lowdowner Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 just wondering if anyone on here has 'downgraded' from 5 strings back to 4 again permanently? I've been playing my 5 stringer for a few months now and haven't touched my 4 string (Thumb B.O.) since I first discovered the joys of the 5 string... I've had a week's holiday this week and spent most of it playing my 5 string bass (well, who wouldn't?) but on a whim decided to play my 4 stringer again today and something feels kind of 'right' about 4 strings. Anyone else had this feeling? Is it just familiarity with the old 4 stringer, or is there something that just 'works' with 4 strings? I'm interested if anyone has gone through a 5 string 'phase' and returned to their 4 string permanently...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamPodmore Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) I wouldn't call it a downgrade, nor an upgrade, just a change. I rarely use my 5 string and have been the same for over a year now. My 4 string just does the job for pretty much everything i do at the moment. I use my 5 when i need to, but not as often as i should. Liam Edited March 13, 2013 by LiamPodmore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 How many years on a four have you had compared to the five? stick with the five for that many years and update this thread Obviously all the four bangers are going to tell you the four feels right because that's how many strings a bass has blah blah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I wish I'd never picked up a 5. I love my 4 but now I have to take both to a gig because, as a result of me getting the 5er we now do some tunes that need a low B string. Life was simpler before I had a 5. We just didn't do songs that really really needed the extra low range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdowner Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Can't you play the 'low' tones just an octave higher (or even, gosh, something different around the same theme/feel but not so low?) I ask genuinely by the way, I don't know the answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 To an extent yes but sometimes you just lose the "weight" of the song by not having the low end. I don't do pedals really either so no cheat way out. I really enjoy playing both basses though and I guess I really should have a backup guitar at a gig anyhow so mebs I should stop being so lazy lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363207415' post='2009918'] Obviously all the four bangers are going to tell you the four feels right because that's how many strings a bass has blah blah [/quote] ...and blah, blah, blah. [size=4] [/size] [size=4]Actually, somewhere on his Youtube channel Scott Devine details how he gets the tones below low E using an octave pedal. None of his basses go below low E naturally. [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1363209182' post='2009955'] Actually, somewhere on his Youtube channel Scott Devine details how he gets the tones below low E using an octave pedal. None of his basses go below low E naturally. [/quote] That's all well and good but I wouldn't want to be faffing about doing a tap dance with pedals to find a low note, I'd end up in a hell of a pickle or face first in the audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Also it is a downgrade, does it have less of something, yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1363210428' post='2009980'] Also it is a downgrade, does it have less of something, yes [/quote] less of something isn't a downgrade! a downgrade would be to get a 6 string... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 True, I'd never have a sixer! * I said that about a fiver three years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 i had a six stringer... (but it was a fender stratocaster) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I went from four to five when I was 18, and back to 4 when I was mid-30s. I've still got a 5-string, just in case, but I do find 4s a bit more comfy, particularly for long gigs. On the 5 I only ever really used the B string below the 8th fret: I don't tend to do super-fast across the neck scales that would necessitate a 5 string. I tried a six. Couldn't get on with it. Maybe I'm just too old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Just gone back from a brief stay with a 5'er to a 4. Not that I don't like 5 strings, I really do, I can get round on them absolutely fine and they open up a lot of passages for me which I think is great. But there really isn't anything right now that I can get out of a 5 that I can't do on a 4. They evoke different mindsets for me and my preference is still slightly towards a 4 string. I anticipate buying another 5'er in the future though, just don't need it right now. Most long term 5 string players will just say that they're used to playing them now and that they can't translate back to 4's quite as easily, which is fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 4s feel strange to me. Though I was playing a 6 string after about 18 months on bass and 10 years later have never had anything lower than a 5er as my main instrument so that probably has something to do with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Just keep buying those 5 string basses and selling them on after 6 months. We love you for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1363221876' post='2010206'] Just keep buying those 5 string basses and selling them on after 6 months. We love you for it. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdowner Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1363221876' post='2010206'] Just keep buying those 5 string basses and selling them on after 6 months. We love you for it. [/quote] not a hope in hell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1363221876' post='2010206'] Just keep buying those 5 string basses and selling them on after 6 months.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 The way i see it is that all my favourite players use 4 stringers and get fantastic grooves, feel, sound etc out of them. If its good enough for them... I went 5's for a while. Liked the flexibility and didn't struggle with the transition - just felt wrong. Flogged 'em all and now back to a herd of 4's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 [quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1363208407' post='2009941'] Can't you play the 'low' tones just an octave higher (or even, gosh, something different around the same theme/feel but not so low?) I ask genuinely by the way, I don't know the answer [/quote] I've been doing that for years and no-one in either band or audience has ever come up and said 'Oi, where did those notes below low E go?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarwickPaul Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Never played a fiver in all my years. Don't really need it in my line of work but I'd love to have a play one day. Stupidly I find the prospect a bit daunting. Familiarity is the key I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I can play everything on a 5 that I can on a 4, plus more. Last year I made the move to playing 5s exclusively, because I figured there was no point chopping and changing any more, and I got to the point where if I had taken a 4 to a gig I would often end up thinking "wish I brought the 5!". I now don't own a single 4. I'm not saying that 5s are necessarily better, it's a personal choice, but I guess rather than feeling that a 5 is a bass with an extra string, I now feel like a 4 is a bass with a string missing!(and the neck's too narrow!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowender Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) A lot of guys are going back to a 4. I use both but find I only need (or want) a note lower than a low E on very, very few occasions. For the rest of the night that B is just in my way! Of course , it's a personal choice -- even in regard to the people you work with. I've known engineers and band mates who want that 5er, while there were others who just hated seeing anyone pull more than a 4 string instrument out of the case. (Probably from too many fusion cats and guys playing in the sub basement too much). Edited March 14, 2013 by Lowender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I don't play often below E but sometimes it's nice to drop one in. It took me ages to adjust to 5 strings, then I struggled to go back to 4. Now I switch between them without thinking and enjoy them both. But I never felt the need for a high C string despite owning a lovely sounding 6er. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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