Who has gone from more than 4 string back to only 4 strings

[Thumper19605]

4 and 5's as the music dictates.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Started on a four in 1980
Went to a five in about 1996.
Then to a six in 2007.
To a seven in 2014.
Then to a four in 2016.
But I still play the six and seven!

 

[BenHack]

This is true. Only thing is it's still a 5 string neck, not a skinny little 4.

Hey Steve

That's true but then you can't instantly have the B string at your disposal should you need it on a four. I think your hands are used to a five by now are they not?

Cheers

Ben

 

[RickyWoo]

Started with 4. Owned 5'ers and 6'ers for a brief stint. I went back to 4 exclusively. Thinking about a 5'er to have for occasional use.

 

[lbbc]

I played a 5 string Alembic Rogue years ago but never really got used to it.....traded for a 4 string Alembic Persuader and never looked back.

 

[JimmyM]

I tried 5-string. I still have one and use it around the house, and I may end up having to use it for my new band, but I greatly prefer 4's, to the point where I may just use a 4 and tune it down electronically with a pedal rather than use the 5. Hey, add a little distortion to it and it sounds pretty close

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I went from 5 back to 4. I thought I would miss it, so threw a hipshot on one. I hardly ever need it! . I'll get a fiver again at some point, but life's just fine in the land of fours.

Same here, five is nice but I've ended up with only fours (all vintage) and don't feel like I'm missing anything...

 

[Flooflox]

Would it be bad to remove the B string for a while?

 

[tuba_samurai]

I did. Went from an awesome but too heavy Yamaha bb425x to a mim p-bass in standard and a jazz in BEAD. Still looking for a 424x, those yamaha pups sound great.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Over 20 years ago I went to playing 6 string and 5 string. Took years away from music and then went back to it on 4. After 5 years I was back on 5.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Started on 4, went to just 5 strings.
Realized that my preferred music style doesn't require the extra string , weight, or larger neck . Now I am back to playing only 4 strings. I do like to have DTuners.

 

[IanA]

I find a 5 string an essential instrument for church especially where multiple worship leaders are changing keys all over the place. I do prefer my 4 string for speed and comfort, but will always keep both for options.

 

[strictlybass_ic]

Played a 4, then switched to 5'er, now I'm back to just 4's. Personal preference.

 

[bassballs27]

The first bass I ever owned was a 4 string.
I quickly gravitated toward 5 strings mainly because of comfort.
The neck width fits like a glove to me.
Even though you can tighter string spacing on a 4, it's nice having the tighter string spacing and getting the B string as bonus.

I've got a 4 string at the moment and it has been fun messing around with it as I normally just play 5's.

I have attempted 6 strings a few times and it failed. I didn't like the neck width.
I really don't like a C string on a bass. To me, it sounds an feels more like a guitar string.
Recently I did play a 6 string with 16.3mm spacing that I actually liked. 19mm spacing fails on a 6 string fails with me.

I guess it's nice to have a choice of how many strings you play with.

 

[basslifter]

Oh, Steve.

Thou loves thine Roscoe 5-string. If you're limiting yourself to one bass, and you have a bass that you love, seriously think about leaving this alone. (You'll want another Roscoe 5 again before you know it.)

I hear you on trying stuff out, thinking differently about the instrument, etc. But you've done this ride before... Loved being back to a 4-string for awhile, and then gone back to 5-string, and then 4-string, and then 5-string. Based on your history, you will go to a 4-string, love it for a while, and then want a 5er again. That's fine, too, as a path; then, just accept it and enjoy the ride.

That is kind of my line of thinking at the moment.
I have 2 5 strings at the moment that I really like for different reasons.
I really don't need two and I recently joined what is basically a classic rock band.
Most of that music was written on a 4 and I rarely need to use the B string, even moving across the fretboard.
So, I somewhat long for a 4. I have no 4 strings and have only played them (as a concept) for only a minute.
I am eyeing a G&L JB-2 Tribute as a good bet here. I have an L2500 Tribute and it's just great. The JB-2 won't be a huge investment if it doesn't work out for me and I just love the sound.

 

[bryan gibson]

Started on 6-string guitar 30+ years ago, 4-string bass shortly thereafter. Top string is always "E." Got a 5-er about two years back and I really dig it and can do OK on it 90% of the time. Lately however, I've been forced into doing more vocals, etc, and can't concentrate as much on the playing aspect. So, I'm doing a lot more 4-string stuff now just to make life easier, muscle memory, blah blah blah...

 

[bassbully]

I tried 5-string. I still have one and use it around the house, and I may end up having to use it for my new band, but I greatly prefer 4's, to the point where I may just use a 4 and tune it down electronically with a pedal rather than use the 5. Hey, add a little distortion to it and it sounds pretty close

I'm looking at going this route as well. Do you use a 5 string set and throw out the G? What gauges are you using and do the strings get floppy?

 

[J.D. Detroit]

Picked up a 5 in the late 90s when most bands in the area played in B, drop C.
I had been playing a 4 for 10+ years before that.
Quit playing 5 strings a few years ago and I honestly don't miss it.
Matter of fact I find my playing more confident and enjoyable.

 

[Xandrell]

I have 2 BEAD basses when needed. I hardly ever use the G anyway and especially wouldn't ever need a higher C along with the width of a 6 string fingerboard.

 

[jwr]

I've gone from 4 to 5 to 6 and found that it's not that I don't want to play the 5 or 6, it's that my hands are small and stupid and I can't. LOL! I wish...