5 String - not flavour of the month?

[ribbetingfrog]

I actually learned on a Schecter 5 string!
Eventually sold it as i always found the strings a little too close together.

I got a 4 string Fender P bass, found it a lot easier to play.

The band I play with like things really low and was really missing the low notes from my 5er.

Got a Warwick 5 string and love it!

All the flexibility I missed and the strings are that little bit wider.

Wouldn't want to drop tune a 4 bagger, that would just pickle my head.
5 strings all the way for me, was just about finding one that suits me.

[Cameronj279]

I'm in the camp of "if it doesn't have 5 strings I probably can't play it properly". I just feel most 'at home' when I'm using a 5 string (tuning is pretty much irrelevant as I often use quite a few).

I've never understood the whole mentality behind the B string only being for lower notes or when it doesn't get used it's just in the way. It's a bit annoying at times having to make sure it's muted when not in use but I find it makes my left hand muting a lot more efficient. It's an ideal thumb rest too.

[CamdenRob]

I've played sixers since I came back to the bass a couple of years back. I just like the flexibility, although to be honest whilst the low B is of practical use in the bands I play in, the high C I really just use when writing and looping chord bassed stuff, good for melody lines too..

I find the neck very comfortable and have no reason at the moment to go back to fours. I do use a four for fretless though, but that may change...

I don't think any less or any more of players regardless of how many strings they have on their bass... it's what they are playing that counts

[bassist_lewis]

5 strings make transposition easier. If a song is in G and a singer asks to play it a fourth lower its an easy change. Or if a singer decides in the same breath as calling the song to also take it down a tone from E to D! Drop tuners are great if you've practiced the part in the new key but I wouldn't personally want to try and transpose on the fly while compensating for a different tuning.

[Delberthot]

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1427919588' post='2735964']
I cannot find the article I read only yesterday from a studio sound engineer going all scientific on me and saying special kit was needed etc etc, but I did read it, honest. :-)

My question really arose out of the fact some of the sellers on here appear to be going back to 4s as they are struggling.

My only complaint with mine is the low tension strings so I may put flat wounds on it. I am used to those on my P bass, my main player at the moment.
[/quote]

I use D'addario Chromes on my Precision - 40-100 gauge but I wanted rounds on my 5 string so I looked up the tensions of each gauge and found that the EXL165-5 string set was the closest and it enabled me to drop the string height significantly - they're 45,65,85,105,135 and feel exactly the same tension wise as the Chromes

[quote name='Qlank' timestamp='1427922010' post='2736003']
The only 5er I heard live that sounded any good was a 5 string Fender Jazz. Mind you, the chap doing the mix was a professor of acoustic engineering.
Not knocking 5ers, but.......not for me.
[/quote]
[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1427922149' post='2736004']
The two 5 string Fenders I've owned were probably the worst 5 string basses I've played , everyone's different though.
[/quote]

The worst 5 string sound I ever heard live was a guy using a Jazz bass and it put me off buying another 5 string for a long time

[Bobthedog]

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1427957492' post='2736192']
I use D'addario Chromes on my Precision - 40-100 gauge but I wanted rounds on my 5 string so I looked up the tensions of each gauge and found that the EXL165-5 string set was the closest and it enabled me to drop the string height significantly - they're 45,65,85,105,135 and feel exactly the same tension wise as the Chromes
[/quote]

This is a great tip, thank you and will look into a set.

[darkandrew]

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1427911822' post='2735837']
I have read some technical bumph about why studios do not like the B string
[/quote]

I was watching a documentary video on Billy Idol's website yesterday about recording his latest album with Trevor Horn and Trevor was playing a 5 string (and a 4 string and an upright). I would guess that if there were technical reasons why 5 string basses were no good in the studio, if anybody would know it would be Trevor Horn.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwQ3VUK8e2s

Edited April 2, 2015 by darkandrew

[Bobthedog]

Found the offending article: [url="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.recordingmag.com%2Fresources%2FresourceDetail%2F134.html&ei=SOwcVb-mOs7aasyVgeAJ&usg=AFQjCNH8QCeluoHS81jBrbtS3RPE0LLajg&bvm=bv.89744112,d.d2s"]Taming the 5-String Bass : Recording Magazine[/url]

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1427958918' post='2736208']
Found the offending article: [url="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.recordingmag.com%2Fresources%2FresourceDetail%2F134.html&ei=SOwcVb-mOs7aasyVgeAJ&usg=AFQjCNH8QCeluoHS81jBrbtS3RPE0LLajg&bvm=bv.89744112,d.d2s"]Taming the 5-String Bass : Recording Magazine[/url]
[/quote]

Hmm, that's a rather idiosyncratic view. I suspect he's trying to confirm his own prejudices as much as anything else.
I'm not convinced of the need for the fundamental to be reproduced on the lower notes unless you're working in some of the more extreme genres of electronic music (in which case you won't be using bass guitar anyway). I do wonder, if only the most esoteric of studio monitors do anything useful in the 31Hz range, surely it makes more sense to highpass above that than to focus obsessively on dynamics processing down there. How many listeners will have equipment that will even let them hear what he's done? And while the B-string has it's own timbre and envelope as distinct from playing the same notes on the E string, why not trust the performer to use that sensitively rather than treating it as a fault to be corrected?

[MarkW]

[quote name='Shedua511' timestamp='1427913263' post='2735860']
I find the six string a very different animal, while the fiver required minimal adaptation from fur strings.[/quote]

Same here. I can flit between four- and five-strings without any effort, but the six-string really has me stumped. So much so that I may well sell it - it's beyond my abilities!

[chris_b]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1427969035' post='2736377']
I suspect he's trying to confirm his own prejudices as much as anything else.
[/quote]

+1

The article is a personal view only.

Better engineers than him have been happy to let Nathan East and his 5 and 6 string basses loose on their multi million selling hit records records for the last 30 years.

[r16ktx]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1427969792' post='2736399']


+1

The article is a personal view only.

Better engineers than him have been happy to let Nathan East and his 5 and 6 string basses loose on their multi million selling hit records records for the last 30 years.
[/quote]

+1

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1427969035' post='2736377']
Hmm, that's a rather idiosyncratic view. I suspect he's trying to confirm his own prejudices as much as anything else.
[/quote]

I suspect you're right. When he comes out with things like,
"[color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]But the aim is to maintain as consistent a sound possible as one plays from string to string, so that the instrument conveys a homogeneous timbre over its entire range.[/size][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]
And there ain’t a 5-string bass on the planet that can do that."[/size][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]
[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Newsflash: your average 4-string bass can't do that either! Notes at the bottom end of the first two strings are not "timbrally consistent" with the same notes played up at the dusty end of the bottom two strings; you get a different balance of harmonics, and if they're that vastly different then you use whichever one sounds most appropriate. [/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]
[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]I suspect he's one of those engineers who's become unnecessarily anal about listening out for high frequencies that are normally only audible to dogs, and low frequencies normally only picked up by seismographs. Even before Nathan East was experimenting with low B-strings, Black Sabbath were tuning their guitars and basses down to C# (possibly even C) by 1971, and I don't hear many complaints a lack of fundamental on [i]Master of Reality. [/i][/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1427969035' post='2736377']
And while the B-string has it's own timbre and envelope as distinct from playing the same notes on the E string, why not trust the performer to use that sensitively rather than treating it as a fault to be corrected?
[/quote]
+1. Having an F on the E string sounding different from the same F on the B string, for example can be a distinct advantage.

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1427972439' post='2736443']
I suspect you're right. When he comes out with things like,
"[color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]But the aim is to maintain as consistent a sound possible as one plays from string to string, so that the instrument conveys a homogeneous timbre over its entire range.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]And there ain’t a 5-string bass on the planet that can do that."[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Newsflash: your average 4-string bass can't do that either! Notes at the bottom end of the first two strings are not "timbrally consistent" with the same notes played up at the dusty end of the bottom two strings; you get a different balance of harmonics, and if they're that vastly different then you use whichever one sounds most appropriate. [/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]I suspect he's one of those engineers who's become unnecessarily anal about listening out for high frequencies that are normally only audible to dogs, and low frequencies normally only picked up by seismographs. Even before Nathan East was experimenting with low B-strings, Black Sabbath were tuning their guitars and basses down to C# (possibly even C) by 1971, and I don't hear many complaints a lack of fundamental on [i]Master of Reality. [/i][/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]
And another +1

[No lust in Jazz]

I recently bought a 6, initially this was for my own interests in playing different styles - I should have done this years ago. After finding the B string extremely suitable for the repetoire of the band, more recently I bought a 2nd hand 5 - (one of the many for sale on here) for gigging; another and uncharacteristic smart move.

A few months and many band rehearsals later, I look at my four strings and in many ways feel that I've moved on from them.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1427972749' post='2736454']

+1. Having an F on the E string sounding different from the same F on the B string, for example can be a distinct advantage.
[/quote]

I recall Lee Sklar making that very point that the difference can be a compositional tool in itself.

[phil.c60]

[quote name='Shedua511' timestamp='1427913263' post='2735860']
I find the six string a very different animal, while the fiver required minimal adaptation from fur strings.
It is true that they are not fashionable nowadays, at least you would get that impression watching tv: old, beat up four string is the required accessory this minute
[/quote]

Fur strings? Nice to play, very soft under the fingers I would imagine but a bit muffled. God knows what they'd be like with a pick!

[Krysbass]

I've played bass since the early 80s but only got round to buying my first 5-string a couple of weeks ago - a Spector ReBop. My main reason for switching was that I'd been getting increasingly frustrated at the growing number of songs I wanted to play which went below E and my band already play a couple of songs that will benefit from the extra depth.

As I play in a covers band, mostly playing pubs (many of which are small) taking multiple basses to a gig so that I have a down-tuned bass available when needed is not practical as there's usually no room "on stage". Neither is re-tuning between songs, as we keep the gaps between songs to a bare minimum.

So I've been getting to grips with the 5-string for a couple of weeks. During that time I've made a point of only playing the 5-string, to help build muscle-memory. The most difficult thing to overcome has been accidentally plucking the B string instead of the E - but I'm getting beyond that now. My routine for mastering the 5-sting has been to practice the full repertoire of my band at home and identify the songs within that that need special attention. The Spector Rebop is incredibly comfortable to play and this has definitely helped the transition too.

So no regrets buying a 5-string yet - I just think the time had come for me where I couldn't put it off any longer.

[chris_b]

Sounds like you've made the move for the right reasons and are adjusting in the correct way.

[ezbass]

[quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1428055356' post='2737482']


So I've been getting to grips with the 5-string for a couple of weeks. During that time I've made a point of only playing the 5-string, to help build muscle-memory.
[/quote]Smart move. My '63 P Bass is my only four string and on the rare occasion that I pick it up it feels quite alien.

[ambient]

[quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1428055356' post='2737482']
I've played bass since the early 80s but only got round to buying my first 5-string a couple of weeks ago - a Spector ReBop. My main reason for switching was that I'd been getting increasingly frustrated at the growing number of songs I wanted to play which went below E and my band already play a couple of songs that will benefit from the extra depth.

As I play in a covers band, mostly playing pubs (many of which are small) taking multiple basses to a gig so that I have a down-tuned bass available when needed is not practical as there's usually no room "on stage". Neither is re-tuning between songs, as we keep the gaps between songs to a bare minimum.

So I've been getting to grips with the 5-string for a couple of weeks. During that time I've made a point of only playing the 5-string, to help build muscle-memory. The most difficult thing to overcome has been accidentally plucking the B string instead of the E - but I'm getting beyond that now. My routine for mastering the 5-sting has been to practice the full repertoire of my band at home and identify the songs within that that need special attention. The Spector Rebop is incredibly comfortable to play and this has definitely helped the transition too.

So no regrets buying a 5-string yet - I just think the time had come for me where I couldn't put it off any longer.
[/quote]

Play the low E at the 5th fret on the B string.

[Iain]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1428065322' post='2737656']
Play the low E at the 5th fret on the B string.
[/quote]

Depends on the tone/feel you're going for surely? One key benefit is the choice open(!) to you.

[ambient]

[quote name='Iain' timestamp='1428070410' post='2737744']
Depends on the tone/feel you're going for surely? One key benefit is the choice open(!) to you.
[/quote]

Exactly, but if you're having problems playing the low B instead of the low E then it makes sense, I find a fretted low E sounds tonally better too, especially if all the other notes are fretted, it's also easier to kill the note too, especially if you're just getting used to playing a 5 string, with the added muting. Just me of course, I'm probably talking a load of tosh .

[Iain]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1428071740' post='2737775']
Exactly, but if you're having problems playing the low B instead of the low E then it makes sense, I find a fretted low E sounds tonally better too, especially if all the other notes are fretted, it's also easier to kill the note too, especially if you're just getting used to playing a 5 string, with the added muting. Just me of course, I'm probably talking a load of tosh .
[/quote]

No, you make sense to me!