4 string vs 5 string bass Reddit

As a fingerstyle player I'm gonna be honest, 90% of my use of a B-string is as a fantastic thumbrest. Much easier to grip than a pickup, and it's got a nice amount of give to it. And you can slide your thumb anywhere. Whether you're pluckin' at the bridge or at the neck, your loyal B string will be there to anchor you.

Plus, it equips me to play virtually every bass part I look up. When I had a 4 string I'd look up lots of metal tabs and a quarter of a time the songs couldn't really be played on a 4-string, unless you downtuned a craaazy amount and played on flopppity-flippity strings.

And of course, you can always use the B when you want a bassline to sound hella hella FAT.

EDIT: Whoa, there's actually several things I forgot! I didn't realize how many things I liked about playing a 5.

If you're like me, your E string gets more play time than any other string. The B string does a great job stopping your fingers after you pluck the E, which is great because that's the same thing you get on the A-D-G strings. It makes playing feel more consistent when switching from E to a higher string.

Finally, I like the tighter string spacing of most 5-strings. My bass (Schecter Stiletto Studio) has especially tight string spacing, which I personally really dig. That's just my preference though, so decide this one for yourself. When I go back to a 4 it feels like my plucking fingers have to jump across a gorge to cross strings.

The only real downside I know of is that it makes slap a bit harder, since you have to be careful to avoid setting off the B string as well. It takes some getting used to to keep it muted, it tends to vibrate whether you hit it or not. Oh, and a pack of strings will cost $5-7 more. But I usually only change my B string every other time.

If you don't mind, I'll ask you a question because you mentioned the 6 string basses:

Recently, I started thinking about getting a 6 string bass, because I plan on doing a lot of solo work and I want the versatility of a 6 string bass for the kind of stuff I want to do. The problem is that I don't have either big or small hands, I am kind of in the middle - and I am afraid that the neck of a 6 string may be too large for me and I'll fail to adapt. Normally, I would try an instrument on a store, but I am a lefty and in my country stores don't even have basic 4 string basses for lefties, much less 6 strings.

How did you first feel about the neck of a 6 string bass when you started playing it?

I don’t have experience on moving from a 5 to a 4 but I played a five string today for pretty much the first time ever (I’ve played one once but it was pretty fast and now I actually got the time to jam out with the 5 string) and I just want to give you guys my thoughts as it was pretty cool and some people may be thinking about getting a 5 string.

I gotta say, coming from playing only 4 strings, it was kinda hard. Like not really hard and I could get used to it quite quickly, but the one extra string can throw my plucking hand off and sometimes I could probably be more efficient in incorporating the 5th string. Overall I think I could transition to one if I wanted and it wouldn’t really be that much of a problem, but it has it’s own feel and string spacing etc.

Hiya! I've been playing bass for a solid two years now, and I've only ever played on a 4 string. So, I'm looking to buy another bass and I was wondering if I should try out a 5 or stick to the 4.

I once asked a guy I saw playing a 5 string why he preferered it over a 4 string and he just mentioned "more versitality." I can assume that much just by looking at one, but I was wondering

1. Is a 5 string harder to play than a 4 string?

2. Is there any reason to play a 4 string over a 5 string?

The bass I'm looking at in particular is the Steinberger Spirit-mostly for dopeness factor, but I've also seen some decent reviews of it here on Reddit.

Thanks!

It is all personal preference. Lots of people play 4 (original configuration from back in the early 1950's), lots of people play 5 (started coming about in, I think, the 1980's), and then there are people that play 6+. It is all personal preference.

I've been playing 5 string bass guitars since 2001. I owned a 7 for a bit (rarely played, so I sold it). I own 2-4 strings at this point (my first bass that I'm never selling and a Rondo Beatle Bass).

Go to a store and try playing both options. Spend some time with them. The only way you'll know is if you play them.

I used to play 6 string in a band (and I'll get another one some day) and I absolutely love playing that way. But since sticking with acoustic 4 strings for the past several years I've grown to really appreciate how agile and simple a 4 string feels in comparison.

And if you feel you like the low note of a 5 string, but prefer the ergonomics of the 4, you can just use the strings from a 5 string set to have a low tuned 4 string.

No matter what anyone says, it doesn't matter. Play with a pick, play with your fingers, it doesn't matter. Play whatever you want, these are just tools we use to produce the art we want to make. If you want to be a classically trained musician stick with orthodoxy, if you want to just do whatever you want...do whatever you want.

I think the 5 will be better for hip-hop. If you're ambitious, a 6 string will give you lots of options.

Is a 4 or 5 string bass better?

Should a beginner learn on a 5 string bass?