5 string covers players

[lojo]

What do you find useful about the 5 sting when playing in covers bands ...



When you play covers of songs that are playable as the recording on a 4 string, do you still introduce the use of the B string ?

Is it mainly for songs where the singer has opted for different key where a 4 string cant cope in a low enough position ?

Anything else that makes the 5 string to best option in a covers band ?

[Sibob]

I would always take a 5string to a gig where I didn't know what singer was turning up, got caught short a few times with singers wanting stuff in Eb, D, C etc, 10mins before the start, where the 5 string simply helped with positions. Not essential, but slightly easier to transpose on the fly.

Si

[allighatt0r]

I wish I had a 5 string when playing It's My Life by Bon Jovi.

That's the only time I have found myself wanting a B string when playing covers.

[Roland Rock]

I only play a couple of covers, both of which would have been recorded on four string basses, but I use the low B on both. Both are in the same key as the original, and I never venture below bottom E.

On one, the original would have been played around the third fret position on the E string, but I find that playing it in the eighth fret position on the B string means less stretching of the pinkie, less overall movement, and a lovely fat tone which suits the song really well.

On the other, I play in the same position as the original, but we have added a kind of Drum and Bass middle section, and the B string allows me to easily go down an octave, which works nicely in that section.

Basically, anything that allows me to forget about my fingers and concentrate on the music is a good thing IMO, and the five string has been great for that,

[jazzyvee]

I use a 5 string almost exclusively now and when I do covers that I think were played on a four string, I don't use the B - string at all. Somehow it sounds more correct. There are always exceptions like for reggae when I want to come down on a heavier note for effect.

[NJE]

I play in a couple of bands that play Soul, Disco, Funk type stuff and the B string has been incredibly useful. We move some keys around for vocalists so it can be really useful for playing lines that I would otherwise have to play very awkwardly or an ocatve higher where I wouldnt have enough 'oomph'. Its handy for Stevie Wonder Stuff which we play in original key and also I use it a lot instead of an open E string, like when we play Midnight Hour (hateful song).

To be honest I mostly use it so I dont have to move around the fretboard very much as I can get the low notes of an E string higher up the neck on a B string. The guys in the band also like me playing some lines lower than the original record as there are 10 of us and it really underpins the band.

[stingrayPete1977]

Just because it was recorded on a four string doesn't mean it can be played on a standard four string, drop D or a B bass are quite common, that guy who plays with Bruno mars looks dead cool with his old school p bass, everything I've heard on the record had extended range bass on it, it's the sound the audience know and the sound I want to replicate when playing those songs live.

[BigRedX]

All my serious bases are 5-stringers, so when I did play in a covers band these are the ones that I used.

The B-sting did come in handy on a couple of songs for the lower notes or to allow me to play in a different position where the notes sounded better in the band mix.

TBH I used the G string as little as the low B but no-one ever suggests getting rid of that.

[Truckstop]

For the last few months I've used a 4-banger tuned BEAD. We shift keys a lot and it makes it much easier to transpose. Don't miss the G at all, we play a lot of pop and funk so don't need it!

However, if a BB425x turned up for sale at the right price I'd probably buy one just so I have more options.

Truckstop

[JTUK]

Its my bass and it is what I play.
I'll play the lines as I see fit so all these things add up to
they either like what I do or they don't...

[chris_b]

A 5 string bass has worked for everything I've been asked, or wanted, to play for the last 25 years. From originals through covers, blues, soul, rock, folk etc. IME a good 5 will excel at any genre you want to play.

I find a 5 much more flexible, convenient to play and it just sounds better.

[mike257]

I've never felt the need for one until recently - been depping with a soul band and having to deal with a fair few key changes for singers. Superstition/I Wish dropped down a tone from the original just isn't the same when I can't hit that low note! The regular guy plays a fiver and I've quickly realised why!

[Doddy]

I play 5 strings 90% of the time, and there are times when I don't touch the B string all night. There are other times when
I might play further up the neck to give my shoulder a bit of a rest. I really don't like it when people camp out on the low
B just because it's there, especially in a trio setting-it doesn't add weight, it often sound emptier.

[UglyDog]

Like jazzyvee above, I use fives pretty much exclusively. The covers that we do aren't carbon copies of the originals by any stretch, so I'll use the B string as and when it is necessary or desirable. Most of the time I use it to allow me to play across the neck rather than up & down it.
[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1413886809' post='2583070']
However, if a BB425x turned up for sale at the right price [/quote]
...I'd fight you for it!

[Rumple]

I only started using one when I joined a covers band and some songs needed those extended low notes, over the years I have grown to love them, I tried a BEAD tuned Jazz briefly and that worked well too.

[Les]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1413883742' post='2583015']
with singers wanting stuff in Eb, [/quote]

Bastards

[Cameronj279]

I rarely play covers (and when I do its normally not of my own volition) but find the low B great for hand position as well as dynamically you get a different sound which sometimes comes in fairly handy. In my mind anyway.

[Painy]

As people have already said, it gives you the option of playing the same lines in different positions. With my band playing rock covers, most of the songs will inevitably be in E but when improvising runs its nice to be able to take it both above and below the low E.
I've been playing covers for 19 years now and I haven't gigged a 4 string once for the last 17 of them. When it comes to a low B I tend to take the view that it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it and after playing fives (and more recently a 6 string) for so long, a four string neck feels like a pencil to me now!

[DorsetBlue]

Well I had my first ever audition with a band last night (at 40! ) and have spent the last three weeks learning the set. 90% of the set is 4 string only, although I came up with a bassline for one based on the piano score for one song which was Eb, so I used the B for that. In the end I settled on using my 5 stringer because primarily I love its sound. This was the right move for me because I am now really comfortable with the 5 strings (might well offload a 4 stringer now). During the audition I was asked if I could play some notes for a bridge between two songs and when I played them on the 'B' the guitarist far preferred the sound because I think it stood out well in the mix, so hopefully that earned some brownie points.
Waiting to hear back now.....

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1413883529' post='2583009']
What do you find useful about the 5 sting when playing in covers bands ...

[/quote]

Low D at the end of every song :-)

Ive gone back and forth between 4 and 5 for the past 11 years. Mainly 4 strings but when i was depp-ing with another band a lot i found they were doing similar songs to my band but in different keys. Having 5 stings meant i didnt have to play them differently in each band (most of the time).

I am guilty of never really utilising the 5 stings properly. I dont think i ever really spent enough time re jigging my fingering, and always played a 5 much like a 4. The plan was always to lean new songs in the correct way, but i also found that the B sting never really had the bite the other low stings had.

For the past 4-5 years ive been playing only 4 strings, but last weekend i brought a new 5 string. This time im going to do things properly.

The bottom line for me is it was GAS, and not a need. If we covered a lot of 5 sting songs then it would have been a need, but most of our stuff doesn't really need it, and nay that were played on a 5 string can be covered on a 4, albeit with a bit of artistic licence.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1413891024' post='2583138']
I play 5 strings 90% of the time, and there are times when I don't touch the B string all night. There are other times when
I might play further up the neck to give my shoulder a bit of a rest. I really don't like it when people camp out on the low
B just because it's there, especially in a trio setting-it doesn't add weight, it often sound emptier.
[/quote]

Absolutely +1 to this.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1413900029' post='2583313']
Low D at the end of every song :-)

[/quote]

Just a +0.5 for this ... it's not the low D I use but the low B. We play a reasonable number of songs in B and finishing a song with just the B on the E-string feels a bit lightweight. I usually play that and double it with the low B, which can sound really majestic.

In truth, my favourite aspect of a fiver is that I play the low E at the 5th fret on the B-string. I can get around the neck much faster that way, and play in a far more relaxed fashion.

[leschirons]

A 5 string should cover all bases. I use the low D, B & C quite a lot whether it's in the original version or not to add a bit of floor shake here and there. Also, as already mentioned, it can give me a bit of a break from reaching down the far end at the end of a long set. Quite nice sometimes to play above the 5th fret for a few numbers.

[yorks5stringer]

Not surprisingly a 5 stringer is all I play..... and as our set is 95% covers it enables me to play most of the set around and above the 5th fret. Simples

[Telebass]

As someone still struggling a bit with 5ers, I can see all the plus points. I've got one that I like now, which always helps, but I still find myself making too many silly mistakes of the 'whoops, what's that big wire doing there' type. No doubt I'll acclimatise. ..

[goblin]

I pretty much exclusively play 5 string, so much so that I've gone out of the way to get a decent 5 string backup not too dissimilar to my main bass.

I like the extended range, and also the flexibility for when a singer wants to do something in a different (and usually bloody stupid) key. I find it makes reading easier too