Now that I've been playing 5-string I can never go back

[seafoamgreenjb]

Agreed. Now just wait until you get a 6...

Sixes are wonderful but have a lot of drawbacks. The weight, the sheer size, the thing that you have to have them very high on the strap or you'll destroy your left hand (or is it just me) and the fact that the high C is redundant like almost all the time you're not playing chords or solos. Man, sometimes I wish I also had a five string Yamaha TRB.

 

[crazycloud]

or is it just me

It's just you.

 

[seafoamgreenjb]

It's just you.

Is it really? Cause I cannot name a single 6 player that has his bass even low-ish. I pretty sure there are some but I cannot recall anyone particular.

 

[crazycloud]

Is it really?

Yes, I do, and I've seen other members here post them wearing theirs in a similar manner. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean some of us can't.

As for weight, all of mine are under 10lb, and even though I'm not young, I have no structural issues so I can easily carry the weight for longer gigs.

 

[Bikeguy57]

Can anyone explain why church music requires those 3 lower notes? Are the rest of the Instruments any different than they've been for 100 years?

 

[skycruiser]

I had a 5 for a little while but returned it because my needs changed. Later I got a 6 that I used for very specific music, and played it exclusively for a few months. Now I'm playing music that only needs 4 strings and feel no urge to use my 6. I guess I just go with whatever I need for the music I'm playing.

 

[Deleted member 409773]

Ultimately it also depends on the type of music.

For example, modern Gospel is a bit difficult to play without five strings or, rather, inadequate. Plus, in R&B/Soul and modern metal it's good to have a B string (even a half step or even a tone tuned lower, which is very common in Gospel).

I originally played guitar, so my first bass over twenty years ago was a six-string bass. Initially I used 6 strings because it was easier for me to visualize the bass, after about ten years of playing the guitar you form a muscle memory when approaching scales, that's why I tuned the C string to B, because I was still thinking and visualizing the instrument like a guitarist. But I realized that if the B string is necessary, I really can't play without it, I can't say the same about the C string. So a few months after I switched from guitar to bass, I bought two 5-string basses (Peavey Cirrus 5 and a Godin Freeway 5) and sold the 6-string bass (Peavey Grind 6). And ironically, at the time I didn't even think I would be a bass player, I mean I didn't give up playing guitar, I simply got involved in a funk project, where they needed a bass player, because at that time I started listening to Jamiroquai and Level 42 and I said to myself, let's get involved as a bass player in that band, it's so much fun. I became a bass player because shortly after I started playing with those "funky" guys, a famous jazz pianist in Romania (Harry Tavitian) saw me and invited me to play with him. That was also the moment when I started earning money from playing, so I stayed on bass (at a single concert with Harry Tavitian I earned more than the monthly salary of a normal worker in Romania at the time, which for me was clearly the reason why I never went back to playing guitar).

I've never played 4 strings, I use the B string a lot, especially since I play in a post progressive metal band (with elements of djent and metalcore), but I also record for other artists. I have a lot of studio work, in the sense that I record something every 3-4 weeks, sometimes more often, sometimes less often, it depends. But in modern music, which is bass heavy, it's hard to do that without a 5-string bass and more effects than you would normally need.

Because I've never played a 4-string bass, I automatically think of bass themes using the B string a lot. Especially since you have the advantage of using two octaves without having to move around the fretboard a lot.

 

[Brad Maestas]

If I could only own one bass it would be a five or six string. But I have more than one and honestly, I play my fours these days more than the others. I'm no longer doing tons of Broadway shows or Ben Monder gigs that are written specifically for six string.

Evaluating purely on tone, nothing comes close to my two Jazz type four strings. One is a vintage Fodera and the other is a Fender Custom Shop Jazz. The Fodera has Aero Type 1 pickups and the Fender has standard Fralins and they are wired volume-volume with no tone. My Sadowsky NYC 5 has humcancelling pickups and my Roscoe LG6 has Bart quad coils. The Sadowsky gets real close but is still not quite as clear as the true single coils. I almost considered changing to the true single coils but I needed my workhorse 5 to have no noise for show and studio work.

After upgrading the Fodera to the Aeros, it brought the tone quality up several notches from an already very high level. I also added a D-tuner to the E string so it can go lower and that just sealed the deal for me. Unless I absolutely need a low C or B, I stick with my four. Also, the neck carve on the early Foderas is just godlike. No one else did it like Vinny. It feels SO good.

 

[GypsyBilly]

Can anyone explain why church music requires those 3 lower notes? Are the rest of the Instruments any different than they've been for 100 years?

Because the worship leaders keep lowering the key of every song 1-1/2 steps below that of the recording.

 

[stockplus]

I gotta be honest guys. I've read several threads like this and get jealous because so many people seem to have an easy conversion to 5'ers. For me, 4 just feels like home. I have had some darn fine 5'ers too (Stingray, Bongo, L-2500)...but at the end of the day wished they were 4s.

Glad 5 becomes so natural for lots of you!

On the flip side, practice does make perfect. Though I still like 4 strings best, I am now able to play a 5'er without too much trouble and can even get on a 6 without freaking out, LOL.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I’ve already posted on this thread once, but while reading other posts, I realized that I forgot to mention one of the factors that was a pushback for me converting to 5-string; the guitarist & lead singer in my band.

For a little background, we were in a three piece classic rock band, and he did all the singing, all the guitar work, and owned most of the PA gear, so he had a lot of say aboutwhat we played, and how we played it, and how we set up, and how the PA was set, and so on, and so forth… In other words, he was a typical control freak.

The reason he was opposed to me playing five string was due to the fact that if I played note below standard E of a 4-string, his ears or his brain couldn’t comprehend those notes. WhenI played a note below E, he looked at me like I was playing Sweet Home Alabama in F. So, the first year I played five string with him in that band, I rarely played a note below E. I still played a five string and used the B string for help with fingerboard movement, but I avoided the first 4 frets of the B string or, heaven forbid, an open B string.

Eventually, we learned new songs and I put in a few notes below E, and he began to get accustomed to those notes.

So, that was a reason I was somewhat impeded from going full 5-string at first…

 

[slagbass]

Played 4s for many, many years. Had a project where the 5 would be useful. Played a 5 exclusively for about a year. Went back to playing 4s exclusively. I could see some benefits to the 5 (notes below E, extended range without moving hand position) but, for me, it didn't outweigh the downside of muting an extra string and the confusion of which string I was on.

 

[waynobass]

I like going back and forth between a 4 and a 5. Keeps things fresh. I can't understand the "Four-strings are dead to me now!" crowd.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

After many years of playing 4 string basses in bands, I switched to playing 5 string basses simply for the convenience of being able to account for musicians/bands who wanted to play or tune in lower keys. I like very low action and constant downtuning/and back up (even a semitone) always messed up my action. With a fiver, I no longer cared (whatever band I was in) what they wanted to be tuned to or what key.

Now after a hiatus, I own a 4 string as just a reliable "goto" punchy, funky, in your face bass I can play aggressively. Which is fun to let loose on. But I also bought a 6 string for my own writing, experimentation, chordal work and cross genre (non-specific) playing. That 6 string, with it's very wide, flat neck requires a lighter touch and holding more in a classical guitar position. I do play it with other bands though too.

I've never had a problem switching between 4, 5 or 6 string basses, even jumping from one to the other right away. Other's results may vary.

 

[Bliff Curton 2]

I'm reading a few people who tried a 5 string and thought the 5th string sounded muddy and useless.
With 5'ers, a proper bass selection is everything.

My first 5'er was an Ibanez SR505.
The 3rd through 7th fret on the B string were useful, anything else was useless.
I can see if that's the one 5'er someone picked up, they'd be swayed away from a 5 string.

However, my NS Design CR5 has the most articulate and useful B string I've ever heard or used. It's just as clear and useful as the 3rd (A) string.

Also, I just got my first compressor the other week and notice how it levels out the B string on all my fives so there's no peaks or losses in volume.
I think that's another thing to keep in mind when assessing a 5 string.
My NS Design can handle a .130 B string or thicker, but other basses sound too different between the B, E, and A strings with super thick B strings.

 

[Bliff Curton 2]

For myself, I started with a 4 string and was adamant against even trying a 5 for almost a decade. Then I got that Ibanez SR505 and people said it sounded way better. So I used that exclusively for years.

But then I just couldn't go back to 4 strings. Too limiting and string spacing too wide.
Even 18mm is kind of too wide for me. I can get by, but it's a stretch. I prefer 16-17mm.

And now that I'm against 4 strings, I lament that Fender doesn't make the P Bass Special (the active one with gold pick guard) in 5 strings.
Maybe I'll look into those discontinued Am PBass deluxe 5'ers with the P and humbucker.

 

[Jugghaid]

I play 5ers probably 98% of the time. I DO still prefer to slap on a 4, but I rarely play anything that requires slap style any more. I'm over it.

 

[Jugghaid]

Maybe I'll look into those discontinued Am PBass deluxe 5'ers with the P and humbucker.

Those are going for dum dum prices any more just like the Roscoe Beck V. Nice basses though. For the $$$$ I would go with the RBV.

 

[Bliff Curton 2]

Those are going for dum dum prices any more just like the Roscoe Beck V. Nice basses though. For the $$$$ I would go with the RBV.

Dum dum prices indeed.
The 5 strings go for $3-4k, used.
The 4 string version goes for $1400

I'm seeing RBV's going for $3k or more, as well.

And Ken Smiths that were bought at 2-3k are selling for 8-10k

Aria SB-1000 4 strings for $3-4k

I guess inflation is more like 200%, not 12%

 

[edwinhurwitz]

5 strings are great practical instruments for transposition and E♭. But my experience, the B string just sounds worse. It has unpleasant inharmonicity. It demands much better technique to mute; I spend much more effort trying to prevent the B string from ringing! When I have a choice of string, I never want to play a note on it. F on the first fret of the E string sounds so much better than the 6th fret of B. There's a recent thread on this ... You can play songs like Blood and Roses or Sweet Child of Mine on a 5 (with some extra difficulty) but they just sound worse, the same way that gratuitously playing songs written in standard tuning up 5 frets would sound.

I agree about the inharmonicity, but I attribute that to using a B string that is too heavy. Once it gets real heavy, it starts vibrating more like a bar than a string and the harmonics go out of tune. I never use a string heavier than a .120 and it sounds good to me, but heavier than that and I hear problems.

Muting is always a thing, regardless of how many strings are on the bass.