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The 5th string, what's the advantages?

T

TheShreddingE

May 4, 2008
34
2
#1
I played a cool stingray 5 the otherday. Awesome tone but the think neck seemed to help the stability and make the sound phat. Much different to my jazz. I thought a 5 might be worth looking into.

What are the pros and cons and can you suggest any good models
 
#4
Pros: a few lower notes, several new positions for playing across the neck instead of up and down the neck.

Cons: some people are just stubborn, old-fashioned, or minimalist. Some poorly-designed or poorly built 5'ers have a wimpy or floppy low B string.

"Can you suggest any good models?" Come on now, there are thousands of them. You'll have to do some reading about the many, many good bass brands out there, as well as the hundreds of custom builders. Then you'll have to identify your budget, and whether you're willing to buy used, or over the internet. Then you may get useful responses by asking something like "I have $XXX budget; I want to buy new from a local shop; I want a 5'er; I like the look of X brand, Y brand, and Z brand; I play mostly Amish screamo and Linkin Bizkit cover tunes; can you recommend a bass for me?"
 
#6
bongomania said:
Pros: a few lower notes, several new positions for playing across the neck instead of up and down the neck.

Cons: some people are just stubborn, old-fashioned, or minimalist. Some poorly-designed or poorly built 5'ers have a wimpy or floppy low B string.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. Almost everything under the sun will have a good E, A, D, and G but it takes a little extra effort beyond simply adding the low B to make it sound good. When I was first starting bass, the local stores only carried low quality 5-6 string basses with meager setups, which almost prevented me from tapping into the lower register all together. Flop city!

A good B string doesn't sound floppy and is just as valuable above the 5th fret as it is below.
 
#7
a good fiver is great for runs from the high G to the B, you've got a full double octave in one hand position, so the possibilities are endless when improvising or complex bass lines.

also you dont have to string it BEADG, EADGC is a good option that many bassist use and it is great.
 
#8
Evan_S._Brown said:
a good fiver is great for runs from the high G to the B, you've got a full double octave in one hand position, so the possibilities are endless when improvising or complex bass lines.

also you dont have to string it BEADG, EADGC is a good option that many bassist use and it is great.
Click to expand...

+1

FWIW and IMO, of all the basses I've played on for any extended period, my Dingwall has the best B string ever.
 
#9
there are no real advantages, just a wider range. like going from a 44 key piano to a 66 or whatever. the 66 just goes a lil higher and lower. the 44 keys in the middle still play the same. some gigs require the extra range depending on what was used on the recording. (like my silly band). johnny a
 
#12
staindbass said:
there are no real advantages, just a wider range. like going from a 44 key piano to a 66 or whatever. the 66 just goes a lil higher and lower. the 44 keys in the middle still play the same. some gigs require the extra range depending on what was used on the recording. (like my silly band). johnny a
Click to expand...

Sure, but the piano player doesn't have the redundancy of a stringed instrument tuned to 4ths. When playing crazy riffs and chords, sometimes shifting to a lower string and higher position allows for easier chording and fret work due to the decreased reach. On my 6 string, I tend to "park it" in the 5th position, which technically turns the bass into a short scale if you really look at it.
 
#15
I play 5 & 6s, for all the above reasons- but one disadvantage(IMO/IME)to a 5 or 6 is when slapping it's a bit harder to mute, play accurately, etc. Really fast(for me)stuff that doesn't require going below E is easier on a 4; for this reaon I've been rediscovering 4s. Not trying to dissuade you from 5s mind you, they certainly stretched me, & still do. A good exercise is to play something on a 5/6 that's much more suited to a 4. Then when you play it on the 4, it's like you've taken ankle weights off. :hyper:

And I think staindbass contradicts himself. :ninja:
 
#16
$1000? please try a spector legend made in czeck before u try other stuff. (the korean ones are not as good). about $5-$600. trust me, i can use anything i want, and this is a great playing,sounding, and looking instrument. i am not endorsed, (they asked me to, and i declined, and they were still nice enough to put my pic on thier site.) so it has nothing to do with buisness. it is worth checking out. johnny a
 
#18
staindbass said:
there are no real advantages, just a wider range. like going from a 44 key piano to a 66 or whatever. the 66 just goes a lil higher and lower. the 44 keys in the middle still play the same. some gigs require the extra range depending on what was used on the recording. (like my silly band). johnny a
Click to expand...

Just to preface this, I am a 4-string player, but I have to totally disagree with your comment, sorry dude. The bass/guitar layout of notes is completely different from a keyboard. If they had only one string, this would be a slightly valid comment. The guitar neck layout is like having 4, 5 or 6 keyboards all tuned in 4ths and easily accessible to one hand, with another hand providing the percussive strike on the string.

I'm a 4-string player because that's what I've played for 25 years. I am a wannabe 5-string player, but haven't found too many that have a nice B string. The lower notes are very cool to have, but what really turns my crank about the B string is the ability to play a low E at the 5th fret - I do most of my playing between the 5th and 10th frets anyway, because that's where the sound is fattest, and if I can go all the way down to a low E without moving around a lot, that seems pretty darned useful.

Some basses (Yamaha maybe?) have an extension for the B saddle at the bridge so that it's a little longer than the 34" scale of the other four strings, and IIRC Sadowsky and Lakland fivers are all 35" scale, so a longer B also, as well as the other four strings. Not sure if this helps or not...? I'd have thought a shorter scale would provide more tension, but maybe not.

A buddy of mine has an Ibanez ATK 5 string that felt pretty nice, and I liked the feel of a Stingray 5 that I tired unplugged once, and there was also an entry-levelish Yamaha BB series (around $500 iirc?) that I tried that had a decent B string.
 
#19
BillMason said:
...

I'm a 4-string player because that's what I've played for 25 years. I am a wannabe 5-string player, but haven't found too many that have a nice B string. The lower notes are very cool to have, but what really turns my crank about the B string is the ability to play a low E at the 5th fret - I do most of my playing between the 5th and 10th frets anyway, because that's where the sound is fattest, and if I can go all the way down to a low E without moving around a lot, that seems pretty darned useful.

...
Click to expand...

This to me is the best part of a 5-string bass with a low B. The lower frequencies below E is nice and all, but when my main bass was a Modulus Q5, I very rarely left the fith-to-twelth fret area. It wasn't even for the fattness of the tone, which is certainly prevalent, but just because it felt so right to play there.

With a budget of $1000, I would suggest picking up either a Lakland Skyline 55-02, or a G&L L-2500. Or, you could get a G&L Tribute L-2500 for I believe around $600 and probably be just as happy. These are new prices, so second hand should be right around where you're looking to spend.
 

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