Moving from 4 to 5....

[neilb]

I now find myself in effectively a 3 piece band (instrumentally) and Im thinking of giving 5 strings a go. I have a lot of room musically now so think it would be beneficial. Hopefully it will improve my playing too.

Any comments and advice from recent "movers" would be great.

I do not want to find myself with a nice 5 string but just using the B as an expensive thumb rest!!!


Thanks all.


Neil

[chris_b]

A 5 string bass is much more flexible but just because you have a B string doesn't mean you have to play below bottom E. I play across the neck more than down low but the low notes work very well on some numbers and for emphasis on others.

Don't get into analysing the change. Just do it and don't keep switching between a 4 and a 5. If you stick to the 5 and you'll become fluent much quicker.

[neilb]

Thanks Chris. The suggestion of sticking with a 5 sounds logical. I can see me bottling it and reverting to my Jazz each time!!

[Doddy]

I use 5 strings most of the time,but I just want to make a couple of points on
your opening post. First of all,it may be beneficial but going to a 5 string,alone,won't
improve your playing.
Also,if you do go the 5 string route,be careful. You say there is a lot of room musically with you
being in essentially a 3 piece-it's in these situations where I am more likely to use a 4 or pretty much
never use the low B. In trio situations,the temptation is to play things on the lower string to 'add weight',
or whatever...but often when players do that you end up with a huge sonic gap of a couple of octaves,where
You have the bass down low,the guitar up high,and not much going on in the middle-it ends up sounding
emptier.

[neilb]

Interesting points Doddy, thanks.

[chris_b]

Also, a 3 piece band will give you lots of room but the important point is that you shouldn't try to compensate and fill up the gaps. In my opinion the worst thing about many bands these days is the "wall of sound" guitars. In the past I've played in many trio line ups and quite often the guitarist can drop out leaving just bass and drums. Leave lots of sonic space.

[thepurpleblob]

Ignore the 5th string (for now). Just get used to it being there to start with and then start thinking of ways how you can use it - sparingly is best.

[deepbass5]

Yep agree with Doddy and Co. It will not improve your playing but hamper it somewhat. I find a 5 a necessity in today’s modern music. When I made the jump I did what others have suggested, use it as a four damping the B string with your thumb until you get comfortable with the width of the neck. You will soon instinctively start using the lower string on little skips and fills as you would on a 4 string. And that’s where it comes into its own. You have a couple of octaves under your hand without zooming around the neck. But the trade off is the width and greater discipline required when slapping etc. When I changed I made myself play it without changing back every gig, my playing suffered a little to start with but now I’m hooked.
Only real advice is buy a top quality bass, try as many as you can, even the ones you cannot afford so you realise a 5 string is a different instrument than a 4 string bass. Most low cost 4's are playable but a low end 5 is a dog.

Go for it

[JTUK]

If your left hand is good...then there is nothing in the extra string there to worry it after a few weeks.
You'll fret the wrong note and string a few times but expect that...and this is why you stick with a 5 in the initial stages.

The right hand has a lot more development esp if you slap.. but with a decent spacing of 19mm ... this should be akin to a P-bass/MM
and you need to get the accuracy up.

A big no-no, IMV..is ragging the B'string on 8th notes..that is just a drone.

Use tasefuly and don't overdo it.

You may have your work cut out buying a 5 as a lot of B strings just don't cut it, IMO.
String choice then becomes more crucial and you need a balanced B to sound like the rest of the strings..not so easy to find or certainly no gimme, IMO.

but get past this..and never look back.

Edited May 24, 2011 by JTUK

[RhysP]

Cream
Rush
Beck, Bogart & Appice
The Police
Motorhead
etc......

Plenty of great three piece bands have managed to scrape a living without their bassist playing a five string.

Not saying don't give it a go, just saying it's by no means a necessity.

[SteveK]

[quote name='RhysP' post='1242840' date='May 24 2011, 12:45 PM']Cream
Rush
Beck, Bogart & Appice
The Police
Motorhead
etc......

Plenty of great three piece bands have managed to scrape a living without their bassist playing a five string.

Not saying don't give it a go, just saying it's by no means a necessity.[/quote]
Yeah, but all these bands are, like... a hundred years old!

Seriously though, having played 4 string all my life, last year I went to a 5 string. I'm going to stick with it for a little longer, but I'm seriously considering going back to 4 string. For me, at the moment, the extra string is more of a hindrance than an advantage.

[krispn]

I tampered with a 5 string for a short while but when the crunch came to selling the 4 or the 5 i kept the 4 just because I was tripping myself up - I basically needed more time with it but financial pressure meant I didnt have that luxury.

However I did learn a few things whilst playing the 5 string....


I'd say DONT play it like a 4 string with an extra low b string, instead rework your bands song incorporating the low B. Basically relearn or rework the fingering of the songs so you have that added flexibility of going onto the B. We have a tune in 7/8 played in around A string C#. By shifting down and across to C# on the E I played the same pattern more or less but the notes had more weight to them - for me at least the desire to use the 5 string like this and make it a common feature of my playing meant i viewed the fretboard in a different way. I stumbled and hit the odd bum note but it soon became quite natural.

I always thought that upright (UR) players approach the bass in a different way to electric players (doh obvious). What I mean is that while we naturally play in 'box shapes' I always thought of UR bassists playing diagonally back and across the strings, the bass line in So What springs to mind for no obvious reason, just in a more efficient manner. I kinda tried to play like this with a 5 string to minimise shifting about and it did make me think and play in a slightly different way.

Bottom line from my experience is play the 5 string exclusively for a month, rethink your approach to songs you already know and try and play an hour each day just to get the feel of it. Dont over use the B string especially on lower notes as it could actually take away from the power of a three piece and just have fun with it.

Best of luck!

[stingrayPete1977]

I'm a recent convert (6 months) and I love it! I'm happy switching between 4&5 strings now after sticking with just the 5 for the first few weeks. Once nailed mix it up and have both IMO

Edited May 31, 2011 by stingrayPete1977