What is the benefit if a 5-string bass? 6-string?

[mikefromchurch]

What about the benefit of a 7th string? low F#?

 

[moody]

I haven't read the whole thread.

I have used a 5 for years, but I rarely use below a low D. I own a 6 but don't need it and rarely play it (never live).

I have been using a 4 more recently in the last year. I still miss the low D now and then. I am definitely preferring the weight and feel of the 4 string.

If I didn't go as far up as the 20th fret on the 4 string for one song, I think my best option would be to tune the 4 to DGCF. I think that is still an option if I get a 24 fret 4 string.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Its very personal. I have played a four for so long that none of the fives I play feel right and I don't feel the overwhelming need to take the time to transition.

The first time I almost went to a five string it was because of down tuning, then I realized that for what I'd play I could do drop D or C more easily and have more options by staying with four strings. When I played low I didn't need to much high range so I simply downtune to taste.

The second time I almost went to a five string it was because of hand positioning, one can get a range of notes more easily with an extra string nearby. I still never played low notes so have yet to invest in a fiver, only practiced my technique to do what I need to do on the four.

In fact in that second case I very nearly did go to a five but intended to string it like a 'dropped high c' five if that makes sense. No low B, strings would've been DGCFA#.

I definitely get the comfort on a four. I played my five exclusively for over three years; recording, gigging, etc, and still feel more at home on a 4

 

[Veldar]

With a 6 string bass I can stay in one hand position and play songs the would require moving around on a 4 string bass, basically for me it's economy of motion, bigger chord shapes & I can dedicate 3 strings to each hand if I do two handed tapping as opposed to 2 strings.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

I think that if you need to ask the internet, you aren't ready for those type of instrument.

 

[Flaked Beans]

Pigs don't fly and Jaco only needed 4 strings!

 

[Humbled]

It has a little to do with five lower semi-tones.

It has a lot to do with being more often able to play across-the-neck instead of up-and-down the neck. In addition, the low-B tends to inspire your patterns to usually originate and stay higher on the the neck where things just sound, well, ...fatter.

I play a six-string electric bass usually, and seldom a four or five anymore.

 

[Carl320]

One nice thing about 5 string basses is that if you're in a band that tunes down on a few songs, it isn't really hard to learn how to play it without retuning the entire bass. I did that a few times when my old band had a song in D standard and C# standard.

 

[carsbybigd]

Why would a bassist need a 5-string bass? What is the benefit of a lower string? What about a 6-string bass?

You could string your bass " BEAD" and get the low notes and only sacrifice a few upper notes.

 

[bassballs27]

I've found myself to be most comfortable with 5 strings as oppose to 4 or 6 strings.
4's work, 6's don't.

This bassist wants to be comfortable.

The more comfortable you are, the more you play.
And the more you play, the better you get!

I do enjoy having easy access to the low B too. I absolutely hate a high C string on a bass, but others love it.
What ever floats your boat!

 

[Ric5]

Why would a bassist need a 5-string bass? What is the benefit of a lower string? What about a 6-string bass?

WHY WOULD A BASSIST PLAY A 4 STRING BASS?

 

[wintremute]

I use it to play at church because for some of the songs it's needed to go lower than E. Since it would be awkward to de-tune and then re-tune, I use the 5-string.

However, I am thinking of getting a 4-string to use at church, and going BEAD on it.

 

[FourBanger]

I definitely get the comfort on a four. I played my five exclusively for over three years; recording, gigging, etc, and still feel more at home on a 4

I found it easier to modify my technique and work with variations on four strings than to adjust to a fifth string. Most folks are probably in the opposite camp.

 

[Blankandson]

Some of the new 'updated' orchestra scores for Broadway musicals have re-written bass for having the low B. I think Chris Tomlin has about a dozen songs written in keys lower than open E, so the 5 string is helpful there. It's really in what you feel comfortable using and what you need to play what you are playing. It took me about two weeks to move from a 4 to a 5, which I did in my late 50s. It's not difficult - it can be more fun. On my bass and rig, the open B really can get muddy - but the C thru E flat really sing and sound great. I can find a position on the neck for a song, and really not have to move my hand to play the entire song. So yes, the hand movement is more vertical than horizontal, if that makes sense.

 

[Humbled]

It took me about two weeks to move from a 4 to a 5, which I did in my late 50s.

You did well. It took me just under seven weeks (I actually jumped up and went to look at a calendar) before my brain "clicked" (all at once BTW) and my muscle-memory quit making the low B get my fretting-hand confused about where it was when I first got a five. This was after 40 years on a four before I switched to five. The transition to six was done without any similar consternation. It was immediately intuitive after a five.

I seldom go back to a four, unless the reason to do so is really compelling, and still then now there's no residual confusion.

 

[red_rhino]

For me, a 5 string makes it easier to play covers where the key needs to be moved in order to accommodate a given singer's range. (Gives the guitar player fits that all I need to do most times is change my left hand position, while they need to figure out how to either play it differently, detune, or use a (gasp!) capo. )

Beyond that, I like the expanded chording options afforded by a 5, even more so with a 6. There are, of course, diminishing returns as you encounter wider and wider necks (my hands aren't getting any bigger). There are things you can do on a 5/6 that you can't do on a 4. Conversely, there are some things that are much easier on a 4 than on a 5 or 6. There are tradeoffs.

All that said, after years of playing 5's and 6's I've moved back to playing 4's exclusively. Sometimes I just want the simplicity. (Check back with me in a few years; I'll probably rationalize a 5 or 6 again.)

 

[tfer]

The only downside I noticed in moved to a 6 string, is slapping is more difficult because of the string spacing.

It didn't change my style much though, because my slapping sounded like I was having a seizure...

 

[Fingerpickingood]

Unlike many of the fine fellows commenting on this thread, I am not a bassist with years and years of playing beneath my belt. I was a fairly capable rhythm guitarist for two decades before I discovered my home at the lower end of the tonal spectrum. Having said that, I play a four string Ibby in drop C for a small number of songs in my sludge metal band. The rest of the tunes are played in drop A. I also play in a rather grungy sort of rock band, using E standard. For me, my five string jazz bass quite nicely fills the needs of both drop A AND E standard. Call it economy.

 

[Phillip B]

I absolutely hate a high C string on a bass, but others love it.

I have yet to find a high C that sounds like it belongs on the same instrument as the other strings.

 

[tfer]

I have yet to find a high C that sounds like it belongs on the same instrument as the other strings.

I have never had an issue. Maybe because I'm using compression, but I'm using D'addario XLs, and there is no tonal difference.