I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having thoughts
of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?

See I figure that 99.99999999% of all rock, blues, R&B, C&W, etc. music was
played on a 4 string bass and probably 95% of those were some sort of
Fender.

Lately though I have been playing in strange keys Eb, Db, etc. and think
that it might be easier to play with a 5 string.

I have toyed with one in the past for a few songs at a jam a while ago. My
impression was that I had to stop thinking that the top string was an E. I
also found the tight string spacing to be a little akward. I liked it
though.

So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
recommend?

Thanks,
DA

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

Am Tue, 6 May 2008 14:43:17 -0700 schrieb Axtman:

> I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having thoughts
> of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?
>
> See I figure that 99.99999999% of all rock, blues, R&B, C&W, etc. music was
> played on a 4 string bass and probably 95% of those were some sort of
> Fender.
>
> Lately though I have been playing in strange keys Eb, Db, etc. and think
> that it might be easier to play with a 5 string.
>
> I have toyed with one in the past for a few songs at a jam a while ago. My
> impression was that I had to stop thinking that the top string was an E. I
> also found the tight string spacing to be a little akward. I liked it
> though.
>
> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
> recommend?
>
> Thanks,
> DA

Hello David,

I own two 5 strings - one of them is a Ibanez BTB 555, whose string spacing
is not at all tight, it's more like a 4 string's spacing.

For me a 5 string bass has the advantage that in a cover band you can use
lower tunings without being forced to tune down. Often you need to play a
song in a different key than the original key. Then comes handy if you just
can go down a bit further.

If you only play original songs, it might not be so awful necessary...

Bye,

Rudi

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.


"Rudolf Ziegaus" <Rudolf.Ziegaus@gmx.de> wrote in message
news:10b5juj97ppvr.khicyvn4q35v.dlg@40tude . net ...
> Am Tue, 6 May 2008 14:43:17 -0700 schrieb Axtman:
>
>> I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having
>> thoughts
>> of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?
>>
>> See I figure that 99.99999999% of all rock, blues, R&B, C&W, etc. music
>> was
>> played on a 4 string bass and probably 95% of those were some sort of
>> Fender.
>>
>> Lately though I have been playing in strange keys Eb, Db, etc. and think
>> that it might be easier to play with a 5 string.
>>
>> I have toyed with one in the past for a few songs at a jam a while ago.
>> My
>> impression was that I had to stop thinking that the top string was an E.
>> I
>> also found the tight string spacing to be a little akward. I liked it
>> though.
>>
>> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
>> recommend?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> DA
>
> Hello David,
>
> I own two 5 strings - one of them is a Ibanez BTB 555, whose string
> spacing
> is not at all tight, it's more like a 4 string's spacing.
>
> For me a 5 string bass has the advantage that in a cover band you can use
> lower tunings without being forced to tune down. Often you need to play a
> song in a different key than the original key. Then comes handy if you
> just
> can go down a bit further.
>
> If you only play original songs, it might not be so awful necessary...
>
> Bye,
>
> Rudi

YES! That is the problem. The song is written in one key but the singers
want to lower it a few steps lower.

The other issue I have with 5 strings in the flabby floppy B string. I have
heard that a 35" scale will help.

-DA

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

Axtman wrote:

>
> The other issue I have with 5 strings in the flabby floppy B string. I have
> heard that a 35" scale will help.
>
> -DA
>
>

It does. Definitely.

--Steve

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

On May 7, 11:46 am, Steve <sm...@sureNOSPAMwest . net > wrote:
> Axtman wrote:
>
> > The other issue I have with 5 strings in the flabby floppy B string.  =
I have
> > heard that a 35" scale will help.
>
> > -DA
>
> It does.  Definitely.

Scuse me but I was going to mention the 35" scale of the Laklands I
tire-kicked at Bass Emporium. Didn't seem to be a problem as far as
fingering went, and the B string ("the one closest to your head") (not
the little head, the big one) was solid-- compared to the other four
strings for sound and feel like an E string compares to the other
three on a four-string bass, IMHO. Very different from at least one
other 5 (sad to say, a G&L) that I've sampled, which had four "good"
strings and one "why?" string.

Lakland, not exactly cheap even in the offshore section, but
reasonable and the user feedback seems good:

* reviews.harmony-central . com /reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Lakland/55-=
01/10/1

--D-y

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

Axtman <daxtATpacifierDOTcom> wrote:

> I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having thoughts
> of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?
>
> See I figure that 99.99999999% of all rock, blues, R&B, C&W, etc. music was
> played on a 4 string bass and probably 95% of those were some sort of
> Fender.

That might have been true up until 1985 but I'd say it's far from true
now. These days even guitar oriented music is frequently drop tuned -
and keyboard or horn friendly bands are largely why 5 strings came into
being in the first place. If you buy a 5 string you can still play all
the tunes written for four string basses - plus all the tunes that need
5 string. There's really not much loss involved.

These days good quality affordable 5 string basses are easily available,
so it's not something to stress about.

> I have toyed with one in the past for a few songs at a jam a while ago. My
> impression was that I had to stop thinking that the top string was an E. I
> also found the tight string spacing to be a little akward.

These are both things you easily get used to.

> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
> recommend?

If you want to try a five out without much capital outlay you could try
an active OLP five string like the Tony Levin model, or the newer 2
pickup model. The B string is perfectly solid - the electronics cavity
will thank you for additional shielding - specifically on the back of
the scratch plate (the cavity already has shielded paint) - apart from
that it is a fine - and affordable - instrument.

If you have a little more cash an actual music man 5 would be a good
choice.

For more money again, there are fine 'boutique' 5 string instruments -
but that's so much down to personal preference that advice is hard
without more information about styles and preferences.

--- Derek

--
Derek Tearne - derek@url.co.nz
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
* w w w .manyhands.co.nz/

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

snip

> If you have a little more cash an actual music man 5 would be a good
> choice.

Motion seconded. Listen to Tony Levin on the Growing Up live video if you're
not convinced.
My youngest son has an Ibanez SRX705 that has this killer tone that you
should hear. Ibanez are an excellent value for the money.

snip

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

I gave in to the urge about a year ago and bought a Lightwave 5, mainly
'cause it's beautimus! No floppy B, it sounds great, but after all this
time I still struggle with whether the top string is E or B. I'll glance
down and have an instant brain cramp.
I'm not the world's greatest bassist but I'm not without some
skills.......... but I may just be too old to be taught. Hell, give it a
try if you can afford it.....you'll be the only one that can answer the
first part of your question, and it's like buying shoes....you can't tell
how you did for a little while!
I do use the B string on occasion, mainly when in A and wanting the 5th-fret
E on the B string. Stipo

> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
> recommend?
>
> Thanks,
> DA


** Posted from * w w w .teranews . com **

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

On May 6, 4:43 pm, "Axtman" <daxtATpacifierDOTcom> wrote:

> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
> recommend?

Well, who knows what you're going to like, but among the many, the
Lakland 55-01 and 55-02 deserve at least a good test-drive.

* w w w .lakland . com /basses.htm --D-y

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.


"Axtman"

> So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
> recommend?

4 => 5 was not easy for me, had some months without "drink & play" . Going
fretless was easier - and a more interesting change.

Per

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

On Tue, 6 May 2008 14:43:17 -0700, "Axtman" <daxtATpacifierDOTcom>
wrote:

>I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having thoughts
>of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?
>
>See I figure that 99.99999999% of all rock, blues, R&B, C&W, etc. music was
>played on a 4 string bass and probably 95% of those were some sort of
>Fender.
>
>Lately though I have been playing in strange keys Eb, Db, etc. and think
>that it might be easier to play with a 5 string.
>
>I have toyed with one in the past for a few songs at a jam a while ago. My
>impression was that I had to stop thinking that the top string was an E. I
>also found the tight string spacing to be a little akward. I liked it
>though.
>
>So if I do listen to my reptilian brain and buy a 5er, what would you
>recommend?

I hate 5's but I think every bassist-for-hire should own one just in
case you need it. If I were you, I'd get the cheapest one you can
stand. My 5 is the second most expensive bass I own, and it's the one
I use the least. This, IMHO, makes me a 'tard.

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

On 6 May, 14:43, "Axtman" <daxtATpacifierDOTcom> wrote:
> I have been a four banger for years, but lately I have been having thoughts
> of getting a 5 string. Should I give into the urge or up my medication?

Going from four to five is easy. Going from five to four is a bitch.
Once you get used to how easy it is to play further on up the neck, it
takes some adjustment to go back down near the nut. Playing songs in
Ebm is no longer a carpal tunnel accident waiting to happen.

I have one fiver, and 3.5 Fender fours (the .5 is a P that I haven't
finished building yet). Last gig I didn't play a single song on the
four that I brought for backup. I love the Fenders, for all the
reasons that people so often do. But the five is the one that gets
played at the gigs.

If I were a reasonable, rational creature, I'd sell all the Fenders
and get one more fiver for a backup.

Thank god I'm not one of those!

-jb

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.



John Bigboote wrote:
>
> Going from four to five is easy. Going from five to four is a bitch.
> Once you get used to how easy it is to play further on up the neck, it
> takes some adjustment to go back down near the nut. Playing songs in
> Ebm is no longer a carpal tunnel accident waiting to happen.

John is right on. Lets talk philosophy. Bass guitars are 4 strings not
because God intended it that way, but because upright basses had 4
strings. The reason for that was that the size of the usual upright
meant that acoustically a B string would be too low to have any decent
volume produced. Electrification with bass guitars eliminated that
reason. But by then 99.9% of songs worked with 4 strings. And people
got used to it. (Personally I never did! Back in the old days when I
played 4 strings I always had this feeling in my gut that there had to
be a better way than cutting off the range at E. My first 5er
eliminated the feeling forever!)

So what about going to a "real"* bass? Some 4 string guys really
resist it. But note that even hard core like Boomie grudgingly was
forced to come around at least a little bit. Making the transition in
my book is easy. The neck doesn't feel all that fat and all you have
to do is get your head around E being the second "highest" string!
What that much buys you is a few notes below E. Terrific for horns or
key songs (think Eb). Good for rock with Synth-bass lines (one reason
5s became popular). And you really don't need to learn much more.

Some guys stop right here. They are the kind who like to play way up
at the nut so as to include the maximum number of open string notes
and get the best tone and sustain. It's OK, but with modern basses you
don't really need to do that anymore. Where 5 string basses really
shine is when you move up the neck! You get your head around the scale
patterns up there and now you have total freedom to play in any key. I
must confess it took me a time to get there, in fact, it was getting a
6 string bass that forced me into learning the mid neck scales and all
that automatically just transferred back to 5s so nice. That was when
I finally realized that a 5 was a "real" bass! *

* All "real" basses have 5 or more strings!

Today 5 great 5 string basses are out there for a song. Hey even
upright symphony guys play 5 strings today! It all makes so much
sense.

I very much agree with the opinions here that OLP, Yamaha and Ibanez
are all killer 5 string buys. I even own a 5 string Fender (though the
B string while OK is a bit less than stellar). Cripes, even my Rondo
music SX (ash body and shielding added) 5 string blows the doors off
many basses at a price so low you can't believe it. And there are
many others out there. Shop around.

HOWEVER, as others have noted, the "floppiness" of the B string is a
key issue when choosing and once you get the "up the neck" thing
you'll realize that the "true test" of any 5er regardless of price
will be the "floppiness" of the B string and the test you have to run
where you compare the tone of the Open E string to the same E note
played on the B string. They should never sound appreciably different
either in tone or sustain. So go test basses. Find the one that feels
good, has the tone you love, and passes the "up the neck" test, and go
for it!

After that your problem will be, as John says, not playing the 5 but
trying to switch back to the 4!

Reject those urges from your reptilian brain. Evolution has long since
left it behind!

Good luck and welcome to the world of "real" basses!

Benj

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.


"Benj" <bjacoby@iwaynet . net > wrote in message
news:7e1f32f2-efca-40a8-9881-d76e99103be3@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups . com ...
>
>
> John Bigboote wrote:
>>
>> Going from four to five is easy. Going from five to four is a bitch.
>> Once you get used to how easy it is to play further on up the neck, it
>> takes some adjustment to go back down near the nut. Playing songs in
>> Ebm is no longer a carpal tunnel accident waiting to happen.
>
> John is right on. Lets talk philosophy. Bass guitars are 4 strings not
> because God intended it that way, but because upright basses had 4
> strings. The reason for that was that the size of the usual upright
> meant that acoustically a B string would be too low to have any decent
> volume produced. Electrification with bass guitars eliminated that
> reason. But by then 99.9% of songs worked with 4 strings. And people
> got used to it. (Personally I never did! Back in the old days when I
> played 4 strings I always had this feeling in my gut that there had to
> be a better way than cutting off the range at E. My first 5er
> eliminated the feeling forever!)
>
> So what about going to a "real"* bass? Some 4 string guys really
> resist it. But note that even hard core like Boomie grudgingly was
> forced to come around at least a little bit. Making the transition in
> my book is easy. The neck doesn't feel all that fat and all you have
> to do is get your head around E being the second "highest" string!
> What that much buys you is a few notes below E. Terrific for horns or
> key songs (think Eb). Good for rock with Synth-bass lines (one reason
> 5s became popular). And you really don't need to learn much more.
>
> Some guys stop right here. They are the kind who like to play way up
> at the nut so as to include the maximum number of open string notes
> and get the best tone and sustain. It's OK, but with modern basses you
> don't really need to do that anymore. Where 5 string basses really
> shine is when you move up the neck! You get your head around the scale
> patterns up there and now you have total freedom to play in any key. I
> must confess it took me a time to get there, in fact, it was getting a
> 6 string bass that forced me into learning the mid neck scales and all
> that automatically just transferred back to 5s so nice. That was when
> I finally realized that a 5 was a "real" bass! *
>
> * All "real" basses have 5 or more strings!
>
> Today 5 great 5 string basses are out there for a song. Hey even
> upright symphony guys play 5 strings today! It all makes so much
> sense.
>
> I very much agree with the opinions here that OLP, Yamaha and Ibanez
> are all killer 5 string buys. I even own a 5 string Fender (though the
> B string while OK is a bit less than stellar). Cripes, even my Rondo
> music SX (ash body and shielding added) 5 string blows the doors off
> many basses at a price so low you can't believe it. And there are
> many others out there. Shop around.
>
> HOWEVER, as others have noted, the "floppiness" of the B string is a
> key issue when choosing and once you get the "up the neck" thing
> you'll realize that the "true test" of any 5er regardless of price
> will be the "floppiness" of the B string and the test you have to run
> where you compare the tone of the Open E string to the same E note
> played on the B string. They should never sound appreciably different
> either in tone or sustain. So go test basses. Find the one that feels
> good, has the tone you love, and passes the "up the neck" test, and go
> for it!
>
> After that your problem will be, as John says, not playing the 5 but
> trying to switch back to the 4!
>
> Reject those urges from your reptilian brain. Evolution has long since
> left it behind!
>
> Good luck and welcome to the world of "real" basses!
>
> Benj
>

Thanks Benj!

What about active electronics? Should I be looking for a bass with that
feature or does it not really matter?

What about Fender 5'ers? Are there any brands that I should stay away from?

-DA

Re: I'm having unnatural urges....about a 5 string.

On 7 May, 13:54, "Axtman" <daxtATpacifierDOTcom> wrote:

> What about active electronics? Should I be looking for a bass with that
> feature or does it not really matter?

I don't think it really matters. But I'd bet the vast majority of 5-
string basses are active.

> What about Fender 5'ers? Are there any brands that I should stay away from?

I've never played a Fender 5 with an acceptable B string. YMMV.

-jb