Should I learn 4 string or 5 first?

[PrietoBass]

Quite a lot of the music I like seems to be on 5 string basses, so I'd like to play 5 string eventually.

Jump right in! I Squier Affinity Jazz V will set you back about $180, and it is a decent instrument. By the time you get around having enough for an upgrade you will be well ahead of the curve. If you don't care for it you won't have the urge to scratch that (5 string) itch anymore.

I started on a 4 string. Bought a 5ver because I wanted to move to 5 strings "eventually", and it quickly became my main player.

 

[Dbassmon]

Welcome to TB....
I agree with those that tell you to learn what you want to play... if you want to play 5 string, then study 5 strings. Any one that switched from 4 to 5 had to learn what to do with the low B (assuming you going BEADG) You will addressing that at the get-go.

Enjoy and again, welcome!

 

[BskhdbidkubbdkuNcisiifyy]

I would reccomend a 4 to start

 

[bassbenj]

Use the instrument you own. 4 string is a fine place to start - and it will be a bit easier to get the hang of than 5.

You have so much to learn about how to just navigate the darned thing and play a clean note that there's no rush to add a 5th string.

I do NOT agree with Big Old Harry or LM Bass that it's easier to start on 4 string. A 5 string bass (contrary to the popular opinion of many who don't play them) is not just a 4 string with a few added low notes. It's a different approach to playing a bass. Scales go across the neck rather than up and down it or lingering near all the open strings (though one can do that too on a 5). I have never believed this myth that you have to learn a 4 first and then "move up" to a 5.

Hence the idea is to learn to play them BOTH and rule the world as someone said. "Easier" is a subjective thing and I suspect that if you are playing the bass for the music that interests you it will make learning that instrument much easier for you!

The rest of what Big Old Harry and LM bass suggested, however is spot-on.

 

[SCMan88]

If you want to play a 4 string pick up a 4 string,same as 5,6,7,8 and on and on and on.

If you want to play a 5'er,pick up a 5'er and play it!!!

All that **** about "4 string is basic,start from that" and all the other stuff...That is NOTHING!

If you want to play a 5'er just buy one and learn to play it.
Many people go by the 4 is basic and all that...
In the end they end up wasting money(even if its $200 for the first bass) on a 4 string when they want a 5'er.

DOH!!


Edit:
To be honest,I started with a 4 string because I didn't have much money.
In the end I got up a good(...) deal in which I got a little amp and the bass.
And in a few days I'll be playing a 6'er.

Since the start I wanted a 5'er,but because of no money had to go with 4.

If you got at least enough money for a 5'er,why not?

 

[KingRazor]

5 first.

That's what I did and it made transitioning between the two easy.

 

[joe vegas]

5 first.
why limit the sonic capabilities of your instrument at the outset?
and i'm assuming you mean a 5 with a low B. you'll be using your low Bs, Cs and Ds almost from the start, as potent spice at the right moment in a song.

any 4-banger tune and vibe can be played just as effectively on a 5.
and there are several good cost-effective options, as others have stated.
Good Luck!

 

[aqsw]

You will want to get a 5 in order to play the music you like. Keep practicing on the 4 while you save up the money because there are skills/techniques that can be developed independently (e.g. right hand plucking/picking). There are plenty of affordable 5s out there; check for used to save $.

How do you know what kind of music he likes?

 

[MrLenny1]

I say start with a 4. Most recorded music is 4 string.

 

[Mayers]

I don't see how starting on a 4 strings is easier than starting on a 5 strings when you know nothing. The only thing that you will have to learn ( and I think you will discovers very fast what you should do ) is to mute the B strings.

I don't get how many people think it is a different instrument when it is the same exact thing with more options to it.

 

[zslane]

I'm just a beginner and I'm currently learning on a 5-string. It has been trivial for me to mute the low B during all my lessons since it is the same string-muting skill that I use no matter which string(s) need muting (I am learning the floating/hovering thumb technique from the start--straight wrists and non carpel tunnel for me thankyouverymuch!).

 

[vin*tone]

Thanks everyone. That was genuinely helpful and incredibly fast!

I guess I'll stick with my 4 string until I can afford a decent 5er rather than getting a cheap one right away then!

That's it.

If you didn't already own a 4 I'd say get a 5. I play both.

 

[vin*tone]

I don't see how starting on a 4 strings is easier than starting on a 5 strings when you know nothing. The only thing that you will have to learn ( and I think you will discovers very fast what you should do ) is to mute the B strings.

I don't get how many people think it is a different instrument when it is the same exact thing with more options to it.

There's not much difference really. But it's easier to find your way around on a 4.

 

[thereturnfc]

4 to five to 6 then u will know where u want to be

For me I started with 4 got 5 for jazz band ( that Eb is the thing) and felt comfortable with it more than 4 which feel too less for me....then I try 5 string with EADGC tuning( like6string but no low b) then now I feel like I want two bass for either low b or high c .... Sigh GASing...

 

[bassgod76]

I'd say if you want a 5 then do it. However, don't stop practicing on the 4 you already have until you're able to land a 5.

Me personally, I owned one 5, and I found it to be combersome and tough on my back. Then again, I don't think I'm a great player. Also, I've never found myself needing the low B. However, opinions are like noses; everyone has one.

Good luck and let us know what you do.

 

[Boombass76]

Depends on where you are in life... I mean, I took up 5-stringers in 1999 at age 23. I was studying bass at the conservatory and eager to learn... well, just about anything. I adjusted quite easily to the extra string. Didn't take long.

But when I tried out a 6-string a couple of years ago and I didn't have the time to practice (kids, house, work, etc.), the extra string messed everything up for me. I see no reason why it should be harder to go from 5 to 6 than from 4 to 5, so I guess it was the non-bass-related things in my life that affected the learning process. Eventually, I gave up and sold the bass (a nice MTD 635, btw).

 

[dblthumbballad]

How do you know what kind of music he likes?

Quite a lot of the music I like seems to be on 5 string basses, so I'd like to play 5 string eventually.

 

[Gaius46]

I do NOT agree with Big Old Harry or LM Bass that it's easier to start on 4 string. A 5 string bass (contrary to the popular opinion of many who don't play them) is not just a 4 string with a few added low notes. It's a different approach to playing a bass. Scales go across the neck rather than up and down it or lingering near all the open strings (though one can do that too on a 5). I have never believed this myth that you have to learn a 4 first and then "move up" to a 5.

Hence the idea is to learn to play them BOTH and rule the world as someone said. "Easier" is a subjective thing and I suspect that if you are playing the bass for the music that interests you it will make learning that instrument much easier for you!

The rest of what Big Old Harry and LM bass suggested, however is spot-on.

I'm curious as to what you mean that it's a new approach to playing bass. I agree that the extra string allows you to play almost 2 full octaves of a scale in one position as opposed to the octave and a quarter (more or less) that you get with a four string but playing scales vertically - in one position - is to my mind a fundamental skill that all bassists should be able to do, as well as playing scales up the neck on one, two or three strings.

I don't believe you have to learn a four first either. The number of strings is a trivial consideration - afterall our guitarist brethern start on six strings. However, I also don't believe that in many cases the transition between 4 and 5 - and 6 for that matter - is all that difficult. I do think getting the most out of the instrument does take some time - by that I mean the extra string opens possibilities for tonal variation that can be explored as well as giving the opportunity simplify fingerings.

 

[Floridabwoy]

Since you already have a 4, I would play a 4 and save up for a 5.

I am just now moving to a 5 after wanting one for a few years. I am to the point now where I want the a low D and E being on the middle of the fretboard so I do not have to play open E and have and high D w. an arrangement calls for it.

Either way, you have a lot to learn.

 

[Pitmaster]

You don't really have to unlearn anything in going from a 4 to a 5. The techniques are the same. What a 5 really buys you is two things - first the differing tones that the B string generates gives you a wider tonal palette to choose from (E on the B sounds different from an open E for example) and you can cut down on position shifting. The extra 5 notes come in handly sometimes but that's really a secondary consideration for me.

I went from 30 years on a 4 string to a 6 and then added a 5 a year later. It took all of a couple of hours to remember that the B string wasn't the E string and to get comfortable with the wider neck - not as much of a consideration on a 5 so I can honestly say I had no issues with the transition. Learning to take full advantage of the added flexibility is ongoing........

Same here. My 5 has not in any way replaced the 4. Its just to me a different instrument. I even play different on it. Cut your teeth on the 4. Then when you add the 5 later, it will open a new world of tone.....