Same bass 4 vs 5 string tone difference

[SteveXFR]

I've been wondering whether there's a natural tone difference between the same model bass as a 4 and 5 string version. 

I've got a Sterling Ray34 and Ray35 which have the same body and neck material, same tuners, same bridge and same nut. The pickups are supposed to be 4 & 5 string version of the same pickup. They both have the same Daddario XL strings.

With the eq set flat, the five string sounds much fatter and just better.

Is this down to the wider neck or some other difference due to the extra string? 

[Thunderbird]

I think it's got a lot to do with the tension on the neck as well as the width 

But could just be one of those things as you can get identical basses but yet they sound quite different maybe it's the wood or parts for the electrics etc I don't really know to be honest 

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

same nut.

 

Not according to the SBMM website they're not: 43mm vs 45mm.

[Grimalkin]

I always found this interesting, induced vibration. Check out the parts that vibrate the most. You can see the cavities in the body just about. But by that experiment, it looks like most vibration happens in the neck.

 

https://acoustics.org/pressroom/httpdocs/137th/fleischer.html

 

[Hellzero]

Simply more wood. It's a known fact by luthiers, never compare the exact same 4, 5 or 6 strings bass. The 4 strings bass will always sound thinner and less consistent.

[Delberthot]

I owned, one afer the other, an SR5 and a Sterling. Both had a ceramic pickup, both had the same EQ and they weren't even close in terms of sound.

 

Yes they both sounded like aggressive ceramic pickup Musicman basses but the SR5 was definitely the gnarlier of the two with the Sterling being a bit more polite

[marcblum]

Don't confuse similar with same.

Wood is a way too inconsistent material to achieve constant results.

Luthiers go to great lengths with selecting and storing and selecting and controling and selecting again in favor to achieve the desired result.

Companies live with a broader variety.

A 5-string is a different animal than a 4-string. They are not the same instrument. They just share brand and product name.

[BreadBin]

I've done experiments with my sound engineer brother using 4 and 5 string versions of the same bass. We noted the same results - a fatter, fuller sound with the 5er.

Yamaha RBX 760/765a for reference.

[SteveXFR]

So it's not just me then! The 5 definitely sounds fatter. I prefer it to the four. 

Could a better pickup add some fatness to the four?

[MoonBassAlpha]

I'm pretty sure it's the thicker neck. Fewer frequencies being absorbed at random points. If you've played a metal necked instrument,  for instance, you notice a very wide presence of frequencies. 

[chris_b]

Between a 4 and 5 sting the wood is different, there is more wood on a 5 string bass. The mass of almost every component is different, from the bridge to the tuners. A musical instrument is all about vibration and resonance. Anything that changes those parameters, will make a difference.

[Downunderwonder]

P type 2+2 pickups have a less than perfect hum bucking relationship that doesn't carry forward to the 3+2 set perfectly well either. Just to complicate things.

[ubit]

I don't wear this wood argument. I have a P bass that I made out of bits from EBay. It's cheap wood and paint from Homebase. I put EMG's in it and it sounds as good as my American Std. P bass.

Edited December 22, 2021 by ubit

[MoonBassAlpha]

4 hours ago, ubit said:

I don't wear this wood argument. I have a P bass that I made out of bits from EBay. It's cheap wood and paint from Homebase. I put EMG's in it and it sounds as good as my American Std. P bass.

I don't think it's the type of wood,  just the amount of it in this instance 

[Graham]

I'd think that if they were designing the five string properly, ie as an instrument in it's own right not just the standard four string with a wider neck and extended pickup, then I would expect it to sound similar but different.

 

Really, I'd hope the five string pickup had been designed with a low B in mind and so would be voiced differently to the four string equivalent.

[ubit]

27 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

I don't think it's the type of wood,  just the amount of it in this instance 

 

Well there plenty of wood in my home build. It weighs a ton! Sounds superb right enough. I have always scoffed at electric guitars and whatever wood they are made of arguments. Pick ups and strings are the big changers in sound in my opinion. Bridges, scale length etc can make slight differences but it's an electric instrument. People make electric guitars out of metal and they sound great.

[Woodwind]

16 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I've been wondering whether there's a natural tone difference between the same model bass as a 4 and 5 string version. 

I've got a Sterling Ray34 and Ray35 which have the same body and neck material, same tuners, same bridge and same nut. The pickups are supposed to be 4 & 5 string version of the same pickup. They both have the same Daddario XL strings.

With the eq set flat, the five string sounds much fatter and just better.

Is this down to the wider neck or some other difference due to the extra string? 

 

I bet you my Ray34 sounds different to yours, even if I put your strings on 😎

 

The differences you're hearing are very likely from the electronics, but I don't doubt the neck will have some effect.

 

 

[Guest]

They can only be "the same" superficially.  Even supposedly identical four strings can have quite a different tone and character to one another. Ditto fives.

[ubit]

Just to be clear, I am not saying wood doesn't make any  difference to an electric guitar. I am saying that I can't hear any difference. It's purely my opinion. I wanted to say that before I am flooded with replies saying you are wrong and citing examples of expensive woods making certain luthiers guitars so much better than the next.

In my opinion an acoustic instrument benefits greatly from the material being of superior quality but on a sold bodied instrument the body does not resonate much if at all. The sound is made by the pick ups resonating to the string vibration. The strings are  just there to oscillate a magnetic field on the pickups, and besides the body (and neck, bridge, etc) is usually pretty solid anyway so not much change for the small force of fingers on strings to resonate such a dense object.

[ubit]

http://stashstainlessbass.com/about

 

 

 

 

[Sarah5string]

I have the 4 and 5 string versions of the American Professional II Fender Jazz, I have to say there isn't a HUGE amount of difference in how they sound if you disregard the Low B, unless you're slapping, at which point the 4 string comes to life.