Why do you play fours?

[electracoyote]

The songs and artists I was trying to copy used four stringers.

Personal preference and goals as a musician dictate so many things about your choices in instruments, number of strings, string gauge, signal chain, etc.

 

[bluesblaster]

Because 95% of all the greatest music ever made was done on a standard 4 string bass, electric and/or double bass..............need I say more

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

I played sixes exclusively for years and years. Then I tried a 4 one day and immediately realized I was able to comprehend the neck better and faster, which allowed me to play more freely.

Switched back to four and never looked back. Break out a five or six once in a while when a recording calls for it.

 

[bikeplate]

I prefer a 4. Simple as that

 

[tedious1]

It's detente.

As long as the guitar player stays with 6, I stay with 4. If he ever brings a 7 to rehearsal, I'll retaliate with a fiver strung E-C.

 

[BACKLASHBASS]

Because 30+ years ago, that is what I learned on. In any band situation I have been in since, there has been no need for more than four. Add to that...At my age it is hard to teach a stubborn old dog a new trick.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Hmmm.... off the top of my head:

1. I own many more 4s than 5s.
2. They're less expensive.
3. I've been playing 4s for decades and they feel much more comfortable.
4. I play lots of drop D songs, and they're generally easier on a 4 than 5.
5. It's next to impossible to throw a D-tuner on a 5, for those drop tunings.
6. You only really get 5 extra notes, and if playing in drop D on a 4, then 3.
7. I have no need to play anything I play near the nut, on the upper half of the neck.
8. 4 string basses are lighter.
9. Strings cost less.
10. There is far more variety in bass choices for 4 strings.
11. I think 4 strings look cooler than 5s, but that's just my opinion.
12. I have one less string to think about.
13. I like hitting and slapping my strings, especially the E string, and the extra B cramps my style.
14. B gets in the way when I'm pounding away with a pick to 8th notes on an E or A punkish tune.
15. Being used to a 4 all my life makes it easy to make stupid mistakes with a 5.
16. I think the 5th string is unnecessary. Look at all the great music that was created without it.
17. I'm not a big fan of notes below the low E. They start getting muddled.
18. There seems, to me, to be something snobbish about playing a 5 string.
19. I believe there is some prejudice toward 5 string players. Some rock bands won't have it, period.
20. They don't make many 5 string short scales, and thems are the basses I'm currently getting into.
21. Finding a good tight B string is a challenge.
22. B strings take extra fiddling on amps to make them fart-less.
23. I'm in love with pretty much all my 4 strings.
24. Because nothing I play NEEDS a 5 string.
25. Because I can and don't want to play a 5 string.

 

[flam]

I haven't found a 5 that I find comfortable, mostly. Most of the bass ergonomics I like are from a time when 5 string wasn't very common.

I'd play a 7-8 string bass just because I could. Don't really need a low B, though.

 

[DiMarco]

Because I can.

 

[DiMarco]

But seriously, I have four string rics and a P, and five strings Jazz, Zon and Warwick basses. Each has their distinct tone and purpose.

I do not see the point in this discussion. Play whatever you like.

 

[blue4]

I've had 6s and 5s before, the fives both B-G and E-C. I just don't like them. I can tolerate my SS tuned E-C. I didn't like how I sounded when I fully incorporated the B as it's designed to be used, and it seemed pointless to just play the songs I already knew the same way only with an extra string to keep silent. I don't play much metal or gospel or modern country so I don't encounter songs designed for a low B. Being a SS player the extra ergonomics of using a 5 as a way to minimize stretching and shifting is really N/A as well.

FOR ME, a 5 string is a solution to a problem I don't have. Mileage varies of course.

 

[modflea]

My 4 String Precision Plus has that old school "grunt". Plus it's way easier for me to slap and pop on a 4 string.

So I guess slapping and popping are my main reasons for playing a 4.

 

[TrevorR]

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 guess the above apply (less the aesthetic thing or some sort of philosophical "4 is best" attitude).

I have four basses that I love and have owned for between 10 and 25 years. They're all 4 string basses. Personally I've never felt a compelling need to add the additional string and never been in a playing situation where it particularly hampered me not to have the low B-Eb available. Given that I would need to readjust my playing significantly for, what for me would be, little or no perceived gain... what's the point. I'm happy with my 4 string basses.

It's certainly not some sort of "Well it was OK for [Jaco/Duck/Jamerson/add preferred bass player here]" thing. That's just daft talk.

I'm just happy with my 4 string basses.

Simple as...

 

[Kevorargh]

I played four, then five, and went back to four because of a specific bass that plays really well and gets the tone I have been after for years.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I don't.

 

[AltGrendel]

Don't need more than 4.

 

[dukeorock]

There is an aesthetic consideration. A 5 string would not get me more gigs, it would cost me gigs. Just don’t see em much in my world. Had a USA Lakland 5 through an endorsement deal a long time ago. It was a fine bass that never got played. Another endorser sent me a 6 (that I didn’t ask for) and the high C was kinda fun. The Low B on that bass sounded terrible. Floppy and awful. These days I have a 35” scale 4 string in case a gig calls for lower tunings. Never does though. I’ve currently got it tuned to C# standard for writing new material. We’ll see how that goes. If I played P&W I’d probably own a 5. All them big pads they use in that music.

 

[InhumanResource]

I love them. I don't want a 5 just for one extra open now that sounds good while all the fretted notes sound like balls.

Having said that, I'm wanting to get into a wedding band or something that gigs more often than what I currently have... And I'm wondering if I will need a 5 to get in. In which case I will have to find one I can get along with.

 

[Two-Spirit]

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.

You have more selection with 4 strings and a lot of 5 strings have horrible huge necks. My Cirrus 5 has a great neck. You have to look around.

 

[thetaxmiser]

I have a couple of 5 strings that I mess around on. I have been playing for a long time (45 years) and grew up on a 4. It just feels like home. If I were starting out today I would probably go 5 for the versatility. My hands are too small to deal with 6 string basses.

 

[micguy]

I play 4's because 3's are too hard to find.