My 4 strings need 4 strings, my 5 strings need 5 strings, my 6 strings need 6, 8s need 8 and 12s need 12. Seems fairly straightforward to me. 
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Who needs five strings??!
- Thread starter FishDub
- Start date
MaddAnthony_59
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- Dec 16, 2006
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It's a silly question. One man's solution to reframe his mapping of the fretboard by stringing a 4 BEAD.
Nobody can really expect that to be an idea that will suddenly catch fire and now everybody's doing it.
I study (if I can generously call it that) walking bass with lessons and transcriptions and I don't think more than a few measures go by where I don't get up on the G string. Of course all these lessons and transcriptions were done on 4 strings, and I could go higher up on the D, but then I lose the home position that a 5 string is all about. Hey and any Paul Chambers transcription and it's not long before you're way up reading some staff lines beyond the octave G on the 12th fret of the G -- good luck with that with a BEAD.
Nobody can really expect that to be an idea that will suddenly catch fire and now everybody's doing it.
I study (if I can generously call it that) walking bass with lessons and transcriptions and I don't think more than a few measures go by where I don't get up on the G string. Of course all these lessons and transcriptions were done on 4 strings, and I could go higher up on the D, but then I lose the home position that a 5 string is all about. Hey and any Paul Chambers transcription and it's not long before you're way up reading some staff lines beyond the octave G on the 12th fret of the G -- good luck with that with a BEAD.
My personnal choice is 4 strings with Hipshot drop C.
Most of time playing in E, but some songs dropping to D or C.
Since my bass heroes dont use 5, and the spaces in a five for me are terrible, my decision is to go ahead with 4.
Most of time playing in E, but some songs dropping to D or C.
Since my bass heroes dont use 5, and the spaces in a five for me are terrible, my decision is to go ahead with 4.
I prefer 5 strings tuned with a low B. I only "need" it if I don't want to tune to Eb to match the guitarist where I transpose on the fly. Other than for that reason, I rarely need it but do prefer it. Sometimes the bass line lends it self to a Low D instead on the B string instead of a high open D. That is my most common use anyways.
Do you really "need" any of it? No, it's music, and music is an expression. If something helps you be more expressive, great.
Do you really "need" any of it? No, it's music, and music is an expression. If something helps you be more expressive, great.
Jaco only needed four.
Taco didn't need any.
I'm all out of long sighs on this subject.
Nathan East uses 6 strings.
Adam Nitti uses 6 strings.
Sharay Reed uses 5 strings
Henrick Linder uses 6 strings (He had a 7, but he quit using it because of his hand size).
Is it really about the number of strings?
And there's this...
So there!...
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If you're good with 35" scale, check out Lakie Skylines. They go at very reasonable prices used. I've owned three, and each had a phenomenal B string voice.
I use the B on a 5er a lot for scales and modes when I practice and I also use the D and E on the B quite a bit. Took me a couple of years to really get into using the B on cover gigs though.
Also, I use the G string a ton for octaves and runs off C, D, E, etc., so a BEAD 4 string would never work for me.
I COULD get by with a 4 string, but I prefer a 5. I also have a 6 and really don't use the high C string a ton. Fun to have, but not a necessity for me.
To each their own, but all I really play these days are active 24 fret 34" scale 5ers.
Also, I use the G string a ton for octaves and runs off C, D, E, etc., so a BEAD 4 string would never work for me.
I COULD get by with a 4 string, but I prefer a 5. I also have a 6 and really don't use the high C string a ton. Fun to have, but not a necessity for me.
To each their own, but all I really play these days are active 24 fret 34" scale 5ers.
I don't need my 5th string, any more than I need a phone with a camera and Internet access. I know when I went back to a "dumb" phone for a bit, though, I really missed the extra functionality. after selling my first 5er, I sure did miss that extended range, and less than a year later I was back to 5.
Do what works for you though, though, and makes you feel happy to play music. That's the only standard by which an instrument, or it's design, should be judged.
Do what works for you though, though, and makes you feel happy to play music. That's the only standard by which an instrument, or it's design, should be judged.
Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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I’ve seen posts similar to this question before, and I’ve already gone into a lengthy explanation as to why they’re not really for me.
Suffice it to say, I have average to small hands & fingers and it’s all I can do now to reach all the notes on most 4 string necks.
I’ve picked up 5 string basses and attempted to play/reach the different notes of songs I would typically play and it was a disaster.
Maybe somebody, someday will make a bass with a narrow enough neck that could fit five bass strings ergonomically spaced well enough (for me) to play, until then; I’ll be sticking with all of my four string basses.
Suffice it to say, I have average to small hands & fingers and it’s all I can do now to reach all the notes on most 4 string necks.
I’ve picked up 5 string basses and attempted to play/reach the different notes of songs I would typically play and it was a disaster.
Maybe somebody, someday will make a bass with a narrow enough neck that could fit five bass strings ergonomically spaced well enough (for me) to play, until then; I’ll be sticking with all of my four string basses.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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The point of a 5 string (with low B) is to be able to play notes below the low E on a 4.
This can also be achieved using a 4 string tuned B-E-A-D, obviously.
I'm mainly a 4 string player but certain gigs require those lower notes so I keep a good 5 string on hand so if I get the call, I'm ready to rock.
This can also be achieved using a 4 string tuned B-E-A-D, obviously.
I'm mainly a 4 string player but certain gigs require those lower notes so I keep a good 5 string on hand so if I get the call, I'm ready to rock.
You have to play them all. Not just the ones that look decent.
Yep. That's a biggie for me. 2 octaves without much moving,
I'm in a Country band and I use all 5 strings like crazy. Lots of low C's and D's (especially on Ballads) and lots of fills starting past the 12 fret on the G string.
I can't play 4's anymore, but I don't think less (or more) of anyone who does. But to each his own.
I'm not above wearing a G string if the gig called for it, but I'm more a black jeans/white shirt/skinny tie kind of guy.
This is an interesting thread in many ways. I've been tempted to set up a bass BEAD. I have an old beat up MIM jazz that I was thinking of selling....maybe I'll try it with this bass.
As for the tone of B strings....I just don't know what to say. I guess I understand the complaints, because the B strings on my 5-ers do tend to sound sort of muddy. But our bass amps are designed and eq'd for - and we are used to hearing - tones only as low as E1. I don't know how much of it is "muddy" versus just the pitch. Maybe you need a sawtooth waveform to get a subjectively "tight" tone on pitches below a certain point.
I find that in practice the low B sounds fine....on all of my basses......eventually. I just get used to it. It is always a bit better in the band mix than when I hear it alone, and I sort of like having the opportunity of creating low notes with a different timbre. The E1 notes and up on the B string are warmer or rounder sounding than when played elsewhere, and sometimes that's nice to have.
I've not been doing this long - I'm 50 and it's a lifetime hobby that has only become semi-serious in the last 4-5 years - but the more things I try the more I realize that everything I do on bass is a compromise of sorts. Sweetness of tone, clarity of tone, presence, ergonomics, simplicity, etc., are all variable, depending on the bass you choose, the strings, the rig, and you can never have it all.
I'm just old, and prefer a standard 34" 4-stringer. To me many of the tunes I hear with a 5-string sound too low. The only time I wish I had a 5-stringer is to play a low D, but it's rare. When I listen to older music that was all done on a 4-stringer it sounds just fine to me. Plus, I don't like the feel of the wider neck on a 5-stringer. To each their own.
Jigsawjaybus
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- Feb 17, 2015
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I just don't have the hands for a five string. Even the re-designed necks and want not, they're just not my thing. Having said that, I've known some dudes that five strings just opened their whole world up. I suppose it worth figuring out what you want to do for tuning as well. A five string can make alternate tunings way less of a headache.
