4 strings sound better than 5 string basses. Discuss.

[EBS_freak]

Well...?

[Jase]

4....Of course

[Guest MoJo]

I have a BB414 and a BB415 and with the same strings on they sound exactly alike across the four strings they share

[William James Easton]

oh boy....

[alexclaber]

What does "best" mean?

If your muting is poor then the fewer strings that are likely to be ringing then the better you will sound - but that's not the bass's fault. If all else was equal then the greater coil inductance in the pickups would change the sound (hence why it took some years before you could get 5-string J-bass pickups that really sounded like an old Jazz bass) as would the stiffer neck, but that's never the case - in fact I'd bet that many 5-string necks have less cross-sectional-area as a P-bass or a modern 4-string Warwick.

I will tell you one thing - I have never ever ever heard a bass sound as good as my RIM Custom 5 did last night whilst trying out The Big One in rehearsal for the first time. Absolutely HUGE sound!

So on that basis that 5-string sounds best. End of.

Alex

Edited January 6, 2009 by alexclaber

[~tl]

Well, my 5-string is a lot more versatile than my 4-string and has a much wider range of sounds (which I guess could count as "sounding better"). But I'd be willing to bet that was due to the fact that it has double the number of pickups and an ACG pre-amp, rather than due to the number of strings...

[birdy]

I read an article somewhere where a session player said that he thought the E on a 4 string sounded better than the E on a 5 string but I could never get my head around why there would be any difference. Obviously the E on the B string could/would sound different than the open E.

I think its a myth that 4 strings sound better and are easier to play. I have persevered with 5 strings despite being useless and am now equally as incompetent on a 5 as a 4. I dont really slap but that could be perceived as being easier on a 4 but again I think its just down to practice.

Sound wise its all the same?!?

Steve

[Faithless]

What's the point? Never got heard about basses sounding better/worse just because of number of strings issue...

[birdy]

[quote name='Faithless' post='371868' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:12 PM']What's the point? Never got heard about basses sounding better/worse just because of number of strings issue...[/quote]

Some people think there is a difference as you will see by the poll results.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='birdy' post='371865' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:10 PM']I have persevered with 5 strings despite being useless and am now equally as incompetent on a 5 as a 4.[/quote]



I think you have just defined my target for 2009 far better than I could.

[Dmanlamius]

Lol, what an odd question...

No difference, of course.

[alexclaber]

Regarding all these kind of threads and much more, everyone would be well served to read "This is your brain on music". Very enlightening indeed.

Alex

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Jase' post='371850' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:06 PM']4....Of course [/quote]


A good reasoned argument there. Well done

[birdy]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='371882' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:21 PM']Regarding all these kind of threads and much more, everyone would be well served to read "This is your brain on music". Very enlightening indeed.

Alex[/quote]

Give us a clue then.....

[The Funk]

No difference - except I've heard that Stingray 5s sound very different from Stingray 4s.

[johnnylager]

It depends whether that low B is bridge or body strung, eh Russ?

[mcgraham]

*physics mode ON* if a bass was an ideal system, i.e. light strings strung up on a completely rigid body that has negligible resonant frequencies, and each string was oscillating independent from the others, and the method by which each strings movement was detected was identical for each string... then it shouldn't matter.

However this is not the case. Therefore there will be a difference... *physics mode OFF*

Can we reliably distinguish this? I think if the instruments were of similar level of construction it should be negligible to the average listener. But again, it is so subjective it's hardly worth arguing about.

Mark

[mcgraham]

P.S. My answer is 4

[Dubs]

If you can't do it with 4 you're not trying hard enough.

[Mr. Foxen]

Everyone bought a crappy 5 string to see if they could do it, then threw it in the corner when they realised 4 is easier, and it was never worth selling, and they'll pick it up again one day. Then they bought nicer 4 strings since they used them much more. Hence 4 strings sound better than 5 strings.

[Shaggy]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='371845' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:04 PM']Well...?[/quote]

Cool avatar! Who is she?

back to topic, never been a sound issue for me as much as a playability one.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='johnnylager' post='371905' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:42 PM']It depends whether that low B is bridge or body strung, eh Russ?[/quote]

Can't really draw any conclusions with regard to that comment because I haven't compared a 4 string strung B to D with a 5 strung B to G... and if you are commenting specifically about my Rumour, I can't comment again because I haven't compared a 35inch scale (5 string Rumour) strung B to G to a 34inch scale (4 string Rumour) strung B to D (where the B is through body strung)

Nevermind eh johnny?

Edited January 6, 2009 by EBS_freak

[crez5150]

It's all a bit irrelevant because you couldn't compare the same bass as a four or five string.... though I guess that's not the question....

Edited January 6, 2009 by crez5150

[chris_b]

[quote name='birdy' post='371865' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:10 PM']....I read an article somewhere where a session player said that he thought the E on a 4 string sounded better than the E on a 5 string but I could never get my head around why there would be any difference. Obviously the E on the B string could/would sound different than the open E....[/quote]
I think this was the general view of producers/engineers in New York's session world. The same guys who wouldn’t hire you if you didn’t turn up with a Fender! Their view was that the open E (on a 4 string) has a tighter, more focused tone than the E on the B string and therefore records better. Presumably this is because the open E is being played on a thinner string?
Apart from that there is not much to discuss as neither 4 nor 5 string basses sound "better". The sound of the “best” bass will depend on the instrument, the amp, the room and your personal preference.

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='~tl' post='371864' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:10 PM']Well, my 5-string is a lot more versatile than my 4-string and has a much wider range of sounds (which I guess could count as "sounding better"). But I'd be willing to bet that was due to the fact that it has double the number of pickups and an ACG pre-amp, rather than due to the number of strings...

[/quote]


[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='371915' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:45 PM']If you can't do it with 4 you're not trying hard enough.[/quote]


[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='371918' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:48 PM']Everyone bought a crappy 5 string to see if they could do it, then threw it in the corner when they realised 4 is easier, and it was never worth selling, and they'll pick it up again one day. Then they bought nicer 4 strings since they used them much more. Hence 4 strings sound better than 5 strings.[/quote]

As I understand it, I believe that the question is not whether any five string bass sounds better than any other four string but if two otherwise identical basses sound different with or without the extra string as is the case with my BB414 and BB415 which sound identical and are even the same colour

Edited January 6, 2009 by bassman2790