Do the best pro-bass players mainly play 4 strings?

[lemmywinks]

2 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 5 String Bass Guitars, Lots, actually most guys I see use them, personal preference, right?

I switched to 5 strings because absolutely I needed to, came to a point where it was a chore working around the limitations of a 4 with regards to songs we play. Not something I wanted to do (I had some very nice and expensive 4 strings I was perfectly happy with) but needs must. Playing a 5 is much easier too, wouldn't go back if I could.

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

I switched to 5 strings because absolutely I needed to, came to a point where it was a chore working around the limitations of a 4 with regards to songs we play. Not something I wanted to do (I had some very nice and expensive 4 strings I was perfectly happy with) but needs must. Playing a 5 is much easier too, wouldn't go back if I could.

Thats a great case for the 5 string.

 

Blue

[Yank]

Every instrument has strengths and limitations.  The upright bass has a long history of 4 strings. Leo, who made the first commercial bass chose 4. So much ground breaking and ground shaking music was made with a 4.  I don't need more than 4.  If you need 5 or 6 or 8 or 12 do what you're called to do.  I think most professionals will have options in their quiver,  but I still think the standard for all is a four.

[josie]

We think of the cello only as a four stringed instrument, but in J S  Bach's time, five string cellos were common, and of the cello suites BWV 1007-1012, the 6th is just about possible to play on a 4, but not possible to play really well.The 5th string is needed for higher notes, so that would be like a bass 5 strung EADGC. (Which I did, briefly, with my ex-band, whose originals often worked best with high basslines.) Excellent discussion here: 

http://5stringcello.com/english/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/

 

[Dad3353]

24 minutes ago, josie said:

We think of the cello only as a four stringed instrument, but in J S  Bach's time, five string cellos were common, and of the cello suites BWV 1007-1012, the 6th is just about possible to play on a 4, but not possible to play really well.The 5th string is needed for higher notes, so that would be like a bass 5 strung EADGC. (Which I did, briefly, with my ex-band, whose originals often worked best with high basslines.) Excellent discussion here: 

http://5stringcello.com/english/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/

Hence the sensible choice of playing 6-stringers. 

[josie]

Just now, Dad3353 said:

Hence the sensible choice of playing 6-stringers. 

I have been seriously tempted. I'd love to have the full range of relatively easy options I'd get from BEADGC. I doubt I could find a 6 light enough to gig though - both my regular gigging basses (GMR 5 and Aerodyne 4) are well under typical weight and my back still complains by the end of even a 45 minute set 😞 

[josie]

And now there's a beautiful Warwick 6 for sale in the marketplace... I'm just hoping he'll tell me it weighs 20 kilos... 

[drTStingray]

Most of my favourite pro players have played 5 string basses from time to time - they would probably have been more commonly seen in the late 80s up to the mid 2000s. 

As an example, take Nick Fyffe of Jamiroquy - live he usually played Yamaha 5 and 4 string basses, switching dependent on the song.

As has been said, people often use what they consider the best tool for the job. I bought a 5 string for the particular reason of learning Stevie Wonder songs, many of which are played on keyboard bass or in keys lower than E - note the Nate Watts plays a 5 string also (though this is not the reason I got into playing one). 

I basically alternate my basses for gigs dependent on what takes my fancy on the day but I go through periods of playing 5 or 4 strings - I never take two basses with me these days. 

5 strings seem to be used in some theatre orchestras also. 

[Bluewine]

16 hours ago, Yank said:

Every instrument has strengths and limitations.  The upright bass has a long history of 4 strings. Leo, who made the first commercial bass chose 4. So much ground breaking and ground shaking music was made with a 4.  I don't need more than 4.  If you need 5 or 6 or 8 or 12 do what you're called to do.  I think most professionals will have options in their quiver,  but I still think the standard for all is a four.

Even the Fender Bass was not a great instrument when it was introduced.

Neck, action and intonation was a constant battle. However it was the best you could get at the time and was a huge innovation.

Blue

[neilp]

I don't particularly like 5 string basses, I've never found one that doesn't feel awkward and unwieldy to me. I find the sound pretty unsatisfying too, in the main. No punch, difficult to amplify. In the double bass world the answer is simple - a C extension lets you keep your 4 string and have the low notes when you need them. To be honest, in bass guitar world I don't really come across the need very often. If you're making music for your audience's benefit, they won't notice or care. It's not very often a line just doesn't work on a 4 string. If I really need one, I borrow it. 5 strings are not progress, they're an alternative, and one I don't particularly enjoy. Your view may differ. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

[stingrayPete1977]

No punch and difficult to amplify? , I've heard it all now! Lol

[steve-bbb]

1 hour ago, neilp said:

No punch, difficult to amplify....Your view may differ. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

can we safely assume you have not tried enough 5 or 6 strings in that you seem to safely make this sweeping generalisation

i'd agree that a great number of lower budget 5s and 6s may not have a very satisfactory low end but from experience of owning an early 90s TRB6 i can assure you they are anything but that which you claim - try one out when you get the opportunity, they are a bit rare now but if you get the opportunity you will be very surprised

[lemmywinks]

If your 5 string has no punch and is difficult to amplify then you need a better 5 string  bass and a better amplifier.

[thepurpleblob]

2 hours ago, neilp said:

I don't particularly like 5 string basses, I've never found one that doesn't feel awkward and unwieldy to me. I find the sound pretty unsatisfying too, in the main. No punch, difficult to amplify. In the double bass world the answer is simple - a C extension lets you keep your 4 string and have the low notes when you need them. To be honest, in bass guitar world I don't really come across the need very often. If you're making music for your audience's benefit, they won't notice or care. It's not very often a line just doesn't work on a 4 string. If I really need one, I borrow it. 5 strings are not progress, they're an alternative, and one I don't particularly enjoy. Your view may differ. Doesn't make either of us wrong.

Nah - I think you're wrong. What I do think is that 5 (and by extension 6 string) basses have a lot more variation. There are, effectively, de-facto standards for the 4 string (Mr Fender's creations) but these don't exist for the 5-string basses. Although I can't prove it, I'm going to suggest that's it harder (== more expensive) to produce a good 5 string than a good 4 string. Really, the E-G strings shouldn't be any different from a 4 and the B is what sorts the men from the boys. After sifting through quite a few 5s, you should come and have a go on my Yamaha TRB5 or my Lakland 5. They took some tracking down and the Lakland (USA) was a lot more expensive than I might have liked.

[EBS_freak]

Wow. So much guff in one thread.

[Al Krow]

14 hours ago, drTStingray said:

Most of my favourite pro players have played 5 string basses from time to time - they would probably have been more commonly seen in the late 80s up to the mid 2000s. 

As an example, take Nick Fyffe of Jamiroquy - live he usually played Yamaha 5 and 4 string basses, switching dependent on the song.

As has been said, people often use what they consider the best tool for the job. I bought a 5 string for the particular reason of learning Stevie Wonder songs, many of which are played on keyboard bass or in keys lower than E - note the Nate Watts plays a 5 string also (though this is not the reason I got into playing one). 

I basically alternate my basses for gigs dependent on what takes my fancy on the day but I go through periods of playing 5 or 4 strings - I never take two basses with me these days. 

5 strings seem to be used in some theatre orchestras also. 

Nicely put.

Edited July 14, 2018 by Al Krow

[krispn]

28 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Wow. So much guff in one thread.

Ask a silly question... 😉

 

[Al Krow]

48 minutes ago, krispn said:

Ask a silly question... 😉

 

I actually thought it was a quite a good question (which is why I raised it!) - certainly one I didn't know the answer to and there have been some really good responses, which I've appreciated.

But if this thread is not for you, you're very welcome to lurk elsewhere!  

Edited July 14, 2018 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

17 hours ago, josie said:

And now there's a beautiful Warwick 6 for sale in the marketplace... I'm just hoping he'll tell me it weighs 20 kilos... 

Recommend also checking out the Ibby SR 6s if you're feeling tempted - second hand Ibby SR basses do seem to me to deliver a lot for the money.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by Al Krow

[krispn]

It just makes sense that you’d use the right tool for the job if you had the choice. 

[SH73]

Interviewer: Do you ever mess around with a 5-string?

Steve Harris: Nah, that’s one too many, haha. In my opinion a bass player does not need five strings or more. But everyone to their own. If someone feels extra special by having more strings, that’s fine. But it’s not my cup of tea.

Interviewer: Well I like to play seven-string guitars and my theory is: if I break a string I’ve still got six.

Steve Harris: Well, there you go!

[Al Krow]

45 minutes ago, krispn said:

It just makes sense that you’d use the right tool for the job if you had the choice. 

I think everyone who plays bass, with any degree of interest, has the "choice" to go for 4, 5 or 6 or indeed 8 or 12 (unless, of course, you have tiny hands / arms in which case a 4 string short-scale may be your only option).

But in a sense it's not really a 'tool for the job' point though is it - 'cos if you are proficient and comfortable playing 5 why would you ever need to play a 4 string? Surely a 5 can do everything that a 4 can?

Amusingly, the inspiration for this thread was a recommendation by a mate of mine to have a listen to Pink by Aerosmith which he held out as being a really good example of a well mixed low B string. Unfortunately I found it a particularly dull track...but it got me thinking about which bass players and on what tracks more commonly use 5 strings rather than 4.  

Obviously Nathan East is a well known (and pretty exclusively a) 5 string player.

I was a little surprised that Jamiroquoi's Stuart Zender's signature Warwick is a 4 string and was also surprised that he seems to play 4 rather than 5 on the clips I've just checked; the same point about Jamareo Artis (Bruno Mars) who mainly 'just' plays 4 string P basses. I'd kinda assumed that these two bass players would be 5er players if anyone was going to be!  Just shows how much I know!

Edited July 14, 2018 by Al Krow

[lemmywinks]

9 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I was a little surprised that Jamiroquoi's Stuart Zender's signature Warwick is a 4 string and was also a little surprised that he seems to play 4 rather than 5 on the clips I've just checked; I'd kinda assumed that the Jamiroquoi bass player would be a 5er player if anyone was going to be! Just shows how much I know!

One of his more well known basses  - the Streamer with the Iroquai pattern on - was a 5, when I think of Stuart Zender that's the bass I think of. He also used another 5 string Streamer live quite a bit as well as the 4 string Stage 1 he was pictured with regularly.

[stingrayPete1977]

40 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I think everyone who plays bass, with any degree of interest, has the "choice" to go for 4, 5 or 6 or indeed 8 or 12 (unless, of course, you have tiny hands / arms in which case a 4 string short-scale may be your only option).

But in a sense it's not really a 'tool for the job' point though is it - 'cos if you are proficient and comfortable playing 5 why would you ever need to play a 4 string? Surely a 5 can do everything that a 4 can?

Amusingly, the inspiration for this thread was a recommendation by a mate of mine to have a listen to Pink by Aerosmith which he held out as being a really good example of a well mixed low B string. Unfortunately I found it a particularly dull track...but it got me thinking about which bass players and on what tracks more commonly use 5 strings rather than 4.  

Obviously Nathan East is a well known (and pretty exclusively a) 5 string player.

I was a little surprised that Jamiroquoi's Stuart Zender's signature Warwick is a 4 string and was also surprised that he seems to play 4 rather than 5 on the clips I've just checked; the same point about Jamareo Artis (Bruno Mars) who mainly 'just' plays 4 string P basses. I'd kinda assumed that these two bass players would be 5er players if anyone was going to be!  Just shows how much I know!

Artis has a matching pair of custom basses in four and five string. 

[Al Krow]

43 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Artis has a matching pair of custom basses in four and five string. 

What does he normally use on Uptown Funk or Runaway Baby or Perm when playing live?