To 4 string or 5, that is the question.

[Flog]

^^^ yea man! Rock out! have fun! be comfortable on stage! nothing better than a 4 string for that. Pref a P-bass. I always see these guys with 5 or 6 strings on stage and they are just starring at the neck...concentrating. A giant cantankerous bison strapped across their back. You didn't see 5's in the 80's....just bass players having fun.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Uptown Funk was the worst song I've learned on bass in years. That sub bass syth vocal part I tried to emulate in low C (we transposed if I recall).
Eventually since we have no keyboards we threw it away and moved on to Get Lucky.

Uptown Funk is probably the most popular song we play. Fills the dance floor every time. And a 5 is necessary. We also cover Get Lucky, and if you listen to the original there's lots of low B in there.

I moved to a five 7 years ago and haven't looked back. I love to play my MIJ Jazz, don't get me wrong. There's nothing like it. But When I'm under the lights on stage there's a 5 in my hands.

 

[Flog]

^ I play Uptown funk every week with a 4. Detune your E string down to D during the intro...or use a hipshot.
4's are fun-er to play and sound better. Just ask Flea.

 

[TheLowDown33]

I'm currently going through the same internal turmoil...and I just ended up getting both because why not and also a backup is pretty much a necessity if you're doing any professional functions.

Also as a sidenote...Uptown funk DOES go down to a low C. It hits that b7 before the D quite often.

 

[bigboy_78]

I was in exactly the same boat. Playing modern dancey stuff, there is a lot that needs 5 to replicate it properly. I just played it up the octave if I could, tried the octave pedal but wasn’t in love with it.
Once we had enough gigs booked to cover the cost, I bought a Squier VM P5. Nice bass for not many $$. About 4 gigs in Australia, probably less in the US, because the gear is way cheaper, but the pay is the same-ish.
I’d still rather play 4 and only play the 5er in that particular band.

 

[James Lugo]

^^^ yea man! Rock out! have fun! be comfortable on stage! nothing better than a 4 string for that. Pref a P-bass. I always see these guys with 5 or 6 strings on stage and they are just starring at the neck...concentrating. A giant cantankerous bison strapped across their back. You didn't see 5's in the 80's....just bass players having fun.

That’s it exactly for me personally. I just play better on 4 and feel better and I dance a lot while I play and sing lead so I can’t feel like it’s a science project. I’d rather miss the occasional super low note in exchange for the groove and show.

 

[overit]

Get a 5 and play it exclusively til your comfortable but keep your 4. Go back to the 4 when the 5 is dialed and can switch comfortably. They are both tools.

 

[TomB]

That’s it exactly for me personally. I just play better on 4 and feel better and I dance a lot while I play and sing lead so I can’t feel like it’s a science project. I’d rather miss the occasional super low note in exchange for the groove and show.

Understood, and most of us came from there. I can relate that it’s just a matter of time and miles before you’ll feel the same way on the five. But you have to want it to go through it. I think it was worth it, but you have to decide for you.

 

[5stringDNA]

Some people use 5 strings to make playing in one position easier as well, and using the B string allows you to play more songs higher up on the neck, thereby making the tone thicker and deeper.

Guilty. First bass I ever owner was a 5 and I have sold every 4 I owned aside from my Double Bass.
I'm so bad I have 5 strings tuned BEADG and EADGC... and six string tuned EADGCF

 

[Real Soon]

IMO eventually you'll probably want a 5, esp if you do Anthony Jackson stuff like Chaka Khan music, but if your setlist can be accommodated with a 4 in drop tunings, well, there's a lot of good reasons to run with that. Relearning the dropped D string will be a thing but a small thing, and it's worth it for the amount of music out there that's specifically in drop D, so hey. Also, the 5 has its pluses, but only if you're going to use it as a 5-string bass rather than a 4-string with a few extensions.

In the cover band which I briefly played, I brought my 5 mainly because I'm already comfortable with it, but were I going 100% with the lines in the songs we played, the lowest note I needed (for 90s + modern R&B style) was an Eb. So hey.

I like the idea of going 4 with occasional drops enough that I'm considering getting a Hipshot for my Washburn Taurus. And it's not redundant with me having a 5: there are plenty of songs where drop D is way easier than using a 5, and occasionally, songs are only possible with a drop D 4 (Tool: Sober is one I ran into a while back, with pick-strummed open D's and A's on all strings).

 

[superheavyfunk]

I am starting to play with a dance band. 80s dance Rock/Disco/Current Top 40 etc.

do you guys think I should consider just going 5 string? I’ve played both but have struggled on 5 string basses cuz I just don’t like the feel so I’ve always stuck to 4 strings 90% of the time.

I'm on the some boat! I love 4 strings, but to me certain songs are much more fun to play on a 5 string. Superstition, I wish, Rock with you, I wanna dance with somebody, Bruno mars songs.

Two of the band's I play are exactly this description and plays all the songs and artists mentioned in the above posts. Both myself and my sub play strictly 4 strings. I have a bass tuned standard, and one to D overall. I've never found I needed a 5 string to play any of the music, personally. Plus, if you think about it, every one of those tunes were recorded with a 4 banger anyway.

Often, it's just a matter of making good use of your EQ and hand placement to get the sounds you need, IME. Going lower doesn't always work out the way you think it will. Unless your main concern is position playing, I think you'll be spending more in money and time than you'll get back in tone.

 

[Thumpin6string]

4 strings? 5 strings? Get a real bass, get a 6 string.

 

[SteveC]

I didn't read the entire thread, but I have struggled with this (kind of) for a while. I've been playing 5 string for a LONG time. Every once in a while I think, as I listen and watch others like Pino for example, that maybe I should try a 4 again. It has some unique characteristics. I have one. I try it. It's OK. And then I go back to my Roscoe 5 and I wonder hy I'd play anything else. It feels so good, sounds amazing, "plays itself" and looks great.

I'll keep my 4 string (present from my wife) but it has it's role as backup and occasionally being played for something. I'm just a 5 string guy and I need to accept it.

My name is Steve. I play 5 string basses.