• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Tempted to Go Four String Only

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,278
120,399
Metro St. Louis
#1
I think this has been brewing in me for a while; I am less and less interested in five string basses. I think learning lots of older bass lines in the last few years has really made me appreciate what can be done on a four string. Although I don't play jazz, whenever I hear a smoking upright bassist, I am struck by how well they accompany pianos without being able to go below E. I had a great time accompanying the choir last Sunday on my four string USA MIllennium once I put down my ATK305 after the first song.

The other factor in more four string playing is that I have always felt freer slapping on the E string when I have no B string I need to mute.

Oh well, I have no great point to make. Those are my thoughts, don't be surprised if I get a six in a month!:D
 
#4
I have been playin my 4 for the last year or so almost exclusively, although lately I have been spending more time with my 5. it really is a hard decision for me. I will be leaving for college in boston in september and i dont want to bring both basses, for security reasons, and it is hard for me to decide which one of my music mans to bring. it may come down to me bringing my 5 just for the fact that my 4 means more to me sentimentally (and the fact that is has so much mojo) that if anything were to happen to it id be so so sad.


back on topic, i personally feel that a 4 is sufficient, but then again, if you can rock a 5, why not. I think both are fine and its really preference.
 
#5
i just sold my lakland 55-94deluxe, and put together a fender japanese p bass 57 reissue with a nordstrand pickup. aand to be honest, i dont really miss the lakland. i would like another 5er at some point, but i am really enjoying not having a b string for the time being.
 
#6
Figjam said:
back on topic, i personally feel that a 4 is sufficient, but then again, if you can rock a 5, why not. I think both are fine and its really preference.
Click to expand...

+1, I think I am reacting to all the years I assumed that more was better; 24 frets was better than 20, active was better than passive, five or six strings better than four. Honestly, most of the players I really love play fours like Larry Graham, and Marcus Miller. I listen to a young blood like Tal Wilkenfeld wear our her four string, and I never go, "she really needs to hit a low C."
 
#8
I hear ya Doc, I really enjoyed my L-2500 for a while but when I picked up a Jazz bass for the first time I just felt totally comfortable and unencumbered if that makes sense.

I think I've wanted to play below E about two whole times since I switched over, and since I have a D-tuner on one of my fours I doubt I'll ever feel like I "shoulda been playin a fiver". I still have a couple 5's and I fool with them some, but four makes me happy. I'm playing classic rock and straight up rock though. Nothing super challenging. Maybe if I was into different stuff the 5 would be more my cuppa tea.
 
#9
I have been playing 27 years and went through a 6 string phase and a 5 string phase.......maybe i am too old, don't want to take the time to relearn anything, but, I play 4 string exclusivly and never need anything else. I play blues, and country....so a low B is nothing i need. Anytime I hear a bassist using the low string, I think that it doesn't sound that great, is misplaced, or they hang out on the B way too much.......it's just not for me. I can't see spending the money and time for 5 more notes. peace, John
 
#10
I did this about a year ago. I was playing 6's exclusively, and was noticing some pain in my left wrist from it (I have since realized that simply adjusting my strap so the bass is higher on me cures this problem for me). SO, I sold off my 6 strings one by one, and bought up a few 4 strings.

It didn't last.

My two main basses are now a 5 string and a 6 string. I've found I am much more comfortable with 5 strings (and possibly 6's again, testing the waters with my recently re-acquired Modulus).
 
#11
I really like 5's and 6's, but somehow the 4 string feels like an old friend, maybe its because its the faithful configuration I spent my youth learning and pounding away on. I can appreciate the differences between them and enjoy them equally for their various merits, though somehow 4 seems to feel like home.
 
#14
Ryan L. said:
I did this about a year ago. I was playing 6's exclusively, and was noticing some pain in my left wrist from it (I have since realized that simply adjusting my strap so the bass is higher on me cures this problem for me). SO, I sold off my 6 strings one by one, and bought up a few 4 strings.

It didn't last.

My two main basses are now a 5 string and a 6 string. I've found I am much more comfortable with 5 strings (and possibly 6's again, testing the waters with my recently re-acquired Modulus).
Click to expand...

I could see that happening to me too. I haave been playing fives for twenty years, but fours feel so right.:)
 
#17
I'm a terribly fickle bassist. One day my P bass will really speak to me, the other it's my 5er. When I switched to 5 I didn't get why people would bother owning a 4. But then I gave in to the P bass and it really is easier to slap etc. My brain really wants to have one bass that does everything but I don't think it's going to happen. I now realize there are tunes that require a 4 and tunes that require a 5. Plus the tones are so different, diversity is a good thing.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back