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one 5 vs two 4's
- Thread starter Slade N
- Start date
Two overlapping 4 strings? Yes, but not really. Hope that clears it up!
For a very short time I was in a band where I used a bass tuned BEAD. However, my backup bass was EADG... mainly because I played standard in other bands. I could, and did originally, play all the songs in standard but BEAD just worked better.
For a very short time I was in a band where I used a bass tuned BEAD. However, my backup bass was EADG... mainly because I played standard in other bands. I could, and did originally, play all the songs in standard but BEAD just worked better.
1. Thanks everyone for your replies
2. This got more traction than I expected
3. It was interesting to see the responses and how thoughts took off from the premise
4. Thanks for playing
2. This got more traction than I expected
3. It was interesting to see the responses and how thoughts took off from the premise
4. Thanks for playing
Yes! One EADG and one DGCF. My gigs are 6 song sets so I will use the one that fits the songs.
I had to abandon 5ers. Hurts my thumb. 4 Bangers or I run sound.
I had to abandon 5ers. Hurts my thumb. 4 Bangers or I run sound.
I think it's good to be humble and roll with the punches.
It used to really bother me when I'd hear, "it is what it is". Now I dig it.
Lenny Kravitz reportedly had an open audition. Many showed up. He culled the many to a fewer number by telling the 5ers "thanks but no thanks". I heard he wanted a P or J that looked vintage, but I'm not sure. Kinda jerky, but...
I'd kill for that gig. Kill.
That sounds like a weird concept.
I figured out how my brain works with basses a while ago. I can do EADG, but that takes concentration since I've played 5s and 6s more or less exclusively for more than a decade.
My brain anchors on the first string (The uppermost, fattest, deepest one). As long as that is a B, everything else sorts itself. I can go from BEAD to BEADG to BEADGC without much thinking.
Once you take that anchor away, I need a certain amount of brain juice to keep constant awareness of that fact and need to wrestle against muscle memory. When the guitar plays a G, I most likely will land on the C when I let that go. Feels a bit like sight reading from the guitar players left hand when he plays a seven string.
A drop D four, followed by a five, as you suggest would certainly require me to be sober, wide awake and have the material well rehearsed. I only ever use drop D when there are fast, technical parts that have some kind of open string + hammer on licks that are done in drop D. I think RATM has a few songs like that. When I can manage it on a bass with a B string without detuning it, I will always go down that route. When that's not possible, I'd practice that song so much it's totally committed to muscle memory and never ever think about what I'm playing there.
The down side of a 5 is getting the neck size right. They can easily get into being too heavy, wide, chunky, etc. There are also some genres where the player needs the low B but will never get into the upper register that requires a G string.
The downside of tuning a 4 string BEAD is that getting the setup right is black magic. I have had several thread discussions about trying to get the neck, bridge, strings, nut and pickups right for that tuning on a 4, and it takes a lot of work. I am also of the opinion that 35" is the right scale for a B and there aren't a ton of 4 strings with that scale length.
There isn't a perfect solution that will meet everyone's needs.
The downside of tuning a 4 string BEAD is that getting the setup right is black magic. I have had several thread discussions about trying to get the neck, bridge, strings, nut and pickups right for that tuning on a 4, and it takes a lot of work. I am also of the opinion that 35" is the right scale for a B and there aren't a ton of 4 strings with that scale length.
There isn't a perfect solution that will meet everyone's needs.
I'd be pretty sure this story is an urban myth. I'd bet Lenny Kravitz has never held an open audition for his band.
Could only the second part is true. Plenty of people don't like 5ers. It doesn't look cool to them, and then there is the self-indulgent bassist idea. Some metal band or bands that cover drop-D stuff want a guy that drops on a 4.
Could it also be that many guys can't mute a 5? Using typical 4 string technique on a 5 will get by, but it doesn't really work when the player is examined.
okcrum
in your chest
Well, this went on 10+ years ago, so that's prehistory as far as the internet and some folks' attention spans go, but there are a couple of threads here.
As the story was told, it was to cull the herd of potential bassists to something manageable for the audition, since more than 200 showed up.
lenny kravitz 4 string policy..
I had a lot of trouble with nut slots, bridge saddles or holes, necks balancing, and the pickups working with the lower registers. I wanted it to work, but the string to string consistency or hardware just didn't work out for me. I have much better luck with Bs on basses made for it.Luckily, I tried BEAD before TB, so I had no problems setting up
I play in a Gen X power trio doing primarily stuff from the 90s.
My guitar player brings four guitars to every practice and uses them all.
None are tuned the same.
They are:
1. standard
2. half a step down
3. drop d
4. drop d flat
On the high end of the spectrum, I play on the 19th fret on the G string in several songs.
I can do all of this with one five string bass in standard tuning. It's the only bass I have.
My guitar player brings four guitars to every practice and uses them all.
None are tuned the same.
They are:
1. standard
2. half a step down
3. drop d
4. drop d flat
On the high end of the spectrum, I play on the 19th fret on the G string in several songs.
I can do all of this with one five string bass in standard tuning. It's the only bass I have.
