What songs do you feel NEED a 5 string bass?

[Robroy]

Stop fixating on the number of strings. Any song can be played on any bass.

That's kinda like saying any car can be driven on any road.

Though that is true, it misses the point.

 

[Robroy]

When you're singer calls for Livin' on a Prayer in the key of B, you're gonna need the low b.

Or a song in E becomes a song in Eb.

 

[Wisebass]

Hi Phillip

Are there songs that you feel would suffer if the bassist used a 4 string instead of a 5?

A 5 string bass gives you 5 notes more than a 4 string.

Songs that were written by bands that have a 5 string bass player won' t sound the same on a 4 string.

When songs are transposed for the singer these five notes can also help a lot.


Of course I could play these songs one octave higher,

but most of the bands I play in already have two guitarists!

No need to have a third one!

I play bass!


greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[Robroy]

I came across this video a few days ago. For all intents and purposes, it should end the thread.
It actually explains why you SHOULD play one too.

 

[marmadaddy]

NEED? None. But it's nice to have sometimes, particularly when playing R&B and country/pop.

 

[Two-Spirit]

I almost never use the extra note but I like the feel of 5 strings.

 

[Harold Runyan]

Lots of Praise and Worship songwriters utilize 5 string bass lines. Of course you can play up an octave but it often doesn't have the same feel. In that venue I often take a 5 string.

 

[Harold Runyan]

Crazy! I went Lakland SPECIFICALLY for the 35" scale to get a better B. It IS better than the TBird, but I just recently got a Sterling (import line) Stingray 5. It's a standard 34" scale, and the low B is MORE defined/allround pleasing than even the Skyline 55-02!

I am hopefully less than a week away from picking up my very first custom bass from Brian at The Low End. He even has 33" basses with crazy great low Bs! This will be a 34" scale and I'm HOPING it will be great... you never know until you play it, though. If it IS, then I'll probably sell the Lakland.
Glad you found your Killer B! (even if it's not a Tobias!)

I'm a huge Warwick fan but got a Lakland because of the 35" scale B string. Very nice. Still kept one of my 2 Warwick fives though. Recently played a Stingray Special 5 (34") and had to have it. Best B string I ever played. Traded my $$ for it. Kept the Lakeland as a spare and am keeping my Warwick Bleached Blonde Thumb 4. I never say never but I cannot imagine ever moving the Thumb or the Stingray!

 

[Afc70]

5's just work better for me on everything.. I played 4's exclusively for over 25 years, until October 2014. Found a Modulus Quantum 5 that played & sounded incredible, (still got it) & I've been hooked. I've discovered that 5's just sound beefier across the whole tonal spectrum- for example, my Musicman Stingray 5 just sounds bigger & thicker than my buddy's 4 string Musicman. (& I'm not even talking about the low B) I would attribute this possibly to more mass overall that a 5 has, generally speaking. Lots of the modern gospel & country music incorporate the low B string, it just sounds better (to me) played on a 5. Four's certainly are very popular & countless bass players use them everywhere, but 5's just are home for me.

 

[Robroy]

5's just work better for me on everything.. I played 4's exclusively for over 25 years, until October 2014. Found a Modulus Quantum 5 that played & sounded incredible, (still got it) & I've been hooked. I've discovered that 5's just sound beefier across the whole tonal spectrum- for example, my Musicman Stingray 5 just sounds bigger & thicker than my buddy's 4 string Musicman. (& I'm not even talking about the low B) I would attribute this possibly to more mass overall that a 5 has, generally speaking. Lots of the modern gospel & country music incorporate the low B string, it just sounds better (to me) played on a 5. Four's certainly are very popular & countless bass players use them everywhere, but 5's just are home for me.

I started playing in 1998 and learned on five. A couple of years later I picked up a four and it was fine, until I tried to use the fiver hand position for a song in E. oops. The killer was trying to play "Summer of 69" with a four and I was used to going DOWN at the key change. but "down" didn't exist on the four. I wasn't experienced enough yet to just easily pick it up an octave higher. I floundered for a couple of measures. I was just goofing off at the Howl at the moon in Hollywood, but still, it was embarrassing.

 

[Afc70]

My Yamaha TRB6P has been my #1 since about 1995. I own 4- and 5-string basses, but I am most comfortable on the Yamaha. I tend to use it whether I need the B and C string, or not. I truly believe that it's better to have the extra range and color available that an extended range instrument affords. In all honesty, some aspects of playing become easier when you master a 6-string and some aspects of playing become slightly more difficult, so it's a trade off. But in my opinion, there are more advantages than disadvantages.

While I mainly play 5's, I got my first 6'er a few months ago- a Yamaha TrbJP2- & I primarily use it at church & plan on using it for studio work. It sounds amazing! & I'm a longtime John Patitucci fan. Yamaha makes killer sounding basses! I regularly alternate between my 5's & my Yamaha 6 & love them all.

 

[Robroy]

While I mainly play 5's, I got my first 6'er a few months ago- a Yamaha TrbJP2- & I primarily use it at church & plan on using it for studio work. It sounds amazing! & I'm a longtime John Patitucci fan. Yamaha makes killer sounding basses! I regularly alternate between my 5's & my Yamaha 6 & love them all.

I got a sixer from Rondo from the "scratch and dent" section for $120. It's a very beautiful silver, but I had to put a shim between the neck and body to get the neck correct. And it's got a dead 23rd fret on the C string (Slightly lower than the 24th fret).

I planned on using it in church because we don't have a lead guitar player. I'm not quite ready yet, though.

I had to work pretty hard to be able to gig with a four after learning on the five. Sudenly I needed to learn to play a lot of open strings and work the top of the neck more than the middle. But once I had it down, a four feels almost like a toy compared to the five. It's just very simple and very easy to play all over the neck. In some ways it's a lot more fun. But it's still not as versatile.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Any song made popular (or otherwise originally played) with a 5 string, assuming the B string was used for below E notes, will sound different performed on a EADG 4 string. Not that it can't be pulled off, but discerning ears will hear the difference.

I bought a cheap 5 string specifically to do Before He Cheats.

This

I did the same thing back in 2009 when the group I was playing with had 4 to 5 songs that I had to detune my E-string to play. One time I forgot to tune it back up and that was a real trick to play the next song. So I bought an Rogue 405 LX Pro (not the pro II or Pro III) at the suggestion of a friend. This was when they were made in Korea. Fit and finish is superb and it sounds good too. I use a Line 6 Relay G10S wireless, so changing from one bass to the other is quick and easy.

 

[TonyP-]

Are there songs that you feel would suffer if the bassist used a 4 string instead of a 5?

Just curious what the community thinks.

To be honest, I'm so used to a Fives that all incorporate the B in almost everything I do. (Almost)

I use it in %95 of my own material.

 

[JimmyM]

The only one I'm called to play these days that truly requires a 5 is "Uptown Funk." Otherwise I can usually get away with using the Hipshot double stop Xtender on my Hammersmith PJ to tune down to D or B as I need it.

 

[higain617]

Dude from Helmet played a 4 the other nite. Frickin Helmet.

Has their music deviated from drop-D or something?

 

[Atshen]

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

You don't need a 5 for this one, just a fretless 4, an octaver, and a pick.

 

[skaine]

The people i know who play 5 and 6 string basses, mainly play large variety of music rather than couple of genres, mostly modern and pop music. In order to play in wider selection of octaves as i remember.

 

[Chrisk-K]

"Yesterday," "Her Majesty," "Julia" and "I Will" by the Beatles would sound far better if Sir Paul had recorded them with a 6-string bass.

 

[crankypants]

Has their music deviated from drop-D or something?

No, not really. When I'm messing about on my 5, sometimes a do one of their drop-D riff on the standard BEADG tuning, just for fun.