Why do you play fours?

[DavetheDude]

I see we are resisting using the term...

“Jaco only needed”.

I have stuck with 4 bangers only because I fight with looking for a 5’ver with a neck I like.

I did find one but will probably be sold by the time I’ve saved the $$.

The search continues.

What's your budget?

 

[Nephilymbass]

The idea for this thread was spurred by curiosity. There are so many options to choose from these days. There is a thread posing the question of why you play more than four - this is not that thread.

I want to know why you play a standard four-string bass. That's it!

My reasons:
*It's comfortable.
*I enjoy the "classic" aesthetic of a four-string, Leo Fender-designed electric bass.
*Less is more (subjective!!)

Let's hear it.

I play everything and nearly every 4 string I buy gets setup bead. So for me it has nothing to do with not wanting a low b string. Anyways here are the reasons I dig 4 strings.

1 more passive bass options. Nearly all of the 5 and 6 strings I owned have had active electronics.

2 more aftermarket parts

3 bigger used market often means better deals

 

[DavC]

because i lost my ' 3 string ' in the divorce ..!

 

[Jay2U]

I play 4’s and 5’s, but I find the E string sounds different on a 4, as opposed to a 5 string bass. It sounds more open to me. Less focused. Maybe the wider neck and different tension across the neck account for this perception I have? That said, I also like the sound of an E string on a 5 for my percieved sense that it sounds more focused, when Im looking for that.

More string tension and equally counteracting trussrod make for a stiffer and heavier construction. Also a fiver's pickup is different.

 

[Jay2U]

I play everything and nearly every 4 string I buy gets setup bead. So for me it has nothing to do with not wanting a low b string. Anyways here are the reasons I dig 4 strings.

1 more passive bass options. Nearly all of the 5 and 6 strings I owned have had active electronics.

2 more aftermarket parts

3 bigger used market often means better deals

True! I removed the active electronics of my BEAD tuned Ibby. No big deal.

 

[DuluthDank]

I play upright bass 99 percent of the time, so it's not worth throwing off my muscle memory for a string I will rarely use. The notes sound good in some styles, but in the styles I play would tend to sound out of place if I forced them in there.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Comfortable for me. Also never found a B String that sounded good to me in my hands.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

because two-string basses are really hard to find

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I'm not a fan of extended range with the exception of 24 frets.
I don't need extra strings & I don't need the hassle of having to mute an extra string or the added hassle when buying a cabinet. Will it support the low B? conundrum...

 

[Gaolee]

Because I never had a reason to play anything else. I have thought about a fiver, just never got one. I can't remember ever even picking one up anywhere, so maybe there's no interest to go along with no need.

 

[SactoBass]

Because I have played 4-stringers ever since I started playing bass in 1972.

I tried a fiver for a short bit. Didn't care for it at all.

So it's strictly 4-stringers for me!

 

[Pilgrim]

A four-string is what I've been playing since 1964. I have no need for a five, and no desire to complicate life with another string.

 

[Bassbubble11]

 

[SJLee]

I love the sound of the low B string, but I can’t get along with the wider neck of the five - especially on long gigs. There’s less weight with a four and it just feels like home.

There are some nice things about playing a five, like the open E, A, and D strings sound more massive than on a four. I also like a five for playing in the keys of D, E♭, A♭, or D♭.

 

[twinjet]

Seeing some folks' reasoning for 4-string exclusivity reminds me of this great Star Trek episode, Chain of Command...

 

[bassminstrel]

I've had a couple of 5 stringers in the past. What gets me is the fretboard width and the 35-inch scale. I know I could find one with a 34-inch scale, but most seem to be 35. Anyway, my left hand and wrist get sore whenever I play a 5-string. So I stick with a 4-string with a drop D tuner.

 

[Solarmist]

because two-string basses are really hard to find

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[Kustom_Thunder]

I just like rocking out with a pick on a 4. On my 5 it’s all about playing more musical

 

[Solarmist]

I like 4s for their simplicity, and traditional standing, but 5s for the added thunder.
I like both.

 

[JKos]

As six-string guitarist for many years before picking up bass, I thought I wanted a six-string bass at first. But I could not get along with the neck nor the different tuning. So, I traded "down" to a five-string. I still didn't care for it. So, I went down to four-string. Then I found necks I could actually live with and a string tuning I could deal with.

Then you ask... So, why do you have a four-string tuned BEAD? Because I want to figure out BEAD tuning.

- John