Quick question for those of you that play five string exclusively...

[jalapejoe]

I like them both, different feel, look and ideas from 4 and 5s. I am about to pull the trigger on a Fender 50s Road Worn this weekend. Been playing a Stingray Neck Through 5 and Fender Deluxe V Jazz and man I sure miss that Fender P 4 Banger! Sick of not having a 4 string around.

 

[Britsie]

I play five strings and four strings in BEAD. I only keep the four strings around for sentimental reasons or because they are so cheap there is no sense in selling them.

 

[Hahaha]

I switched to a five string bass in 85, then to a six string in 93. I thought I'd never go back to a four string bass, but over the last five years or so I've been taking my old Precision to gigs from time to time. I enjoy playing it again, which is something I never thought would happen. The low notes on a five string don't excite me as much as they once did.

However, I can see why someone who started on a five string might not find much use for a four string bass. If five strings is all you've ever known, then it might not seem sensible to limit the range that you're used to, unless you start giving lessons. Then it's very useful to have a four string to teach students that are learning on a four string. Most of the students that I've had brought four string basses to the lessons. That B string can confuse them.

 

[sillyfabe]

Make it a piccolo bass!

 

[el murdoque]

I play 5 and 6. One four has remained with me. It's a vintage ibanez fretless that sounds so good that i can not bring me to sell it for the money it will fetch. If it was a vintage Fender I'd sell it in a heartbeat, buy a fretless 5 and have some money left.

 

[aborgman]

....here's a good example ...playing Alice in Chain's "Damn that river" or something else that relies on pulling off to open. Not saying it can't be done but it's loads easier to open D than fretted 3 on B.

I just tune my 5 to A for stuff like that...

 

[jimmykicker]

I "converted" to five strings in the early 2000s and never looked back. If a four fell into my lap, I wouldn't shun it, but I don't miss them at all.

I always get really disappointed when I see a bass that I like for sale and see that it's missing a string....

2 things to think about...

1) 4 string basses are pretty trendy right now. I think that a 5-string is a lot more practical and in some situations necessary. But think of some really popular bands like Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Modest Mouse, and Arcade Fire... they all have four string basses. If you're shooting for trendy, then 4 strings are the way to go.

I think a lot of that has to do also with not just trends as it does personal preference. Some people prefer 4s due to hand size, type of music they are playing....some just don't want the learning curve or retraining their brains to a 5. I can see this really in the case of bassists that aren't really bassists, but guitar players that play bass because the band already had 2 guitarists. These are easily spotted too in the wild when they are playing all over the fretboard melodically instead of keeping time. But I get it... It seriously impedes my ability to play guitar these days too cause I keep messing up my patterns....then there's that G to B thing that screws things up even more....That's ok though. I'm a bass player, not a guitarist....!

 

[jimmykicker]

One other thing to note...I gave up buying 4 string basses a couple years ago because they felt "handicapped" for lack of a better term. The exception to this was I traded an absolutely abysmal Kramer Striker 5 straight up for a Traben Phoenix 4. To me it couldn't have been a better trade. I detested that Kramer. Bad pickups, bad action, cheap hardware, poor balance...buzzy. The list goes on. The Traben was everything the Striker was not. Balanced, well designed, playable, and sounded great. What fantastic electronics on a bass of that caliber!! I HATED to part with it because it was in fact an awesome bass, but I couldn't get past the missing string! If the situation had been play that 4 or that Kramer 5? I'd stuck with the Traben 4 string just because that Kramer was such a boat paddle!! Lucky for me I'm not faced with that situation.

 

[Runnerman]

I just tune my 5 to A for stuff like that...

When I got my 5, one of my main reasons was to eliminate alternate tunings. I regularly take a half-step and a full-step down 4 string bass to gigs. I found out it wasn't that easy with a 5. The open strings riffs (written that way) are much more pleasing and easy to play compared to shifting on a 5 and playing a fretted note. So a 5 didn't solve that problem.

I think a lot of that has to do also with not just trends as it does personal preference. Some people prefer 4s due to hand size, type of music they are playing....some just don't want the learning curve or retraining their brains to a 5.

There are plenty of reasons even beyond what you've written here...like weight and technique and others. You have probably hit on the top 3. I made the personal DECISION to not retrain my brain to a 5 but I don't think that makes me a lesser bassist because I choose to perfect my craft on a 4 rather than a 5 which I guess you feel is a "real bass". I've spent a lot of time learning the fretboard and positions and how to move fluidly between them up and down the neck. The 5 string "benefit" of staying in one position isn't that attractive to me. I can see how that would be for some. But 4's are sufficient for me, my style of playing and current level of mastery of the instrument.

To the OP... I would get rid of the 4 if you are not playing it.

 

[jimmykicker]

Runnerman. Meant not to offend. Hope you didn't take it that way. That "real bass" comment is just me yanking chains on 4 guys for fun. We get it back too from the 4 string guys. But seriously...to me a 5 is a "real bass". Everyone has their own views on what they like. But it is a fact that some people don't want to wrap their brains around a 5 and a 4 just makes more sense if you play both guitar and bass and not having to keep thinking about it. I wasn't inferring that all 4 players are incapable of playing a 5. Surely not. There's guys that play 4s (a lot of them) that make me want to go chop my basses up in pieces and burn them because I can't even begin to play at that level.

I was one of those 4 string players that couldn't/wouldn't give the 5 a chance. (guitarist). I just couldn't see the purpose and being a guitarist it made less sense to me to do that. As a bassist full time for 9 years and basically giving up guitar, it now makes perfect sense to me. It's not for everyone for sure. But for me after I got used to the 5 there was no going back.

Playing the bass finally forced me to learn my scales too. Playing bass has certainly made me a way better musician than I used to be.

 

[jwilson67]

Runnerman. Meant not to offend. Hope you didn't take it that way. That "real bass" comment is just me yanking chains on 4 guys for fun. We get it back too from the 4 string guys. But seriously...to me a 5 is a "real bass". Everyone has their own views on what they like. But it is a fact that some people don't want to wrap their brains around a 5 and a 4 just makes more sense if you play both guitar and bass and not having to keep thinking about it. I wasn't inferring that all 4 players are incapable of playing a 5. Surely not. There's guys that play 4s (a lot of them) that make me want to go chop my basses up in pieces and burn them because I can't even begin to play at that level.

I was one of those 4 string players that couldn't/wouldn't give the 5 a chance. (guitarist). I just couldn't see the purpose and being a guitarist it made less sense to me to do that. As a bassist full time for 9 years and basically giving up guitar, it now makes perfect sense to me. It's not for everyone for sure. But for me after I got used to the 5 there was no going back.

Playing the bass finally forced me to learn my scales too. Playing bass has certainly made me a way better musician than I used to be.

For me these days it's more about the mood I'm in as far as playing my 5 or 4. I played 5 for so long exclusively (about 27 years) that for some reason I burned out on it so I got a hankering to pull out the 4 again and get reacquainted.

At the height of my 5 string usage I was using the B on things I had no business playing it on just because I could. Slowly it started to become more about occasional color, emphasis or if the song specifically called for the 5 strings. I like looking down at that sexy looking 4 string neck and realizing how differently I play the E without that B in the way!

 

[Runnerman]

@jimmykicker
Absolutely no offense taken brother. I appreciate your comments and they made me think really hard about what I'm doing is all. I saw that your earlier comments were tongue in cheek. And I agree, see plenty of anti-5 comments on here as well. I really don't get that personally.

Guys that have mastered a 5 or 6.....I'm totally envious of you and I know all of us put a lot of hard work into our playing with few exceptions. Rock on!

 

[jimmykicker]

@jimmykicker
Absolutely no offense taken brother. I appreciate your comments and they made me think really hard about what I'm doing is all. I saw that your earlier comments were tongue in cheek. And I agree, see plenty of anti-5 comments on here as well. I really don't get that personally.

Guys that have mastered a 5 or 6.....I'm totally envious of you and I know all of us put a lot of hard work into our playing with few exceptions. Rock on!

I do have the one 4. It's a 1989 Dixon P copy. It's got a baseball bat thick maple neck with maple fingerboard that Fender spec pretty much. It's truly awesome to slap on. Not that I'm great at that but if I was a slapper I truly believe the 4 is the way to go (for me anyway). Less muting.

Mastered the 5? Ha. Hardly. Wish I was one of those guys. I'm a work in progress. I play with guys that I often wonder why they keep me because they're some really seriously talented dudes. In fact part of why I work so hard to keep honing my skill set. So I don't get my a$$ fired....

Mostly I like the comfort of the 5 to be perfectly honest as I'm 6'3" and have long fingers. They just fit me better. 4s just by nature are too narrow. Only way I could do a 4 string is to put it on a 5 string neck and then what's the point? Haha. I do like to use the B particularly on the end of a song. Or something that needs like a piano-like depth to it. Good example is that we did "Alone" by Heart in our 80s band. A guitarist plays the piano part and especially at the end...the last B? There's so much more depth to that B than a B on the A string. Stuff like that. Or a riff that's more easily played with less shifting. Example. "Locked out of Heaven", Bruno Mars. That is significantly easier to play that line where you can fret the notes on the B required instead of having to slam down to the Nut on E to play the same notes.

Now I could go back and forth between a 4 and a 5 where appropriate, but that opens the door to a lot of messing up for me, forgetting what I'm playing.... and I also I just really like every bass I play having similar characteristics neck-wise. For instance...i can't go back between a 17mm spacing and a 19". I just play poorly when I do that. For me the magic combo is 19mm spacing, minimum 1 7/8" wide nut...(2" is best) and I like the last fret to be 3" wide. Now that sounds like monster proportions to most folks, but that's what I like and most playable to me, so switching to a 4 presents many, many problems! The good thing about that magic proportions combo is that it's unusual so I don't buy many basses anymore. That's great. I kept looking for something and I finally found it and stick with it. I guess we all stick with what is most practical and comfortable.

 

[Gbonus Uralias]

First professional instrument for me was a 4 string 79 P bass and I will never sell it.
Bought her in 82 for $200 and now worth $1300 easy. She's my first baby.

And I found a 4 string jazz I loved and bought, just cuz.
Love to pick it once in a while and noodle and record with it sometimes.
Can be great inspiration for a groove. But no gigs for her.
Sell it?.....he'll no I thank you. Only going up in value too.
My kids can sell them 40 years from now and cash in.
(Id buy another 4 too if it called to me)

But my go-to is the 5 string cuz that's just natural for me now and so much more expressive and liberating.
Made the switch in 2000 and happy I did. I'm naked without the B string any more?

Remember, there is no "wrong" in making music nor the tool you choose make it.
What ever gets your creative juices flowing. It's all good!

And if you are making a living playing music and reading charts, the 5 is better.

Good luck

 

[Gbonus Uralias]

For all those who now exclusively play 5 string basses but still have 4 string basses at home, I will do my part as a member of TB - please feel free to send these offending instruments to me, I'll help make the full transition happen for you.

HAHA me too !!

 

[jimmykicker]

... I just have never found a B string with a timbre that I could tolerate.

Keep both for recording purposes.

Ever try a Pedulla? Best B in the bassness.

 

[Treebeard]

Ever try a Pedulla? Best B in the bassness.

I have not but I am now intrigued. Much appreciated!

 

[jimmykicker]

They have reinforced stiffening rods in them. I'd recommend a Thunderbolt or Rapture unless you've got a big budget. Great basses.