Opinions on 4 string vs anything else

[Gaolee]

A 5 would be fun, but I can't think of a reason to have one. Yeah, I know, that's a TB sin for not doing it anyway. But really, what would I do with it? I can't think of any time I would ever need to go down below E.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

Think of the 4 first strings as the dinner and the 5th string as the seasoning

 

[higain617]

I taught myself to play on 4, and just decided to stick with it.

 

[Genomatic]

I recently purchased my first fiver,and found myself reaching for my crappy Affinity P-bass w/a crooked neck too often! It took me a little bit to get comfortable with the different set of "responsibilties" on a five.(wider neck,string muting etc.) Very frustrating at first! Just takes time to adjust to the expanded territory. Jump on it w/both feet!

 

[Steve88]

I picked up my first 5 string a few months ago. I play it at church, and in that setting, the B string is very useful. I can play without open strings so when the guitarist changes the key with a capo, it's no problem to just move up or down the neck a bit.

Also, those extra 5 lower notes are wonderfully effective when used sparingly (like during a bridge or final chorus!)

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

I've never found a 5 that sat well with me, but I also haven't tried a lot of them.
On my 4's, however, i do install a D-tuner so I can get a little extra range should I need it. I've practiced with it enough that I can actually drop to D and come back up in the middle of a song. Quite a fun little tool.

 

[MasonMinor]

Hate fivers. Our school got a Gibson Eb-4 five string donated to us, and every guitar player (who thinks they can play bass) gets it out and plays it incessantly. Besides my best friend (also my drummer), I'm the only one who hates the thing. I find them unnessecary. My band director doesn't much care for it either. I'm not gonna bash or hate on someone if they like them, but I personally can't stand them.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I mainly play 5 string. it's just my preference. I've owned three 4 strings a dozen 5s and a 7 string. These days if I buy a 4 it's because there is no 5 string model of a particular bass, for example the last 4 string I bought was a fretless Jazz and fender doesn't make a 5 string fretless Jazz.

I've always found people's arguments against 5 strings to be kind of silly. After all it's essentially a 4 string bass that for me as I mainly play fingerstyle has one extra string that is out of the way when I don't use it. The low b string is a fantastic thumb rest when not being played, I also prefer tighter string spacing but in order for me to get a string spacing I like on a 4 string it means playing an uncomfortably small neck. There are 4 strings where I think the neck itself feels great but then the string spacing is Crazy wide. My stingray 5 neck isn't much different than a lot of 4 string necks out there. It seems like when I read comments about 5 string necks being too wide it's folks who are looking for 5 strings in the same wide string spacing they play on 4 string. And yes broad neck 5 strings are just as silly to me as 4 stings with crazy wide string spacing.

 

[Emanuel Apascaritei]

Hate fivers. Our school got a Gibson Eb-4 five string donated to us, and every guitar player (who thinks they can play bass) gets it out and plays it incessantly.

...and there is the reason.

 

[tuba_samurai]

My main bass is a 5 string, but D standard (D-B-C-F) tuning has changed everything for me for my four strings. I find myself using them a lot more often, and if I didn't have the 5 string I am not sure I would get one now.

 

[BlueTalon]

My only opinion is once a bass has 7 or more strings, they need to find another name for it.

Why?

Do you consider a piano or a harp or any other full range instrument to be a bass instrument? I don't, and that's why.

 

[honeyiscool]

Did that on a 5er a couple weeks ago in the key Eb. It's admittedly harder, but it works.

It's barely harder. If anything, Rage Against the Machine justifies having a 5 more than not. Their songs are played on BEAD, EADG, DADG, as well as E flat standard. If you want to play along to an entire RATM record using only one bass, a five is the only way. How many of us can really realistically have so many differently tuned basses at a gig anyway? Even Rage Against the Machine doesn't even bother playing some of their songs in their correct key because of this. Bulls on Parade never sounds as heavy in E standard and loses a bit of impact live, in my opinion.

Besides, their work is so heavily pentatonic that it's easy to use standard blues patterns in D when you have a B string. It just means that when you are playing Killing in the Name Of, you end up using the B string for the three low notes. It's easy. Sounds a little heavier than playing in Dropped D but who will even notice?

 

[bucephylus]

As Jimmy said: I currently play "Killing In The Name" on BEADG five string: I don't use open D, I play fretted D. I do the same for "Slither" by Velvet Revolver. Sure, those songs might be a little easier to play on drop-D four, but they're doable on standard five.

+1 It certainly CAN be done.

But, IME, the tunes that are initially played with drop tuning lay better and sound better on the drop tuned 4 than on the 5. But, I completely agree that a talented player can get over with either one. One recent stint I did in a Modern country band was interesting, because I'm pretty sure I could tell which tunes were originally played on the 5 vs the drop tuned 4, just by the way the lines lay out.

The perfect instrument for me would be a 5 that had the Low B, but also had a drop tuner on the E. They just don't generally exist.

Some random HipShot related thoughts based on my experience:

1) I vastly prefer the way the lower notes sound on the drop tuned 4 vs on the B string. When the drop tuned 4 is in tune. Longer string length = better bass tone. But, the tuning thing is for me a bit of an issue with the HipShot. I unfortunately have a fairly keen sense of pitch; and the HipShot never quite recovers correctly, which bugs me when flipping back and forth. The biggest issue is it comes in sharp after recovering from drop, which is particularly problematic for retuning on the fly. This seems inherently due to the way the wraps on the post respond. The 5 gives the lower notes with more reliable tuning, and I like that about the 5.

2) Another issue with the HipShot is that levering the tension back and forth seems to fatigue the E string at the break point on the saddle, leading to significantly shorter string life for the E. Maybe not a big deal for some; but, with strings costing what they do, it bugs me a lot.

I still use my 4's with the HipShot for almost everything, simply because I am not gigging any situations that require the 5. But, that could easily change, if a different gig comes along. For me, the 4 vs 5 thing all boils down to what is required for the gig.

 

[bnolsen]

Don't see a big deal.

5er will be heavier than a 4 (for the same model).
5er either has less string spacing or wider neck. Playing up the neck string spacing isn't quite as bad.
5er allows playing most everything no open frets. Better for mental transposing on the fly

Some manufacturers have problems getting a good low-B on their 5 strings. Is this also a problem when stringing one of their 4's to BEAD ?

 

[socialleper]

Ive always used a 4 string bass. While a 5 string would be interesting to try, I can't think of to many situations in which it would be needed for my uses. I don't know if I've ever been in a situation where a 5 string would greatly aid my playing or add to it, let alone 6+ strings. What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Not to be "that guy", but this topic has been discussed to death for decades.
Here's the bottom line: Some songs are written to be played with a Low B, A G or even F. If you want to play those, you either need a 5 string bass or a modified 4 string with thicker strings.
The option of playing EADGC are nice and becoming more common.
If you want those notes you need a bass that can play them.
Done.

 

[DavC]

I've played mainly 5vers for the last 25 out of 40+ playing years ... yes I have a 4 , ... and a 5 with a high C ...

but I've found that the low B makes a great thumb rest about 95% of the time ... !!

 

[spanndrew]

Do you consider a piano or a harp or any other full range instrument to be a bass instrument? I don't, and that's why.

If someone shows up with an instrument and calls it a bass, and it was designed as a bass, then in my book it's a bass. A 7 string bass (or 13 string or octaved 8 string) is still a bass to me if that's what it's designed for. Just as much as a 7 or 8 string guitar is still a guitar to me. Plus, a lot of folks tune their 7's F#-C, and that's even more bass range.

 

[BlueTalon]

If someone shows up with an instrument and calls it a bass, and it was designed as a bass, then in my book it's a bass. A 7 string bass (or 13 string or octaved 8 string) is still a bass to me if that's what it's designed for. Just as much as a 7 or 8 string guitar is still a guitar to me. Plus, a lot of folks tune their 7's F#-C, and that's even more bass range.

That's my point. A 13 string "bass" is no longer designed to be a bass. It's designed to be a full range instrument. It's more like a fretted harp than anything traditionally considered to be a bass instrument.

(Pretend I said 9 instead of 7 in my previous post, if it helps to make my point.)

 

[Scottkarch]

I had a 5 string and sold it. I kept goofing up. I wish I'd stuck with it.

We play mostly classic rock, but more and more rockin' country and I wish I had a 5 string. I think I could learn to play it now. But my real fear is that I'd get so used to it I wouldnt want to get back to all my other 4 string basses. And there is no way I'm replacing all of them. I'm jonesing for a Variax bass, I wish it had a drop tuning option B E A D for the few times I need it. Oh well. If I go 5, I may as well actually get a 6 and really have the extended range. If I ever go there.

I wasn't happy with the open B, but having access to the C and D easily was really nice and I liked the extra deep tone. I've toyed with getting an octave pedal for the country songs that go low and punching it in and out for some extra low punch. If I were starting fresh, I'd go 5 or 6 for sure. Gives you more to work with.

 

[JimmyM]

Ok, I'll admit that it is in fact possible to play Killing In The Name without drop tuning a 5er. However, the drop tuned version is 3.7 times easier and 18.2 times more satisfying to play. There are comparable figures for most Tool songs. Science has proven it.

Can't argue with science