Four String Five String? Now NBD. Why is nobody surprised?

[Skinnyman]

Right, don’t laugh. This is probably a stupid question but humour me....

I need a five string. 

Problem is, I’ve tried them over the years and don’t really get on with them. I was thinking about this earlier and found myself saying “Oh, if only they made a five string with four strings, that would solve all my problems!”.

What I mean, of course, is a four string bass but strung BEAD. 

I’m sure this must have been done before and the fact that it isn’t a “thing” makes me think that perhaps it just doesn’t work for some reason. So what are the issues and why aren’t more four string basses strung BEAD?

Obvs, you lose the G string - but I can probably live with that for a lot of songs. And you’d need a new nut.

But what else?

 

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Skinnyman

[chris_b]

Cut to the chase, you either need a 5 string or you don't. If you really do need a 5 string, find the one you like and get it.

[Dad3353]

So you don't need a five-string, you need a low 'B'. BEAD will work, no problem. The nut may (or may not...) need fettling, and maybe the truss-rod, but that's all. You'll have to adapt to the new tuning, of course, which may cause as many issues as having a five-string, but... 

[HazBeen]

This topic has been done a few times, you can absolutely tune your bass to BEAD. Tim C in Audioslave is a good example of BEAD in action, and there are many many more.

Often you do not need to modify the nut.

I have 5 string basses, but I also have a 4 tuned BEAD. Just because....

[fleabag]

I'd be looking for a 35" scale bass if i was tuning BEAD

[Skinnyman]

55 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Cut to the chase, you either need a 5 string or you don't. If you really do need a 5 string, find the one you like and get it.

I should have been more precise...,

43 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

So you don't need a five-string, you need a low 'B'.

...This is what I need.

43 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

This topic has been done a few times

And I should have done a search for “BEAD” - apologies
 

16 minutes ago, fleabag said:

I'd be looking for a 35" scale bass if i was tuning BEAD

I think that would be my preference - that said, there are plenty of 34” fivers out there and many of them seem to have a perfectly usable B.

All of the above suggests that it’s worth an experiment. I have a 5 set of strings so I’ll nick four of them and try it out on one of the basses I don’t use very often.

Thanks all!

[Dad3353]

[jrixn1]

Just throwing around a couple of other ideas: drop tuning; installing a detuner e.g. Hipshot Xtender; or an alternative tuning somewhere between EADG and BEAD.  I tuned DGCF (I think it's called "D standard") for a while, since D was the lowest note I wanted, and I wanted to lose as little high range as possible.

[HazBeen]

7 hours ago, Skinnyman said:

And I should have done a search for “BEAD” - apologies

Don’t apologise, a question us never bad nor irrelevant.
 

And you don’t need 35” scale either. I have had good B’s on 33” and bad on 35”. 

[chris_b]

I know a guy who tunes C F Bb Eb. I don't know why he chose those notes. He sounds OK but still doesn't have a G string, which would be the deal breaker for me. 

[BreadBin]

A 4 string tuned BEAD will not sound the same as a 5 string, the extra wood makes a difference.

[Reggaebass]

One of my jazzes is permanently strung BEAD, it works perfectly 🙂

[stuckinthepod]

There used to be a few metal four string basses that came set up from factory with low tunings. I’m thinking brands like ESP/Jackson/Schecter perhaps it was signature models from Korn or Deftone bassists. Speak to a local guitar tech discuss what you want and see whether you’d need extended range.

[lownote]

I tried BEAD because it seemed such a good idea.  Loathed it.  Muddy and rubbish.  Just get a five string, check out online advice on how to play it, then play it. 

[T-Bay]

I have a BEAD string Jazz, sounded awful at first, then tweaked the nut and it sounds great, so much so that the 5 string went within a week. I only use it on two songs in the set list anyway but it’s fine for the job.

[Cuzzie]

The detuner is great. You can fit multiple ones to your bass if you want, and you can also get a double stop lever so you can go down 2 notes.
 

I have done normal basses BEAD no problem, and am often permanently in drop D and half a step down so am nearly there most of the time.

If you want a new bass have a look at the Schecter C4 apocalypse Ex which is a 4 string set to be BEAD with a 35” scale

[HazBeen]

4 hours ago, BreadBin said:

A 4 string tuned BEAD will not sound the same as a 5 string, the extra wood makes a difference.

I doubt you would notice in a band setting

[BreadBin]

20 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

I doubt you would notice in a band setting

That is entirely dependent on the band 😉

[Maude]

6 hours ago, BreadBin said:

A 4 string tuned BEAD will not sound the same as a 5 string, the extra wood makes a difference.

In that case can a skinny necked four string never sound like a chunky necked four string? 

Genuine question as I've never considered the neck dimensions having an impact on tone, just playability preference. 

[Ed_S]

I've played 5s in standard, 5s tuned down one and two half steps, a 4 tuned to C,F,Bb,Eb with the chunky strings out of a 5 set on it and the nut slots widened (it's currently just as happy in C#,F#,B,E and it's only a Squier VM P with a SD quarter pounder, so nothing special in spec, scale length or construction terms), and even an extra long scale Shuker custom which was built from the ground up to be tuned B,E,A,D and is made of super-dense wood which weighs a tonne. I've also played a lot of gigs on a 4 in standard tuning using a Digitech Drop pedal for certain songs.

The Shuker got converted back to just being a very heavy extra-long-scale in standard tuning with normal strings because it wasn't getting used. The Squier rarely gets used either unless I'm recording with it, but ironically always sounded better than the Shuker ever did. The 5s are just like some mystical beacon saying I want inappropriate FoH sound from engineers in small venues, so I'll stick to 4s unless I get to do my own sound. The Drop pedal is my favoured solution since nobody notices / cares that it doesn't sound perfect, but similarly they don't notice any interruption to the flow of the performance since there's no need to change instruments.

I wouldn't favour the Drop pedal if I needed it on all the time - I'd use a 4 tuned as low as necessary and modified accordingly - but for a couple of songs in a set it's great.

[Al Krow]

@Skinnyman out of interest what is it about 5s that you don't get on with?

[HazBeen]

7 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@Skinnyman out of interest what is it about 5s that you don't get on with?

The 5th string ........ 😂

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

The 5th string ........ 😂

More precisely the G string, eh? 😁

[HazBeen]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

More precisely the G string, eh? 😁

Clearly

[Skinnyman]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@Skinnyman out of interest what is it about 5s that you don't get on with?

I think it’s the overall width of the neck. I’ve had a couple of Dingwalls and a Yamaha and I can play them and I adjust to them quite quickly - it’s just that they feel clumsy, particularly from the eighth fret upwards. No matter how much I’ve persevered, I can never “gel” with them.