4 for comfort, 5 for range.....??

[Rumble]

Having played 5 string for several years, I've recently tried a 4 and found it really comfortable and, dare I say it, liberating. I play in church mainly and I notice loads of Gospel players use either 5 or 6 so my quandry is whether the comfort of the 4 outweighs the dynamic range and positional playability of a 5?

Your thoughts??

[thisnameistaken]

I played 6 strings for a while and yeah whenever I picked up a 4 it felt a lot more comfortable, it was just more fun to play. I've been thinking about getting a 5 for a couple of years but it's my experience with sixes that has put me off so far.

[JTUK]

Don't even think about it is those terms..... 5 is very comfortable for me so I don't hanker after a 4 at all.

In fact, for me, a 4 is lacking

[WalMan]

Used 4's exclusively until a few years ago when I picked up my first 5'er. Since then have pretty much used 5's exclusively, though I have now started to use the 4's again.

It really depends what I am playing and what works best.

The 5's give me another option of moving positions up the neck, but I have to say that for a lot of things recently the 4's have been getting a lot of love.

[SoVeryTired]

I played a 5 exclusively for nearly a year (in church, but not really 'gospel' as a genre) and love the extra range of those low notes. I bought a 4-string recently on a whim and found, yes, it's very comfortable and easier to play in many ways. I still think the 5 is the most useful but I realised I much prefer the sound of the 4 - hence selling my current 5 to get a new one with the range of a 24-fret 5-string but the slightly more comfortable 34" scale and PJ pickups of my 4.

I think I'll always keep a 4 around though, just for when I fancy a change.

[iiipopes]

Yes, the added low notes can be fun. They do extend the range of the bass down to the low pedal C, which is the same note as most moderate sized pipe organs.

BUT...the real reason to have five strings is for technical faculty so that scales, leaps, runs, motifs, etc., can be played more efficiently across the fretboard rather than up and down the fretboard.

In the end, it's what a person is most comfortable with, along with the demands of the music. I'm now playing with a group that perform a few songs that have obvious 5-string motifs in the bass part. So after avoiding getting a 5-string for over 36 years, I finally had to get one for these songs.

[TRBboy]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1350414292' post='1838580']
Don't even think about it is those terms..... 5 is very comfortable for me so I don't hanker after a 4 at all.

In fact, for me, a 4 is lacking
[/quote]

+1

I think if you can find the right 5 to suit you, you can have it all! I've only been playing a 5 exclusively again for about 5 months, but when I pick up a 4 again now it does just feel like there's a string missing.

[Doddy]

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1350415697' post='1838610']
BUT...the real reason to have five strings is for technical faculty so that scales, leaps, runs, motifs, etc., can be played more efficiently across the fretboard rather than up and down the fretboard.
[/quote]

I don't buy this argument particularly....it's easy to play the same runs up and down the fingerboard on a 4 string. Sure,you
can play in position,but if you know your way around the 'board it's not a big deal.

The reason I play five strings nearly all the time is because you never know when you might need it.You might be playing
modern stuff that was played on synth so you need the lower notes, or you may be reading charts and people are getting hip to
writing for the lower range. I can do everything on a 5 that I can do on a 4,but there are things I do on a 5 that can't be played
on a standard tuned 4.

[skej21]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1350420332' post='1838714']


I don't buy this argument particularly....it's easy to play the same runs up and down the fingerboard on a 4 string. Sure,you
can play in position,but if you know your way around the 'board it's not a big deal.

The reason I play five strings nearly all the time is because you never know when you might need it.You might be playing
modern stuff that was played on synth so you need the lower notes, or you may be reading charts and people are getting hip to
writing for the lower range. I can do everything on a 5 that I can do on a 4,but there are things I do on a 5 that can't be played
on a standard tuned 4.
[/quote]

Huge plus one!

Never bought the bull about technical efficiency on a five. I use one because when I'm reading you know never know when those bottom notes will pop up and suprise you... Oh, and because I like sticking in position whilst reading because I'm lazy too (admit it, that's the real reason we all have 'em!)

[chris_b]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1350420332' post='1838714']
....I don't buy this argument ....
[/quote]

Well I buy it.

There are several reasons why I play a 5, and on occasion finding it easier to play across the neck rather than up and down is one of them.

[hamfist]

I prefer a 4 for two reasons.

Firstly, my whole technique, honed over something like 30 years, is based on a 4. When I pick up a 5 my damping and control goes out the window. It feels like going from a driving a sports car to an HGV. So, yes, I admit it, it is my technique that is lacking.

But secondly, my ear simply doesn't particularly appreciate notes below a D (which I can clearly easily get by detuning my low string on a 4). I just don't see the point in notes that low. They do nothing for me, and lack a fullness that notes of D and above do, whatever they are played on or by whoever. Something about my ears/brain simply not "getting" the frequencies required at that depth I suppose.

So, for me, Mr Fender got it right first time all those years ago.

[SoVeryTired]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1350455871' post='1838989']
I prefer a 4 for two reasons.

Firstly, my whole technique, honed over something like 30 years, is based on a 4. When I pick up a 5 my damping and control goes out the window. It feels like going from a driving a sports car to an HGV. So, yes, I admit it, it is my technique that is lacking.

[/quote]

I understand what you're saying but I view it differently. I thought I had decent(ish) technique after a few months playing a 4, then realised I had it totally wrong when I got a 5. I hadn't actually been damping properly (it was more luck than judgement when it happened) and it was too easy for my left thumb to start creeping round the neck. A 5 forced me into much better left- and right-hand technique, which in turn makes me a much more proficient 4-string player.

Not necessarily true for everyone, but it worked for me.

[krysh]

my 5er that I usually play in my jazz band is as easy and comfortable to play as my 4-strings, but all my basses also deliver different sounds. for me it's more a question of what sound suits best for what style. I have no problems to switch in between.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Rumble' timestamp='1350403966' post='1838357']
I play in church mainly and I notice loads of Gospel players use either 5 or 6 ...[/quote]

Sorry to veer OT for a minute, but why DO so many Gospel players choose a 5 or a 6?

[SoVeryTired]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1350460183' post='1839034']
Sorry to veer OT for a minute, but why DO so many Gospel players choose a 5 or a 6?
[/quote]

I don't really play gospel - for the more rock style at my church a 4-string would do fine, with some parts just crying out for a lower note.

I think the answer to the question may be partly function, to find space in a crowded mix with lots of keys/organ and to be able to go as low. But I'm sure there's a fair amount of fashion involved as well, just like you could ask why so many (insert genre here) players choose (insert brand here, probably Fender!).

[Rumble]

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments. It is more rock style that I'm playing so I guess my gospel reference might have been a bit misleading. I also agree that it's only the positional playing that is probably a consideration because I very very rarely play an open Bb or anything below the D.

Hmmm, I'm finding it difficult to reason against the comfort taking priority.

[BigRedX]

I've played 5-stringers for so long now (20+ years) that 4-stringers no longer feel "right". So for me it's 5 for comfort and for range.

And as someone who also plays guitar I find that the proportions of most 5-string necks scale up nicely from the guitar neck which adds to the rightness factor IMO.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Two of my fives are amongst the best balanced and most comfortable instruments I've played.
One is a Warwick Fortress Masterman V, the other a Vigier Passion V (series III)
Better still, they're both great sounding, but like chalk and cheese sonically.

Comfort and range (etc.) need not be mutually exclusive.

[Kongo]

I generally use no less than 5 now. I have a P-bass I love that's a 4 but other than that I stick to 5 and 6.
6-string for progressive styles and 5-string for everything else. With modern tunings and my hate of dropped (as in, just the one string) tunings I often have use for the low-B, no matter what it's tuned too. I've learned over the past few years to use more of the board and rely less on the 1st few positions, but the string then becomes useful as you can use it for low notes that would be on the E-string, so once again you can flow with economy.
Also, more recently, I've come to love 17mm spacing. It makes chord hits and stretches across strings easier, more so as I prefer 35" scale, it helps to offset the fret spacing.

So for me, 5-string+ range and 5-string+ for comfort. :-P

[PTB]

I don't follow your logic. I've had uncomfortable 4s and comfortable 5s. Give me my light & ergonomic MTD 535 over my old 78 Stingray which was so heavy, it gave me neck & back ache.

[SoVeryTired]

So, to sum up, some 4s are uncomfortable, some are comfortable. Some 5s are uncomfortable, some are comfortable. But a 4 will never have the range of a 5. Unless you tune it in 5ths and it has more frets than the 5.

Yes?

[chris_b]

Yep. I think we can all agree on that.