Dubs Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Just bought a cheapy 5 and I was wondering what songs people would recommend for a 5 string newbie… Possibly some old Incubus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='benwhiteuk' post='521592' date='Jun 23 2009, 11:55 AM']....Just bought a cheapy 5 and I was wondering what songs people would recommend for a 5 string newbie….[/quote] Just play all your "old" stuff on it first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='521605' date='Jun 23 2009, 12:22 PM']Just play all your "old" stuff on it first![/quote] Yeah I've done that - just getting used to the 5 strings. Seem to always forget where my fingers are in relation to the strings - I look down and see my 'plucking' finger on the 3rd string down and think it's the D string, then realise it's the A, and I go to play the G string and end up fumbling over the D... I'm quite enjoying the extra range and minimal movement required to access 2 whole octaves though :brow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I can only think of one.... Comfortably Numb!! In particular the Guy Pratt / Pulse live version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Summer of 69 (if i recall correctly). Oh sorry, didn't see the "Good" bit ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='dave_bass5' post='521689' date='Jun 23 2009, 01:45 PM']Summer of 69 (if i recall correctly). Oh sorry, didn't see the "Good" bit ;-)[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) [quote name='benwhiteuk' post='521614' date='Jun 23 2009, 12:28 PM']....Yeah I've done that - just getting used to the 5 strings. Seem to always forget where my fingers are in relation to the strings - I look down and see my 'plucking' finger on the 3rd string down and think it's the D string, then realise it's the A, and I go to play the G string and end up fumbling over the D...[/quote] That's the usual problem when you switch. You've just got to keep going till you reprogram your brain!! I don't really have any suggestions for numbers, but I found that playing E on the B string, rather than open E changed my style and made playing easier, rather than worrying about playing below the 5th fret on the B. Edited June 23, 2009 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 To remind you, you haven't mentioned, how your bass is strung, matey - with low B or high C But I got your mind now.. Try 'transcribing' a [i]simple [/i]bassline you like (yeah, simple, cuz, at the beginning, it will be a storm in your head..) to the 5th position of bass.. (where the E note on B string starts, i mean..) and stay in that position, as long, as it's possible - it will be hard at the start, but you'll get used to it.. It's not the B string, that it is a problem, or the songs, that are for 'five string bass' (do they really exist?).. No. The problem is to[i] get used [/i]to [b]using [/b]the benefits of extended range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='Faithless' post='521765' date='Jun 23 2009, 03:05 PM']Try 'transcribing' a [i]simple [/i]bassline you like (yeah, simple, cuz, at the beginning, it will be a storm in your head..) to the 5th position of bass.. (where the E note on B string starts, i mean..) and stay in that position, as long, as it's possible - it will be hard at the start, but you'll get used to it..[/quote] This is what im trying to do these days. I still play my P5 like a 4 string a lot fo the time but slowly im changing the way i play it and trying to keep above the 5th fret is helping me quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='521710' date='Jun 23 2009, 02:01 PM']...I found that playing E on the B string, rather than open E changed my style and made playing easier, rather than worrying about playing below the 5th fret on the B.[/quote] [quote name='Faithless' post='521765' date='Jun 23 2009, 03:05 PM']...The problem is to[i] get used [/i]to [b]using [/b]the benefits of extended range.[/quote] That's kind of what I'm discovering. I've found it to be a surprisingly natural progression from a 4 string though. I had a horrible experience with a 5 string when I had to borrow one for a gig when I was about 18, so I've completely dismissed them for the last 6 years, but now I'm completely open to the idea of use a 5er as my number 1. Maybe I’m just ready for it now. I'll give it a few more weeks and see if I'm as enthusiastic about it all then as I am now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I just put my 4-string aside and didn't touch it for months. Am more comfortable on my big 36" five now after a year and a bit than on the four I played for almost a decade before! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='521710' date='Jun 23 2009, 02:01 PM']I don't really have any suggestions for numbers, but I found that playing E on the B string, rather than open E changed my style and made playing easier, rather than worrying about playing below the 5th fret on the B.[/quote] You can also find yourself part-shifting to make fingering a bit easier - we do one song ("Hey Baby", absolute drivel) that goes A F# B E (I think) and instead of playing it based on the 2nd fret and stretching up for the A (open streengs? We don't want no steenking open streengs), I shifted to the 5th fret which made everything a bit easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_d Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What about Alien Ant Farm - I know their bassist has a 5 or 6 string. He uses one on the video for Annie Are You OK, but all the tabs say you can play it with one string, so I guess I do not know why he is using one in the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulfinger Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Peter Gabriel - Digging in the Dirt. Quintessential 5-string performance, one where the low B-string is an integral part of the song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='521784' date='Jun 23 2009, 03:30 PM']....I just put my 4-string aside and didn't touch it for months. Am more comfortable on my big 36" five now after a year and a bit than on the four I played for almost a decade before!....[/quote] I did the same thing. Put the Precision away and only played the 5 string. I pretty well made a complete hash of the first two gigs but now, nearly 15 years later, I couldn't comfortably go back to a 4 string! Except for 5 extra notes a 5 is really only a 4 but with some of the notes in a different place, it's not a different instrument at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmpires Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='521824' date='Jun 23 2009, 04:21 PM']I did the same thing. Put the Precision away and only played the 5 string. I pretty well made a complete hash of the first two gigs but now, nearly 15 years later, I couldn't comfortably go back to a 4 string! Except for 5 extra notes a 5 is really only a 4 but with some of the notes in a different place, it's not a different instrument at all.[/quote] Good advice above, I play 5ers exclusively but I used to play 4 strings when I done the switch I completly forgot about the 4 and now has become second nature. Just don't overthink it and it will come naturaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 First off, keep away from your 4-string! Being a human, your brain and body want is as easy as pos and when you get better with 5 and then play 4 you'll notice it is easier and your brain will look for an excuse to tell you to stick to 4! Don't do it, I went back from 6-string to 4-string about a year ago after a 3-year stint....well I use no less than 5 now and don't play my 4's, other than my P-bass. Ok songs...How bout this one? Incubus is cool...How bout "Redifine" for that mean slap line in the breakdown. Again, don't let your brain say "Oh the strings are too close"....I'm currently playing an OLP MM3 over my BTB556 so that's from 17mm spacing to about 15mm! And nothing has changed, you CAN do it! Or maybe some Bizkit? Sam Rivers doesn't de-tune. Wes is in C# standard and Sam in 5-string standard of BEADG so, that'll get you used to using the "perks" of the 5-string and not have to de-tune. This is my fav perk. Guitarist in drop-b? No problemo! And above all of this, have fun and enjoy. Prob cost you about £5 more to re-string though haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Theres at least one off Blood Sugar, Mellowship Slinky maybe??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gicut58 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Try 'Ladies & Gentlemen' by Saliva. Youtube it - have fun! - Can't play the verse on a 4 - not low enough gicut58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Cheers for the song suggestions guys. I’m working my way through some of them as well as some other stuff that I’ve been making up as I’ve been discovering the extra range :brow: I’m finding that the major advantage with a 5 is being able to play pretty much everything vertically and having so many notes easily accessible within the stretch of your fingers without any significant hand movement. It’s great! Definitely a different feel to a 4 though. I’d still say 4s are better for some stuff though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What about 'Bring me to Life' by Evanescence. There's that big low D in the chorus that you just can't do with a 4 string without detuning the E (which then screws up your fretting hand position for the rest of the song). Actually there's probably quite a lot of their stuff that would suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='521824' date='Jun 23 2009, 06:21 PM'][b]Except for 5 extra notes a 5 is really only a 4 [/b]but with some of the notes in a different place, it's not a different instrument at all.[/quote] And [i]that [/i]is were I cannot agree with you. I'd say, 4ers and 5ers differ [i]very [/i]much - just think of, for example, scales - their construction - they're made in quite a different way on 4er and 5er (positioning and stuff..), yes? And here we are talking just about scales - the beginning of [i]things[/i]... It's all about the benefits, we manage to [i]find[/i], or not.. But, for God's sake, I could never ever tell that 4ers and 5ers ain't different.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I think I've mentioned this before... I play both a 4 string with a drop-D detuner thingy and a "normal" 5 string. The sound and feel is so different even I notice. I can now jump between the two without thinking about it too much but I do have the odd "accident" if I'm not careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdgrsr400 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'd look at the sheets for various 4-string songs you like, and in a number of places I'm sure you'll find the bass line has been compromised to some extent by not having access to notes below E. Typically this would be in songs in keys like C or D or Eb. Then you can put the "high" C/D/Eb down an octave where it makes sense to do so - or use octaves etc. That's what I plan to do when my 5-ver arrives in a few days time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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