Is 5 String pointless?

[horrorshowbass]

14 hours ago, paul_c2 said:

No..........you need somewhere to rest your thumb when playing the other 4 strings.....

My SR5 has lovely E string thumbrest across whole body

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Paul S said:

The thing is to appreciate the point as it applies to others, even if it is pointless to you personally.

 

I might keep this on my clipboartd and paste it into every thread  

 

You will get banned - we don't need that crazy positivity here!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Jaco only needed four

 

     ...ducks for cover

[JapanAxe]

21 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Jaco only needed four

 

     ...ducks for cover

What makes you think that hiding behind some ducks will protect you?

[joel406]

I found 5 string to be very liberating. It's not for everyone. It was for me. Small hands so 6 is out of the question. As is 35" scale. Ironically the Fender American pro line was where my comfort zone was. Life has been sweet ever since.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

26 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

What makes you think that hiding behind some ducks will protect you?

 

Ain't no one here but us ducks

[Musicman666]

i think drop d standard is a great compromise between wanting that lower register but still wanting to stick with 4 strings 

[BillyBass]

In my previous band the singer had us drop lower than E for quite a few songs, so rather than retuning my E string every other song, I bought a fiver.  I then spent 6 weeks getting used to it and it became the only bass I played.  I really appreciated the versatility the extra string gave.

 

I then joined a punk band and got to use all my 4 string basses again and I remembered how comfortable they are to play compared to a fiver.

 

My first band fell apart and since then, the fiver has been gathering dust and more 4 string basses have been added to the collection.

 

Yesterday, while discussing a few new songs to add to our set, our singer asked us to play one of these new songs in D.  So I dusted off the fiver and learnt the song with that.  I'm of two minds whether to bring my fiver to rehearsals/gigs for just one song but as we are talking about adding a second set of songs the chances are more songs will need D and Eb.

 

My take on 4 vs 5 is:

 

4 = comfort

5 = versatility

[SamIAm]

I love my 5 strings; Tho as a short scal lover they are hard to come by!

The 2 octave capability / increase in options at any position are a winner for me.

S'manth x

[Newfoundfreedom]

I've never actually owned (or I think even played) a five string. I went straight from 4 to 6. I actually much prefer the six. After a little modification in technique, mostly muting and learning how to use a floating thumb, I actually find the sixer far easier to play than the four. 

 

If it wasn't for the damn weight and my knackered back I don't think I'd ever pick up a four again. 

[Reggaebass]

I switched to 5 strings for a while and quite enjoyed it, I didn’t find myself using the lower notes much even playing reggae but some basslines seemed easier to play going across the board as opposed to up and down, I’m glad I did it but at heart I prefer 4 strings , I also like my 70s fenders which are fours 

[Baloney Balderdash]

Everything in the end is pointless, eventually we are all going to die anyway.

[SamIAm]

17 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Everything in the end is pointless, eventually we are all going to die anyway.

Indeed .. but will you have a 4 or 5 or 6 string in your hands when it happens?

S'manth x

[Waddo Soqable]

21 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Everything in the end is pointless, eventually we are all going to die anyway.

Damn right, I use that one to avoid doing loads of stuff.. 👍

[tauzero]

It's a good job that all 5-strings are absolutely identical so that if somebody tries a 5-string and doesn't like it because it's not comfortable, they don't have to try any other 5-strings before deciding never to use one again. And if you never play any notes below bottom E then a 5-string is completely pointless anyway.

[Ed_S]

Perhaps somewhat unusually I played 5s for the first 10 years, then switched to 4s for 10 years, and am now 3 years into being back to 5s. I've had a couple of 6s along the way, but have concluded that they're not something I personally need. Still not 'pointless', though; just not useful enough anywhere near often enough.

 

Playing with fingers I'll use all the strings I have, but playing with a pick I tend to mostly just anchor my little finger on whatever the thinnest one happens to be. If I didn't do that then I think I'd probably have settled on BEAD-tuned 4s for my heavier-genre pick playing and 5s for the lighter fingerstyle stuff, but at this point I have no desire to try and change whatever passes for my 'technique', so 5s make sense for everything.

[Baloney Balderdash]

4 hours ago, BillyBass said:

In my previous band the singer had us drop lower than E for quite a few songs, so rather than retuning my E string every other song, I bought a fiver.  I then spent 6 weeks getting used to it and it became the only bass I played.  I really appreciated the versatility the extra string gave.

 

I then joined a punk band and got to use all my 4 string basses again and I remembered how comfortable they are to play compared to a fiver.

 

My first band fell apart and since then, the fiver has been gathering dust and more 4 string basses have been added to the collection.

 

Yesterday, while discussing a few new songs to add to our set, our singer asked us to play one of these new songs in D.  So I dusted off the fiver and learnt the song with that.  I'm of two minds whether to bring my fiver to rehearsals/gigs for just one song but as we are talking about adding a second set of songs the chances are more songs will need D and Eb.

 

My take on 4 vs 5 is:

 

4 = comfort

5 = versatility

If I was you I'd probably stick the 4 string, but install a D-tuner (or whatever they are called) tuning mechanism on it.

 

Will be quicker and more practical than both tuning down the 4 string manually or switching to a 5 string, in fact as simple as just flipping a lever (and flipping it once again to get back to E tuning).

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[spacecowboy]

5 Strings all the way for me! Prefer the feel, prefer the sound! 

[fretmeister]

The double bass began as a 3 string so 4 and above are pointless….

 

Seriously though, I love a good 5. Easy for use with brass and Reed friendly keys and lots of fingering options.

 

I don’t have a use for a 6. I don’t need the range at that end.

 

 

[joel406]

I've switched permanently to 5 string. I've gotten so comfortable with it that 4 string just feels like a toy now. I use the B all the time. Makes playing much easier even at low E and above. After 4 years of 5 string, I now consider 4 string inferior to 5 string. I no longer even consider 4 string a real bass.

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 15/07/2023 at 14:56, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Jaco only needed four

 

     ...ducks for cover

[Reggaebass]

I can do everything I want on a 4, and all mine are real basses 

[Baloney Balderdash]

23 minutes ago, joel406 said:

I've switched permanently to 5 string. I've gotten so comfortable with it that 4 string just feels like a toy now. I use the B all the time. Makes playing much easier even at low E and above. After 4 years of 5 string, I now consider 4 string inferior to 5 string. I no longer even consider 4 string a real bass.

4 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I can do everything I want on a 4, and all mine are real basses 

 

I thought everything was real once too, then I took LSD and realized that reality is just an illusion.

 

I don't even consider my 6 string basses real basses anymore.

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[ezbass]

Dons tin hat…

 

 

[Hellzero]

On 15/07/2023 at 14:56, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Jaco only needed four

 

     ...ducks for cover

And Yves only needed two. 😎