• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Why play a four string?

#561
Well...

With all the free time we all seem to be having these days I have spent a lot of time with my fiver's.

I'm firmly grounded in my belief that 4 string bass is just useless anymore. With the 2 octave ability and better positioning playing a 4 string seems inhibiting.

And Fender got it right with the Pro series.

Amazing sound as well as feel. And yes the B string sings. Especially through high end 10 inch speakers and GKs new legacy amps.

I may be locked down but I'm flying high(and low).
 
#562
joel406 said:
Well...

With all the free time we all seem to be having these days I have spent a lot of time with my fiver's.

I'm firmly grounded in my belief that 4 string bass is just useless anymore. With the 2 octave ability and better positioning playing a 4 string seems inhibiting.

And Fender got it right with the Pro series.

Amazing sound as well as feel. And yes the B string sings. Especially through high end 10 inch speakers and GKs new legacy amps.

I may be locked down but I'm flying high(and low).
Click to expand...

That’s because you’ve never played a B G D A - 4 before. Useless? No way, it’s got everything a 5 has and even more.
 
#564
Why play a 4 string? Well... in my case...

...because it came with additional 3 strings on the fretless side of the neck iterating the top 3 strings of a standard 4 string bass thus together they performed 7 string hybrid fretted and fretless bass tuned ADG-EADG.

P7054680 (2).JPG


I've been a 5 string player for almost 30 years and I've sold my 1 and only 4 string bass probably 20 years ago. There were times I had to play with a rented 4 string bass, in which I experienced weird psychological feeling in my head during the play, which has never occurred whenever I pick this hybrid bass. Probably because the low-E string isn't the closest string I see, just as on my other basses with low-B.

So, this Ibanez Aerium SRAS7 is literally my only 4 string/EADG tuning bass as in right now.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: FollowMeDown, BassmanM, RodRy and 1 other person
#567
Pops OB said:
I agree, IF your tuning is E A D G C. I wasn’t considering that, assuming it was B E A D G tuning which has less Hz range. I tend to stay low.
Click to expand...

How does that work, since one adds a 4th below and the other adds a 4th above, whereas 5ths tuning extends the range of 4 strings by an augmented 4th. I think you were right the first time, whichever way you look at it...
 
Last edited:
#568
SteveCS said:
How does that work, since one adds a 4th below and the other adds a 4th above, whereas 5ths tuning extends the range of 4 strings by an augmented 4th. I think you were right the first time, whichever way you look at it...
Click to expand...


In terms of Hz range it would be correct, but meaningless. It was pointless really.

I still have greater range on my 4 than a 5 using standard tuning.

24 fret B E A D G tuning:
String 5 open: B0
String 1, 24th fret: G4

24 fret B G D A tuning:
String 4 open: B0
String 1, 24th fret: A4
 
#570
Some years ago in conservatories for double bass was no admitted (If it was existed) a five string double bass, only four but I don't know nowadays because I've seen a lot of Double Bass with five strings....You can play a four or five but changing your technique the result is the same.
 
#571
I started on four string, and I still have most of the 4 stringers I accumulated over the years. I still love them, and play them occasionally. There's even a 4 that I don't have that I want, a butterscotch natural Gibson RD Artist.

But every time I take one of my 4 string basses to church, I find myself missing that low B string. Whether it's because the song is in Eb, or because I want to stay in one position, or play some doublestops without mud, I find myself wanting at least one more string.

I still love them, though.

20200405_200057.jpg
 
#572
RobbieNuke said:
My problem with (most) 5-string 'cover tune' performers is when they play low notes on the B-string that aren't on the original recordings. I know those original recordings didn't go that low in the sonic register (there were no 5-string bass guitars back then), so why are they doing it? It just doesn't sound 'right' to me.
Click to expand...

I don't know, man. Have to agree to disagree. If I want to hear the original, most of the time, I can hear it a million times on the radio. If I go to see a band and they pull off the song just like the original, I'm disappointed. I mean... I just paid money to hear a song I could've heard for free on the radio. I want the band to reinvent the song. ESPECIALLY if it's a classic song (any VH, Zep, Eagles, Beatles, etc...). Even those bands reimagined the song when they played live (except, maybe, VH... I really don't like them).

So, if the bassist has a 5'er and can use it... I want to hear those super low notes where they belong. It's why I went to ERB's... to do stuff that wasn't and/or couldn't be done before. I know that's can be a pretty unpopular view. Most people are trying to do what was done before. I will always fall on the side of something new and different.
 
  • Like
Reactions: embellisher
#580
Aidil said:
Why play a 4 string? Well... in my case...

...because it came with additional 3 strings on the fretless side of the neck iterating the top 3 strings of a standard 4 string bass thus together they performed 7 string hybrid fretted and fretless bass tuned ADG-EADG.

View attachment 3773160

I've been a 5 string player for almost 30 years and I've sold my 1 and only 4 string bass probably 20 years ago. There were times I had to play with a rented 4 string bass, in which I experienced weird psychological feeling in my head during the play, which has never occurred whenever I pick this hybrid bass. Probably because the low-E string isn't the closest string I see, just as on my other basses with low-B.

So, this Ibanez Aerium SRAS7 is literally my only 4 string/EADG tuning bass as in right now.
Click to expand...

Dang that thing looks like a lot of fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aidil

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back