Why do you play fours?

[nonohmic]

I don't like the thickness of the low B.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

99%?of All the great songs from the 50's thru 80's were written for and played on a four.

If the first electric bass guitars had been modelled with 6 strings, we would all be asking ourselves who needs more than 6 strings for bass anyway.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Because it gives me an excuse to shop for 4-string counterparts to my favorite 5-strings.

...of course, then I can't just let 'em sit around... gotta' play them, or no point in having them at all!

Seriously @twinjet, I enjoy the brain exercise of switching between them. I don't consider a 4-string bass as a limitation, besides being somewhat used to having the B-string low notes available.

 

[mikeyjm2]

I'm in the "because it works for me" group. I recently got an inexpensive Squier 5 P just because I'd always been curious. While I can generally adapt my decades long 4 string playing habits to a 5, it takes effort. And I'm lazy. I'd fight my lazy nature if the 5 really filled some void but for me it doesn't.

 

[radmin]

less weight,
less money for string set

 

[HolmeBass]

My reasons echo everyone else here: so many great player got and continue to get it done right on a 4-string, the genres I currently gig in don’t require a 5, it’s hard to find a good 5-string bass where the B sounds well-integrated with the other 4 strings, and it most certainly is not like I’ve mastered the 4-string bass and need room to grow!

All that said I am intrigued by 5’ers and I keep checking them out when I go in to music stores. But I am equally intrigued by a 33” scale 5’er with a high C. So even if I were to commit the money to buying one I am not sure what I would get, or if I wouldn’t just go right to a 6 string.

 

[lz4005]

Because I like them better.

Now that I think about it, I got my 5 in the late 90s and since then I've done more gig-hours on 2's and 8's than it. But I still have it. Just in case.

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

...because they just seem to fit my hand better, have less strings to mute, are less expensive to change the strings and because all the compromises I have to put up with just to have (and avoid the overuse of) 5 notes lower than E doesn't seem worthwhile to me.

They are also more prone to 'disappearing' in a BAD live mix and above their 7th fret (on the B string) generally sound like a$$ (IMHO).

I still have a pair -just to noodle around on and generally remind me why I don't play them more often! IMHO, YMMV etc. etc.

 

[Plutonium244]

I started out playing four strings, back when 5-strings were a recently introduced novelty. All my mental training and ingrained muscle memory is based on that. I mentally measure mostly from the E string, and if I get out on a limb, I know where my landing points are on the E string. Playing a five, which I do sometimes if there's a specific reason to, I have to think consciously about the E being the 2nd string down.

 

[Frampton]

I play a 4 string. It’s allure for me is the same thing many find limiting. I prefer the restriction of four string. It forces me think about what I’m playing - to plan the notes and pattern of notes I’m playing. I play better on a four string because I compose better. There are distinct advantages to a 5 or even 6 string bass, but I’ll stick with the four for now.

 

[Bentfield]

I tend to overplay more on a 5 string than on a 4 string bass.
My playstyle on a 4 string bass is more dynamic.
And I don't need the low B.

 

[A Future Pilot]

I'm actually currently switching from a 5 string that I've owned for a year, back to a 4 string because I really don't like the feel. I like a really wide string spacing, and the same width on a 5 string makes for a massive neck.

I've actually decided to start tuning DGCF so I still get that low D (which is all I really miss about a 5 string), without messing up my fingering or having to deal with a 5th string.

 

[Maxfenderbass]

It's weird, I played a 5 in College and was considering going to a 6. But then I switched to upright as my major from electric. Got used to 4 strings. Also when I was in college my bass teachers made me learn scales and arpeggios on my bass as if it was a 4 string. Wasn't allowed to use the B string. To me now, unless you are doing theater stuff or chordal stuff, 4 strings is all you need. I know it made me learn the neck more, more position switching.

 

[superdick2112]

I don't play 4 string basses ... I cannot find a single reason to play a 4 ... I have 15 basses and none of them is a 4

 

[Runnerman]

What I'm used to and weight are two main factors.
Sold my 5 recently because it was getting close to zero play time.

 

[GrapeBass]

For centuries 4 strings on a bass was used, if they needed a drop D, they invented the extender (hipshot on elec. basses).

I also find the reproduction of anything lower than a D (1 tone below E) to be a challenge (especially the sub harmonics) for most speaker cabinets. Also, if you're playing with a keyboardist there may be more instances of 'beating' on stage.

The low E on a bass is 82.41 Hz and we do get a sub harmonic of 41.2, which is there. I believe this is a property of the length of the string, a double bass does actually have the 41.2 Hz as a fundamental. It's physics (of which I am NOT a master LOL)

 

[Florinda4]

Learned on a standard 4-string URB 50+ years ago, added BG in my teens, never have needed/wanted more than 4 on either.

 

[Spidey2112]

Because it gives me an excuse to shop for 4-string counterparts to my favorite 5-strings.

View attachment 2877670

...of course, then I can't just let 'em sit around... gotta' play them, or no point in having them at all!

Seriously @twinjet, I enjoy the brain exercise of switching between them. I don't consider a 4-string bass as a limitation, besides being somewhat used to having the B-string low notes available.

Man, those are nice!

 

[silvertone]

I play upright, 4, fretless 4 and 5.

I play 4 mostly for the right song and the right tones...

Other songs demand other basses...

 

[RichardW]

I learned on a 4, and I guess if I'd learned on a 5 I'd prefer a 5. But I didn't, so I don't. I've got so many other bass skills I would like to/need to develop before thinking about a 5, like getting facile with a pick or tackling a fretless.

I tried a 5 for a couple of months and just did not dig it. The neck felt impossibly wide to me.

But, hey, nothing but respect for those playing 5s, 6s, 8s, 12s. Whatever floats your boat and works for the song.