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why go back?

#21
If you have a extended range bass and you create lines and a musical vocabulary that employs that added range, then it would be undesirable to then eliminate those possibilities. You would not be able to express yourself fully. If you've got a 5, 6 or 7 string bass and never really made part of your musical voice than no big deal to go back to 4 cause you never really utilized the possibilities the extended range offers.
 
#22
For me it's a combination of a few of things....
1. Authenticity... when playing old tunes (motown for instance) it is easier to get the correct "feel" with the 4 string than 5 or 6 string. You tend to play across the fingerboard with a 5 or 6 as opposed to up & down on a 4. Yes, you can play up and down on a 6 string, but the feel is not the same

2. Technique. It is more challenging to slap on a 6 string than a 4. Yes, I still can slap very well on a 6 string, but it still sounds/feels more natural on a 4 string

3. It where I started. Always played a 4 string, Got a 6 out of necessity.

I still use my 6 string alot. It's great for soloing and chording and a viable instrument. For that 60s and 70s R&B sound, nothing I have owned (I've owned alot of basses) seems to work as well
 
#23
I went back to a four. I went from four to five to six and then back to four.

I feel more at home on a four string, and when I'm more comfortable I feel I can express myself better.

I do not feel that my creativity or abilities were "expanded" by extra range. I certainly don't feel that they are hindered now that I am back on a four.
 
#24
I always played 4's way back when. Upon making the decision to get back into playing bass, I bought a fiver. Mistake. I never really got comfortable on it and was always getting lost, so I went back to 4's. Got a couple and got comfortable on them, got my chops back. I've recently added a fiver to the herd and guess what - I really like it. Some of the older stuff, IMO can benefit musically from the extended range. Sure, it doesn't sound like the record, but isn't doing cover tunes as much about adding your own takes to them as anything else?
 
#26
I got a 5, a 4 on the way, and Im about to buy a 6. I LOVE that low B, and in alot of gospel and R&B music I play it gets utilized on the regular. I used to hate on 6 strings til my last army band had a lovely Ken Smith 6 for me to borrow. They are alot of fun. Im a very melodical player so they kind blended well with my style. I play 4 strings for jazz. I started out way back on double bass, so I just feel that I do jazz it's just respect playing on a 4. Thats just me.
 
#28
Since Y2K, I play 5 string exclusively. I'm neither looking back nor forward. :)


Auriaprottu said:
Seems to me that the music itself would dictate the bass (and number of strings) you'd need.

Someone earlier mentioned oldies and Motown stuff. If you're playing period music, an appropriate period bass like a P Bass or J Bass will sound more appropriate in that setting.
Click to expand...

I'd have to say that a traditional bass *looks* more appropriate for traditional music. As for sound: I have never had a problem with using/abusing sub-E notes just because they're there. When I think of all the classic rock/R&B I now play on 5 string... I'm guessing that I never go below E on well over 80% of those songs. That said: I often use the B string for classic rock/Motown... usually *above* the 5th fret. Notes typically sound phatter when you play 'em 5 frets higher and one string over... if the tone is too phat, I can always play 'em as I would on 4 string. And with fiver, I get more range in each fingering position regardless of what fret I'm on.

And hey, I sometimes find sub-E notes that sound great (to my ears) with oldies. If I'm playing a four, no chance of discovering those.


------------------
Side note: overall, I believe that it's a bad thing to rigidly think inside the box: "Oooh, that bass dude played a low D in a Temptations song! Violation! Violation!" (Question: why is going below 41Hz OK for a keyboardist such as Stevie Wonder, but not OK for a bassist?) Obviously I'm not accusing anyone here of that kind of thinking, but ERB hating does exist. IMO, rigidly staying inside the box is every bit as bad as gratuitously stepping outside of the box: riding low C or whatever. Think of your instrument as a whole, not as "4+1" or "4+2" or whatever. Don't worry about arbitrary and/or traditional borders and limitations. Just do what's right for the music and everything will fall into place.
 
#29
I am most comfortable on a five.

But I have a couple of songs that require the sound of a twelve, so for those songs, I use a twelve.

I own several cool four stringers. Even though I feel a bit limited on a four, it is fun to pull one of them out and play it on occasion.

I have fun on a six, even though they are a bit overkill for what I play. But I have to take one of them out every now and then and take it to church or to a gig. I also prefer a six for tapping.

I like variety!:bassist:
 
#31
I briefly owned a 6 this fall, I picked it up to see if it would be something I'd like to play, but I just didn't use it for anything that I couldn't do on a 4. It was also a different scale length than I was used to, and didn't bring anything really tonally unique to the table, so I flipped it.
It was kind of fun, and sometime down the line I'd be nice to have another one, but it would probably end up being a custom job to get exactly what I want out of it.
 
#32
I've got a pretty killer 7 string now, and a few 5's, and a few 4's. I love the 7 , but for trying to play complicated slap lines, nothing beats a good old jazz bass for me. It's just a hell of a lot easier to play in my opinion.

Now, that being said, I definitely prefer having a lowB and a HighC minimum. I mean, I know Jaco and Vic both play(ed) 4 bangers, and can do things I can't do with 3 more strings, but I just love when my guitar player is hitting a heavy chunka chunka riff and I kick on the gritty, overdriven tube side of my mesa and hit the C and F for a lead like line. The even better part, is when he hits the lead and I go back to carrying the melodic rhythym again, which is my primary function, but it's still cool.

All my five strings are strung with High-C's, and I've been rolling that way for a few years, but now I'm thinking i'm in love with a 35" scale B string and have to get sixers to replace those five strings. The viscious cycle continues. I'll never go back unless I got a gig where they wanted a plain jane four string for the looks or whatnot, which I'd happily oblige. I mean, I just would have to travel more laterally instead of being able to play similar things without as much neck shifting. That to me is the biggest advantage of ERB's, less shifting up and down the neck.
 
#33
Dbassmon said:
If you have a extended range bass and you create lines and a musical vocabulary that employs that added range, then it would be undesirable to then eliminate those possibilities. You would not be able to express yourself fully. If you've got a 5, 6 or 7 string bass and never really made part of your musical voice than no big deal to go back to 4 cause you never really utilized the possibilities the extended range offers.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I started out with a four, but I've played five-strings exclusively for almost thirty years and recently moved up to a fretless six. I have no problem playing the latter in my current R&B/funk band, and I've received nothing but positive feedback so far. I would never settle for the inherent (and arbitrary) limitations of a four-sting again. As far as I'm concerned, the instrument has evolved to the point that four-string bases have become pretty much obsolete.
 

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