier than 4's

 

[Rip Van Dan]

not sure this is the place to have this thread , if it is not then please relocate to the proper location.

new to the whole bass world and I was wondering what are the pros and cons of the 4, 5 and 6 string basses . I am going to mainly be learning and playing as a hobby. I honestly don't see anything coming from this. I might be into some gig work if I get good enough at it . lol

I've been playing bass since 1965, before they even had 5-string basses. So I've been playing 4-string basses for a very long time. I also have a 5-string bass that I bought because I was playing with a group that had about 5 songs that utilized that low B string and I got tired of down-tuning my E-string to D, Db, C, or whatever. Truth be known I sometimes forgot to tune that string back up to E. Man is it hard to transpose the notes on a down-tuned string on the fly to the notes used on a 4-string.

So now I have both. With my 5-string bass, I could play everything I could on my 4-string, but my 4-string 1982 Fender Jazz with maple neck and 70's era pickup spacing (4" center to center) sounds really good. My 5-string looks good and sounds OK, but my 4-string really has a very nice sound and a wonderfully playable neck. So I primarily play my 4-string.

Choice of 4-string or 5-string can also depend upon the genre of music you play. If you play the heavy metal genre, a 5-string is pretty much the normal choice because so many of the heavy metal songs use notes on the B string. Evidently so do a number of modern Country songs. So the genre you play may determine what you need. Choice of a 6-string bass is commonly made by someone who wants to play "lead bass" or "chords bass". Most commonly that is someone who plays a lot of solos and bass chords.

There are not a lot of songs (trying to think of one) that need a 6-string bass to play the song. Rather, it is often used by someone who has good knowledge of music theory and knows the neck really well. They choose it because it gives them greater range of notes to improvise across. It's not unusual to see a group with two basses if one of them plays lead-bass, because someone still needs to hold down the bottom end support the rhythm section while the 6-string player is improvising all over the place.

If you are playing a genre that needs a 5-string, then get a nice 5-string that is comfortable for you to play and use it for everything. I really wouldn't suggest a 6-string for you if you're just getting into playing bass. If you try out a bunch of basses and a particular 4-string sounds great and is easy for you to play, buy that 4 string and if you end up gigging with a group where you really need the notes on the low B string, then buy a less expensive 5-string too.

I didn't buy a 5-string until I really needed it and it is not the quality of my Jazz, but it does sound good and its much wider neck is surprisingly comfortable for me to play because the neck is very slim. It's wide but not fat. I didn't spend much on it. Was looking at ~$400 and $500 when a friend suggest I look at this one. He had 3 of the company's basses and like them a lot. So I bought it. It was just over $200 and yet the build quality and finish is excellent. It has a decent sound and can play in either active mode or passive mode. And it looks good too.

Although it sounds good, it doesn't sound as good as my Jazz though, so I only pull it out when we are doing a song where I need that low B string. My '82 Jazz feels just like my '65 Jazz that I bought in 1966 did and I prefer playing that. Here are the two of my basses the last time I needed to bring along a 5-string (2019).

 

[SoCal80s]

You should completely forget about 6 strings for now. I do not recommend starting on a 5 string unless you know you will need one later for the style of music you want to play (metal, prog rock, some funk), and even then, you will do just fine with a 4-string. Keep in mind that you'll always be doing something with ALL strings because you have to mute the strings that you are not playing, so the fewer strings, the easier it'll be to get going. So I recommend 4 strings.