Why play a four string?

[selowitch]

I have three four-string basses and love them all to death. Lighter weight, comfortable necks, great sound make them worthwhile.

However, I did buy a 2001 Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay 5H about a year ago from a fellow TBer on a whim and I'm really glad I did. It just adds another dimension to my playing. I like those extra five notes on the bottom and the flexibility in the upper register. If nothing else, being about to end a song on, say, your usual C and then drop to the lowest C for the final note that rings out makes for a dramatic ending I couldn’t achieve before.

 

[LowBSix]

I felt the same for a long time. Living and working in L.A., a 5 string is usually easily accepted. However, I frequently ran into comments like: “You’re not gonna play that fat string right?” Or “Whats the extra string for?” I’d usually respond, “ Don’t worry, I’m an adult and I play bass!”

About 18 months ago, I pulled my back out pretty bad and started playing my lighter weight P bass. Adjusting was easy and I found I wasn’t required to choose the extended low not versus the traditional lower note on a 4 string.

I own a D. Lakin JO-5 with ULYATE TICTAC noiseless pickups and it’s a beautiful instrument I love to play! But, I find myself on a 4 string more often these days.

 

[Evil Funk]

Play whatever you like. I found the 6 string easiest to play because the string spacing was so close my speed increased without even trying. Playing cross neck makes difficult runs super easy. And if you haven't been damping your strings and learning to play without neck grabbing than you missed something during the basics. I went back to 4 string because we started doing 4 hour sets twice a week and the weight difference is noticeable.

 

[ppiluk]

Ultimately, a 5 String has 5 extra notes on the lower register and a 6 string adds 5 notes on the upper one to that. For some that's important and for some it isn't. I fall into the it isn't important category.
For me I prefer the neck on just about every 4 string I have played to every one of the 5 strings I have played.

 

[McTred]

Jaco only needed four.

I am not Jaco... So, I need more strings?!

 

[Bassa Nova]

I can definitely see the benefits of 5, but I am a simple man and a traditionalist. I like 4 strings.

enjoy your 5er!

 

[4stringsjack]

@fcleff only needed four.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

No, it’s a disqualifier. Lenny hates fives. He won’t have them in his band.

I bet Katniss would play a 5. Then what would he do?

 

[etrs]

The need for a couple steps lower gave me many sleepless nights trying to figure out whether a 5 string needed to be in my collection. Then one day it occurred to me...... why... not... open the grooves on the nut and put b, e, a, d strings on one of my 4 string basses. It worked perfectly and has given me the low bottom end I was looking for for the cost of a set of strings.
As a side note, I also put a set of double bass strings on it to see what difference non metal strings would make in the tone. It was a major job getting the ends of the strings to fit in the tuning heads (finally got there) and quickly learned they didn't have what it takes to make the pickups respond.
Live and learn.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I don't find myself needing the lower registers nearly as much, but still missed having them on the rare occasions that they would have been helpful. So my solution was to take an old Fender Jaguar bass that I seldom used, and converted it to a 4-string with BEAD tuning (since I rarely ever use that high G-string anyway). That way I still have my normal 4-string for 75-90% of my needs, and the 4 lower strings of a 5-string for those times when I need it... and with the slender and more player-friendly neck of a 4-string! Win-Win!

Exactly why I bought a second Thunderbird 4 string!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I am not Jaco... So, I need more strings?!

At least seven!

 

[D-G]

My main 'go-to' axe has been my G&L L2500 Tribute (5 string). I just love the way it plays, sounds and the palette of tonal options it has. After I 'thinned the herd' a few years ago I decided that I should have a backup for it and settled on a G&L L2000 Tribute (4 string).

While there's no arguing that a 5string has greater range, I do find that sometimes a 4string just feels more comfortable on the left hand for certain things like thumbstyle/slap-pop type stuff. I'm planning on getting a Hipshot drop-D tuner for the 4string because I do miss some of that extended range.

That being said, the main time the 4-string comes out is for more 'old-school' or classic style gigs, or where I know someone may be sitting in for a bit that would feel more comfortable on a 4string.

 

[btmpancake]

WHY PLAY A FOUR STRING BASS? Because I can barely get by on a four and I don't use the little skinny on the bottom too much either. I think it's just there to help keep my neck from twisting.

 

[D-G]

Then I got a gig with a traditional-minded artist in Nashville who didn't like the image of my bass (let's not get into that please - not relevant and it's long ago)
.

I know you said not to get into it, but I'd say it's still relevant as I've had similar experiences. Show up to some 'traditional' gigs with a fiver or a more 'modern' looking axe and some guys will freak or at least give odd looks.

 

[raal]

Perhaps that's been already mentioned (didn't read through the thread) - 2 reasons for me to keep playing fours:
1. the narrower neck enables certain techniques / playing styles that you would need for specific songs
2. there are signature tones I still cannot find in five string basses - example aggressive ash maple pre ernie ray, never found a fiver that could give me that.

 

[RodRy]

( caution this posts contains way to many commas) I started with my band using a four string, writing my own bass lines to the songs I had to learn when I joined em after their bass player quit. Im a greenhorn to the band scene you see,,and had to get reunited to playing bass again,,a few months in I invest in my G&L fiver,,ok cool,new challenge,,well for myself a fiver made me almost lose my mind, brain kept thinking four string and id mess up songs all the time,,now im used to it,,,Well brain and fingers sometimes disagree how many strings,,but I love it now, lots of options but my fours will stay and I play em all just so they don't get neglected,,,one day id like to try a 6er,,and see if I give myself a stroke....sorry for the ramble,,,, nice bass,s..enjoy and cheers!

What this post needs,,,is more COMMAS!

 

[mrjp]

Until today I thought this tread went extinct.

No disrespect was intended in the original post.

Personally I resisted going to five string for a looooooooong time. I had one a long time ago. Didn’t see a point in keeping it. I’ve been happy on four strings ever since. If there was a low note below E I just tuned town if possible or went up the octave.

But as I stated before. I’m in a situation music wise that literally demands five string.

So I took the challenge. And after using a five for just a few weeks I was face with realization that we all should play fives.

If not for the low notes the positioning and double octave span make it a no brainer.

Play what you will.

I’m fine.

well your 1st post wasn’t as disrespectful as this one ... and thank you for you permission ... must be a millennial ...

 

[rocketboy]

Well, What can say? My story is identical to yours! Only my difference is that in spite of playing 4 strings for more years than I'm going to tell, I felt the limitations of 4 string basses right from the beginning (especially in horn keys). It did not escape my notice either that all the bass players in the local symphony (Cleveland!) had these extender things on their basses to get lower notes. Sine I studied piano it was always a mystery to me how an instrument called a "bass" didn't bother to cover the low end of a piano. But of course when I bought a 5er and especially when I learned about playing across the neck it was like "coming home" as the 4 stringers like to say. I do still have one of my 4 bangers, but all the rest are real basses (Calm down. That's just supposed to be joke, dude) However, as much as I love ERB I'm not going to place 4 stringers in a class with the Lute. Yet. While I don't play them these days unless it's a house bass somewhere and they ask me to play, I do think they have a place. Part of why I don't play them is the kind of music I play. In the case of classic bass lines of the masters, I find a 5er isn't such a good idea. Even though one CAN play a classic line on a 5 string, I find I have a very bad tendency to try to 'improve" on the bass lines of the masters and that is a VERY bad idea. On the other hand I find the cross neck playing the biggest advantage rather than those few low notes everyone always talks about. I can't remember the last time I actually played a Low B! I look at it this way now. A 4 string bass and 5+ string basses are basically different instruments sort of like clarinets and saxophones. Yes, they sort of play alike and sort do the same things, but really they aren't the same. And lots of people can play both. But if you like one better or one better fits the music, well, that's what it's all about, Right?

As for "doubling down", you are here in TB where ALL gratuitous bass purchases are celebrated!

You summed it up for me, thanks. I play 4-string, for many, many years. I have a 5 and that's a different sort of guitar; like the 4 because (a)there's a lot of room and (b)I can play it without even thinking about hands, except for dynamics. One watches your bandmates, or the drunk blonde down front, and listens. One needs no looking, it's all about the line, and the shape of the sound. The instrument, that's familiar ground.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Since I got it, I’ve really come to like the flexibility afforded by my 5...lower notes used judiciously can help with endings, segues, etc...but

I play one of the 4s quite a bit, simply because of the weight differences

 

[MustangWally]

It's not natural laddie...