Why play a four string?

[Evil Funk]

All my bass heroes/idols/legends have used 4 string basses, so maybe there's some subconscious sense of personal connection. Who knows? In any case, there's no one out there playing a 5 or 6 string bass that i even remotely care about.

 

[Tenorguy]

I was a five string proponent for about 15 or so years.
I started listening to all the recordings I did during that time lots of commercials a few movie scores and so on. What irritated me was this low end that was sonically out of place. Spoke to a group of engineers and discovered it was the low B string.
Off to by acoustic engineer physicist friends, to find out that the scale was way to short for the mass of the string needed to create the energy for a low B.. even at forty (40” ) it was to short.
Looking at literature for cello (rather than bass...cello plays down to a low C in bass clef ) below an E was only used less that 3% of the time. So up for sale went ALL my five string basses Alembics and two Padilla’s.. Can not argue with science and since it’s my job and career. Do I miss them....not at all.

 

[Zenbassie]

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.

I second that. I mainly play short scale nowadays (short fingers, tendon issue), and short scale 5ers are few and far between. Still, I notice that Ibanez has a couple.

 

[Benny Bennett]

I wrestled with the title of this post.

I have been a four string player for a long time (longer than I’m going to tell anyone).

But as music has progressed, last year I found myself in need of the “even” lower register. A lot of music diving down to low D, C and even B.

So after a torrid affair with a cheapo fake Fender fiver I pulled the trigger on a quality fiver.

After a little acclimation I seem to have it well in hand now.

And besides the lower notes I have found the greater freedom of horizontal playing.

I still move up and down the board. You know some old habits will never die.

But I now see no reason to have a four string anymore. I can play everything on the five. Even if I never drop below the E it gives me many choices I didn’t have before. And I find that liberating.

My last four string I had for 7 years. And we had a bond. But when the fiver came into the picture it went into the case and sat for three months.

I don’t think anybody wants to sit a $1600 bass in its case for months let alone years.

I released it about a month ago. While I miss it I have new friends now. And have lost interest in four string entirely.

I understand fivers aren’t for everyone.

Some people have small hands. Same here. I tried them all. Well those I could afford. I’m sure Alembic make a very lovable fiver. But I love my house too.

No one was more surprised as I was that Fender made the five string bass I would love so much.

And after a great while playing only fives I wonder why anyone wouldn’t just play those and let the four just go extinct.

I’m sure the flamers are writhing their hands as they read this.

I think I just heard a MMBWAAAAHAHAHAHA in the distance.

My point is I moved away from fours and I don’t see any reason to ever go back.

So I doubled down.

View attachment 3714769

Whatever works for you. I've been playing 4 over 50 years, don't feel burdened by it. I Might use the extra on occasion, but not enough for Me to justify it. Play on and enjoy.

 

[Jinobass1]

Why??
Tone,Feel that I cant get out of Fiver....
But I still bring both to my day job (Recording,Gigs and Rehearsals)and sometimes sixer too!

 

[Beejay772]

Jaco only needed four.

Would you believe that there are some people who have never heard of Jaco. All I know of him is when people post a topic on this forum some one with nothing relevant to say always puts "not what Jaco does".

 

[Doublebasstim]

Jaco only needed four.

Great I'm not Jaco

 

[RodRy]

No disrespect was intended in the original post.

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.

Play what you will.

Funny how zombie threads pop-up, huh?

I notice that there have been some negative comments, and you seem a bit mystified as to why. Perhaps the misunderstandings stem from how two of your thoughts above come across:

"...we all should play fives," does not really jibe so well with, "Play what you will."

First, you state that you know what other people should do, and that comes across as more than a bit arrogant. After all, unless you have lived everyone's life, how do you know what all of us should do when it comes to instruments? You have an opinion of what you like, and that's fine.

When you later encourage people to play what they want to, because of the arrogance of the first statement, the unspoken message is that even if they do play what they want, you feel superior to them unless they play a 5.

Do you see how these two statements can add together and get people's dander up? I hope this comes across as a gentle nudge, rather than any sort of cudgel. I'm not the greatest at getting my point across.

Personally, I play on several 4s, a 5, and an 8. They each offer something to me, and so that's why I play them all as the spirit moves me.

I hope you enjoy many years of playing on whatever instrument you like.

 

[mrjp]

Would you believe that there are some people who have never heard of Jaco. All I know of him is when people post a topic on this forum some one with nothing relevant to say always puts "not what Jaco does".

Yea not a real good example of a person, was killed in a barroom fight that he started. Sorry, to me not a Good person to put on a pedestal... I try not to compartmentalize ...

 

[btmpancake]

Would you believe that there are some people who have never heard of Jaco.

Yes Beejay772. I never heard of Jaco until I joined TB. I had to google him. I'm still not sure I ever heard any of the million sellers he played on.

 

[amper]

Why play a four? Because realistically speaking, reproducing anything lower than 41 Hz well enough to bother takes a lot more resources than you think.

My first bass was a 1992 Fender Jazz Bass Plus V, purchased new in 1994 (I think? Temporal memory is hazy that far back). I chose it because the neck width felt natural to me.

All four basses I've bought since then have been fretless 4-string instruments.

My next bass will almost certainly be a Warmoth Deluxe 5J, fretted. The next one after that will probably be a fretless version of the same.

I rarely touch the B string, and mostly when I do, it's an octave drop for effect, more rarely, I'll use it in a high position as a convenience. But, I've never felt particularly constrained on a 4.

The 4s I've chosen, I chose because *that particular instrument* appealed to me, not because they were 4s.

 

[P John Mathew]

Right on.

To me a five is a four with options.
And if that means that you have the range you need for the music you play, that is excellent.

I started with four, then five for a long time, I mostly play six now but I personally don't use a low B because I don't play music that needs that lower register. I need the higher register for chords and melodies that I often play at the same time as the bass lines.

My opinion is that as the lowest member of the guitar family it really should of been six to begin with, but I find fives are a comfortable compromise that is used in a lot of music. Everything that can be played on a four can be played on a five so why not.

It's all about being able to meet the requirements of the music you play.

The only reason I play my four these days is because it is the only fretless I have, if it was still a fretted instrument I'd have retired it a long time ago. In fact I pulled out the frets to make it still useful once I had switched to five.

I am comfortable on all of them regardless of the spacing. Just a byproduct of practicing and playing a lot.

 

[P John Mathew]

Dear Thebassmon,
Could I ask you a question related to something you wrote above??

 

[thabassmon]

Dear Thebassmon,
Could I ask you a question related to something you wrote above??

Sure thing.

 

[Flying B]

I am Jaco.

I'm Jaco, and so is my wife.

 

[Teijo K.]

I'm Jaco, and so is my wife.

Je suis Jaco.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Just a reminder, Jaco suffered from severe bipolar disorder, a biochemical mental illness. He wasn't a bad person, just a really unfortunate one. Like a lot of people with that illness, it drove him into substance abuse too. I watched that disease destroy two people I cared about, they were good people too.

 

[rockscott]

It took me 40 years to play a 4 string as poorly as I do, im not starting over now!

 

[Renecillo]

Ive been playing bass for about 18 years now. I started with a 4 string and after about a year or so i noticed that a lot of modern bass players use a five string. I jumped on the bandwagon and got myself a fiver as well. I used a 5 string exclusively till about 2 years ago. I wanted to try something a bit different and maybe challenge myself a bit, since i was feeling “stuck” on the same level with a 5 string. I went and traded my fiver for a 4 banger. Boy was it ever a challenge to get used to again. My fingers kept reaching for the low B lol. Thats when i realized what i was missing. In my personal case, that fifth string made me soooo damn lazy. Sure it made reaching lower notes easier, but it was maybe a little too easy. To the point where i was loosing interest in traveling though the neck, since i could just stay in 1 spot and reaching most notes comfortably. My creativity lost its touch. Going back to the 4 string made me really work to get all the notes i wanted. That opened up my mind a ton to new possibilities. Now, i am quite aware that this is not the case with everyone, i am just sharing my personal opinion. I currently have 3 4 string basses and a 5 string (which i mainly use to practice and stay current with the strings, as most players i work with use a 5 string. But on that note, i can play songs with most of their basses, but most of them cant play a solid one with mine lol) I honestly feel that its all going to be up to the player. I say use whatever feels good in your hands, other peoples opinions are not going to get you comfortably through a gig. Only you know what will

 

[Teijo K.]

Ive been playing bass for about 18 years now. I started with a 4 string and after about a year or so i noticed that a lot of modern bass players use a five string. I jumped on the bandwagon and got myself a fiver as well. I used a 5 string exclusively till about 2 years ago. I wanted to try something a bit different and maybe challenge myself a bit, since i was feeling “stuck” on the same level with a 5 string. I went and traded my fiver for a 4 banger. Boy was it ever a challenge to get used to again. My fingers kept reaching for the low B lol. Thats when i realized what i was missing. In my personal case, that fifth string made me soooo damn lazy. Sure it made reaching lower notes easier, but it was maybe a little too easy. To the point where i was loosing interest in traveling though the neck, since i could just stay in 1 spot and reaching most notes comfortably. My creativity lost its touch. Going back to the 4 string made me really work to get all the notes i wanted. That opened up my mind a ton to new possibilities. Now, i am quite aware that this is not the case with everyone, i am just sharing my personal opinion. I currently have 3 4 string basses and a 5 string (which i mainly use to practice and stay current with the strings, as most players i work with use a 5 string. But on that note, i can play songs with most of their basses, but most of them cant play a solid one with mine lol) I honestly feel that its all going to be up to the player. I say use whatever feels good in your hands, other peoples opinions are not going to get you comfortably through a gig. Only you know what will

I have a similar story. For whatever reason, my playing is more melodic with the four than it ever was with the six stringers I used almost 20 years. Part of it might have been, that everyone was always trying to downplay six stringers, yeah they all overplay and stuff. That kept me maybe too simple. With a 4 I don't feel the same pressure about possibly overplaying. But it is all outside pressure. Internally I really don't care about the string count anymore.