What's the deal with 5 string basses?

Comments · 388

• AM

  @ampthebassplayer · 5 years ago · pinned

  I shared a lot of short clips from shows my bands have played. Would you guys be interested in seeing the full unedited footage from my gigs?

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• SA

  @Sam-th4jl · 5 years ago

  the secret is to play an active, headless, multiscale bass so people get upset about that and forget about it being a 5-string lmao. fr tho a lot of the songs i play are in low tunings (C standard, drop B etc), and it's way more convenient to use a 5 string, no filing my nut for super heavy gauge strings, no retuning, plus (imo) it sounds a lot better than floppy detuned strings

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• MU

  @Murdo2112 · 6 months ago

  My response to "Jaco only needed four strings" is always "He also only needed zero frets....do you have frets on your bass?"

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• JA

  @JamesDavisakaRemguy · 2 years ago

  Um, your sax player needs WIRELESS.

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• PE

  @peterziegen3738 · 3 years ago

  About 3 years ago, i bought a Yamaha 5 String as well... I was in a metalband that time and it was obvious that this step was necessary. It felt good, sounded amazing and opened up so many possibilities for my playing. I never played a 4 string since. The best point you mentioned is my singer asking to play a song in lower keys and i have the pleasure to see the desperate look on my guitar players face!

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• SE

  @seppoinnanen5577 · 2 years ago

  As a drummer myself, I wake up and start listening to the bass player every time he touches that B string... feels so good to me also 😆

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• BA

  @BallGloveFun · 4 years ago

  Another thing that's great about a 5 is that if you're reading music that has the low notes in that range. It is far easier to play those notes rather than having to think about transposing the note up an octave and possibly missing more notes. Happened to me before.

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• TE

  @templehillsfunk · 3 years ago

  I play a 5 string and everything he mentioned as a pro to playing one, are things I intuitively knew, just never really articulated to myself. The hardest thing is, switching back and forth between my 4 & 5 string. Often times, if I'm not concentrating enough, I'll forget which one I'm playing.

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• KR

  @krisandketo · 4 years ago

  If you're going to get into orchestra gigs having a fiver is pretty much a necessity; there are arrangements that actually write in a notated e-bass sheet and some will dive into that lower register that demands that B string.

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• UN

  @unduloid · 2 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaCfxcXfPR8&amp;t=460">7:40</a> I just mute the B with my wrist while slapping. For the rest I use floating thumb. Works like a charm.

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• TE

  @terryadams237 · 3 years ago

  Love how you put the pros and cons. &nbsp; Always been a 4 string player but just recently laid away a 6 string

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• JD

  @jdhammel8607 · 5 years ago

  I think you made a great point about not over doing the 5th string, it&apos;s so easy to want to just play with the fancy new string lol and it&apos;s not always the best or most musical choice.

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