Why a 5 string?

[LiamPodmore]

I got it because i was gigging in 4 different tunings. 5 string meant i was gigging in 1 tuning, just with slightly more awkwardness at times.

Liam

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='AustinArto' timestamp='1444466176' post='2883413']
It's not just the width of the neck I don't think, it's the extra weight and tighter string spacing too.
[/quote]

I hate narrow string spacing at the nut and this is really narrow on many 5s (fenders being the worst IME). Its one of the reasons I play a status - the string spacing on the 5s is almost as wide as on most 4s in particular the nut spacing is the widest of any 5 I've tried . Yamaha's are wide at the bridge and narrow at the nut (but not as bad as fenders as I recall). ibanez are narrow spaced at both.

Edited October 10, 2015 by bassman7755

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444469772' post='2883451']
This is the rub. Too many players decide they don't like wider fret boards because their technique isn't correct and blame the instrument.

Same goes for the "small hands" myth. Play correctly and all of these things cease to be a problem.
[/quote]

Well thumb-on-top is the "correct" grip for me and yes that rules out 6s but since I have no desire to play one its a moot point. I can empathise with those who cant get on with 5s for the same reason.

Edited October 10, 2015 by bassman7755

[GarethFlatlands]

Why play a 5?

A thumb rest that's a whole string long!

[Owen]

You cannot spell bass without a B. Come at me! Haterz gonna hate!

[ambient]

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1444508412' post='2883800']
Why play a 5?

A thumb rest that's a whole string long!
[/quote]

Only if you don't use it properly .

[GarethFlatlands]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1444509635' post='2883806']
Only if you don't use it properly .
[/quote]

Guilty! I very rarely use the low B but I miss it when it's not there for the thumb rest reason. I'm sure there's plenty of valid reasons to play a 5 but I've never played in a band where I felt like I really needed it, I just threw it in every so often because it was there.

As with most things, each to their own.

[NickD]

I bought a fiver as my sole bass back in 1989, back when I owned one bass at a time, and playing rock/metal stuff it was handy for drop tunings and big rumbling riffs under the guitar parts. Having got used to it I've not bought a 4 since. It's really proved useful over the past few years as I work with a mandolin player with a broad baritone voice. The mandolin is quite high, his voice takes up a large amount of the middle ground, and I find that working in the really low end helps keep out of his way.

[Graham]

I got my first bass - obligatory Squier Affinty Precison - for my 17th, and then for my 18th got my second, an Ibanez K5. From then on I was sold on five strings and played the K5 for about four years. I switched back to fours, after picking one up and suddenly finding the fretboard a lot more "open" and easier to find the notes without an extra string.

I played fours exclusively for about eight years until about six weeks ago when I did a trade for a five string. I'm now completely sold back on five strings, and find I use the low B quite often, just for economy of movement and to occasionally chuck in a low D or similar for effect.

My main point however is that I think the few years I spent playing a five when I was younger has made playing a five now a lot easier, and made it feel like "home".