Why play a four string?

[mikecd1]

Love the extra range and ease of conversions and accessibility of notes on the 5'er, but my hand hurts after long gigs and session so I mostly use for recordings when I want that sound. Everything else works fine on the 4 which I've also been playing longer than I'll admit))

 

[arbiterusa]

Nice basses.

Got arthritis in the base of my thumbs, so even a wide 4 (P-bass) is uncomfortable. I run two four-bangers, one standard and one in BEAD. It's not an ideal solution (hello gene therapy, where are you, I was promised you'd fix this a while back!) but it works.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Because they never made a Peavey T-50

 

[arbiterusa]

Wow this is one of most reiterated sentences on talkbass.

People, for some reason, think it's clever.

 

[bassbenj]

5? Why not 6?

Why not? One answer is do you NEED that extend upper range. Another is do they even make your favorite bass in 6 string? (Like say by go-to G&L L2500)

However, I tell you true, if you REALLY want to learn what a 5 string is all about I say get a 6 string first. A 6er will force you to deal with all the important differences between 4 and 5+ string basses like damping, no neck grabbing, and crossneck playing.

 

[db59]

Because this old dog.
.....has patterns,notes, licks ingrained in this small noggin.

 

[Kro]

Are you finding it ridiculously easy to play the 4 after playing the 5 for that length of time.

Nah, it's just different - I really wouldn't say one is easier than the other at all honestly. I will say that I reached for the B-string a few times out of habit when I was still getting used to it, but most of what I'd use the lower string for were inverted 5ths and the like - which transpose easily up to a non-inverted 5th. That type of shift is pretty much all reflex now at this point, I don’t even think about it.

If anything, the fact that the string spacing is wider actually makes certain passages slightly more challenging from a mechanical perspective.

At any rate, I’m having fun with it, and it’s serving me creatively - and those are arguably the most important things.

 

[jwoiton]

If I was playing sheet music, especially bass lines written on a piano, I might consider more than four strings.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Whatever works. I play rock, blues, jazz, and a little modern country. I have three quality 4 stringers:

- Lull P4 with upshot extender (played it for 16 years),
- Fender mutt (Jazz body, P neck), with extender (35 years),
- Fender fretless jazz (1year)

It covers everything I play. Why would I get rid of these?

 

[Realmongo]

I've had 2 of the 5 stringers, but never kept either too long because my fingers are too short to make playing them enjoyable.

 

[JimmyM]

Wow this is one of most reiterated sentences on talkbass.

First none of you are Jaco.
Even he tried out a five, the extremely poorly designed Fender Bass V.
Had he still been alive he would most likely included extended range instruments as they improved.
His son plays a six, and you don't hear him say "dad only needed four".

Jaco also got drunk a lot and did a lot of drugs, so the "Jaco only needed" thing is a non-starter for me. That said, I play 4's almost exclusively, but not because of Jaco. I do it because of Jimmy Miller

 

[J_Bass]

Why not? One answer is do you NEED that extend upper range. Another is do they even make your favorite bass in 6 string? (Like say by go-to G&L L2500)

However, I tell you true, if you REALLY want to learn what a 5 string is all about I say get a 6 string first. A 6er will force you to deal with all the important differences between 4 and 5+ string basses like damping, no neck grabbing, and crossneck playing.

Exactly. I wasn't teasing.

I have a 5 stringer, all the others are 4. But my five is E-C.

I am currently thinking about a 6. Do I really need the extra low notes? I don't know.

But maybe I am looking at it wrong and the real value is cross neck playing.

 

[fcleff]

First none of you are Jaco.

I am Jaco.

 

[LBS-bass]

I do it because of Jimmy Miller

He was a great producer, whom I actually met a couple of times. Shame about what happened to him, though. Oh, wait...

 

[Smooth_bass88]

yeah, play a five string bass, that's fine. the real issue here is whether it should be active or passive.

 

[Kro]

I am Jaco.

 

[ejaggers]

057012

 

[4stringsjack]

I am Jaco.

No you're not.

*I* am Jaco.

 

[XXL]

I am Jaco.

 

[radmin]

Lighter wight and cheaper strings.