once you've played a 5 string what's the point of 4?

[EssentialTension]

9 hours ago, DDR said:

... why limit your range to that of a 4 string?

My range is limited by the songs i play not by the number of srrings i have.

 

If a song really needs more range than an EADG four string I'll tune down.

 

Why carry around unnecessary extras?

[chris_b]

Since 1996 I've preferred the extra options that 5 string basses provide.

 

I'm happy that others have different preferences.

[Belka]

I think that 4s, 5s and 6s all have there advantages and disadvantages. Personally I really like the freedom of a 4 string as they're so easy to play. I also really enjoy the creative possibilities of 6.

 

It's strange, at home I do about 80% of my practice on a 6 and 20% on a 4. I never practice 5 string, unless I'm noodling after changing strings. Playing live however, it's pretty much exclusively 5 string. I mean, I can do it on a 6 but you generally don't have much need for the high C, slapping can be a pain on a 6, and 5s are generally lighter.

 

In modern function/wedding bands it's difficult to get away with a 4 and still sound authentic on some modern songs. You also have to deal with singers who might want to take tracks down a semi or two, sometimes on the fly. I suppose you could tune your E down on a 4 but you don't always have time to do that when you have short gaps between songs. Drop pedals generally sound awful and cause more problems that they're worth, and using an octaver completely changes the sound.

 

I have no problems at all if people want to stick with a 4 if they have no need for a 5, I don't think 4 strings are limiting at all.  

[ahpook]

11 hours ago, DDR said:

...why limit your range to that of a 4 string?

 

I don't feel limited by a 4-string, hence no 5-string bass.

 

[SumOne]

I learnt on 4, thought 5 was the next step and learnt that, played 5 for a few years, now only play 4.

 

I don't have an issue with weight/wider neck/tone of a 5, but I do find it less fun than a 4 and just unnecessary added complexity - especially for slap and muting.

 

I play with 2 bands each with >30 song setlists and there are only about 5 songs that would be best with a couple of low D notes, but they work playing that note an octave or 5th up. (Or, a drop tuner would do it).

 

The cliché response is listing off who 'only needed 4', it is a cliché but I think has truth to it. List off all the most famous/successful and talented Bass players and most are 4 stringers. I'm sure they have the skills to play 5, but they must think that the advantages to 4 are worth it.

[Woodinblack]

I only play 5, but certainly I think slap works better on a 4. Luckily (for me and everyone else) I don't do that so its not an issue. Obviously if you want an old bass or something that only comes in a 4 (mostly a ric and such like), you have to stick with a 4 - I often get them because there are loads that look great and I figure that will be good but ultimately I have songs in the set with the band I have been with almost a decade that need a 5 so I end up not gigging them, and I don't tend to hang on to any non gigging basses.

[MacDaddy]

I've played and owned 5's and 6's.

My happy place is 4 but with an extended fretboard (not a detuner) for Eb and open D.

[Belka]

30 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 

 

The cliché response is listing off who 'only needed 4', it is a cliché but I think has truth to it. List off all the most famous/successful and talented Bass players and most are 4 stringers. I'm sure they have the skills to play 5, but they must think that the advantages to 4 are worth it.

I suppose you have a point here, but I would guess a lot of these players came up when 5s and 6s weren't really around. Also, there is a big difference between famous and successful players and talented players. While the likes of Jeff Berlin, Marcus Miller, and Pino have stuck to the 4 string, a lot of the more talented players around today play 5s and 6s; Thundercat, Felix Pastorius, Hadrien Feraud (in terms of raw talent and ability he's almost certainly the best player out there today - doesn't mean you have to like him of course), Matt Garrison, Janek, etc.

[Lozz196]

I’d be happy to use a 5 if I needed it. But given that a, it don’t, and b, I’m developing arthritis in my left thumb which makes wider necks difficult for me it’s unlikely now that I’ll ever go this route.

[SumOne]

1 hour ago, Belka said:

I suppose you have a point here, but I would guess a lot of these players came up when 5s and 6s weren't really around. Also, there is a big difference between famous and successful players and talented players. While the likes of Jeff Berlin, Marcus Miller, and Pino have stuck to the 4 string, a lot of the more talented players around today play 5s and 6s; Thundercat, Felix Pastorius, Hadrien Feraud (in terms of raw talent and ability he's almost certainly the best player out there today - doesn't mean you have to like him of course), Matt Garrison, Janek, etc.

 

To counter: Flea, Joe Dart, Robert Trujillo, Chris Wolstenholme, Tim Commerford, Justin Chancellor,

are all good and relatively recent players that generally play 4 strings. 

 

Technical virtuoso type stuff, yeah 5 or 6 strings. Playing in a band, 4 strings.

 

I mean, there isn't an amount of strings that's altogether 'better', they are different and suit different situations and players, each have certain advantages and disadvantages.

 

[snorkie635]

Happy to play fours or fives and regularly take both to gigs. Sixers provide interesting chord opportunities, but I still don't ever think of gigging mine - doesn't really fit with current set-list.

[ordep]

I always consider myself a four string player but for my main band I always bring my fivers because I need the extra low notes. No problem switching betwen 4s and 5s, I have to do that sometimes within the set. Like a lot of stuff, practice is always key. 

[bassbiscuits]

I’ve tried to get on with five strings and failed, even tho it would be very handy if I’d got on well with them. 
 

For me it’s their size, weight and neck width which I generally struggle with. 
 

There’s a few examples I’ve managed to get on with initially but then realised I preferred the playability and set up of my more familiar four strings anyway. 

[neepheid]

Does it even matter?  Just play what you want, and I'll do same.

[Dan Dare]

I added a 5 to the arsenal after 40 odd years of playing 4s. It was handy to have the fundamental when I was playing in D or C, but apart from that, it didn't really add much for me (I appreciate YMMV).

 

I didn't find the slightly wider neck an issue, but I found I used it very little. Sold it and I now carry an additional 4 detuned to D or Eb depending on what the job calls for, which I can switch to when necessary. 

[snorkie635]

44 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Does it even matter?  Just play what you want, and I'll do same.

Monopoly 😂👍

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, snorkie635 said:

Monopoly 😂👍

 

You want to play Monopoly?  You strange, strange person

 

[snorkie635]

Just now, neepheid said:

 

You want to play Monopoly?  You strange, strange person

 

I own four hotels in the jail.

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, snorkie635 said:

I own four hotels in the jail.

 

Sounds legit.

 

Serious business though - do you operate a swear jar in the middle of the board, and whoever lands on Free Parking gets the dosh?

[snorkie635]

Just now, neepheid said:

 

Sounds legit.

 

Serious business though - do you operate a swear jar in the middle of the board, and whoever lands on Free Parking gets the dosh?

I reckon I'd be bankrupt by the third circuit. 🤣

[Beedster]

My sense with the 4v5 thing is that 4s work for most players most of the time, and i think it's that simple. For those for whom it doesn't work, 5s/6s are a solution, but that doesn't - as is perhaps suggested by the OP - mean that 4s are an anachronistic or limited instrument. I've owned 5s by Yamaha (TRB5, beautiful), EBMM (SR5, dull), and Status (between the other two), but never needed to gig them, 4s have always done the trick. 

 

I also briefly owned a stunning Yamaha TRB6, and first time I took it to rehearsal I was told to give it back to whichever NY-based pop/funk/soul session player I'd borrowed it from....... 🤫 

[walshy]

8 hours ago, Merton said:

I play both. For a few bands I prefer 4s, for a couple of others I prefer 5s. Mostly due to songs in the set.

I’m slightly less shit on a 4 than a 5 hence a 4 tends to be my preference 

Ha thats my experience too. My ability on a 4 is slightly less shite 🤣

[tauzero]

I went over to 5 strings when I found one with a neck as comfortable as the JD Thumb that was my primary bass up till then. I've stuck with 5s as I'm used to them and know where I am on the fretboard - I still have a couple of 4s and three 6s, which is probably three more 6s than I actually need. The B string generally has a slightly different timbre to the others, and I make use of that, not just from song to song but within a song too.

[OliverBlackman]

2 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

To counter: Flea, Joe Dart, Robert Trujillo, Chris Wolstenholme, Tim Commerford, Justin Chancellor,

are all good and relatively recent players that generally play 4 strings. 

Apart from Joe Dart most of those came to the fore 20-30 years ago. Unfortunately bass is often played on Moogs these days, so any strings are old hat.

[TorturedSaints]

If you play with a concert band, so much music is written in flat keys (to make it easier for the transposing instruments like trumpets/clarinets/saxes etc) that a 5 string is so much easier to play without too many shifts. In addition, when tuba parts are put in front of you, they are written going down to an low G, so a 5 string makes it easier to play tuba parts without having to spoil the flow of the tune by transposing up the octave (although technically you should as tubas play an octave higher than written).
 

I do have a number of 4 string basses and will use them if I ever do any rock band playing again.