4 string or 5 string????

[cogicguy]

I have been playing on my 4 string bass for about 7 months now. Everyone is telling me that most gospel bass players use 5 string to get that deeper note. So should I switch to the 5 since its still early or just learn to master the 4 string?

[funkStrat_97]

It's all up to you.  A 5-string bass does open the possiblity of an extended lower range and you can also play higher up on the neck without having to shift around to hit lower notes.  But there are some things to consider.  One of them is finding a 5-string that is comfortable to play.  Some people just don't like the wider necks no matter how well made the bass happens to be.  But I would encourage you to take your time and don't run out and get a 5 becuase "everybody" seems to be using them.  With the exception of a few extra low notes, you can cover a lot of territory on a regualr 4-string bass.  Besides, if it worked for Jacco it's good enough for me.  But if you feel personally that you either need or want a five, then go for it.  There are som options that are available if you want to stay with a 4-string.  One of them is to use a HipShot Bass X-Tender key.  Depending on how you have it set up, you can get down to low B.  Lots of people swear by them and there are even some 5-string players who use them to go lower than B.  I personally play a 5.

[MikeGee]

It's up to you. you are cogicguy, I'm mike gilmer, I own a 5 but my 4 is my #one bass end of story.

as for the waiting part again it's up to you if you want 5string get if you want to stick to the 4 get it now and put the 5 string in the corner, if you'd like get both and learn both.

hope this help.

I have my 5 down pack or as much as I can play the 4. I plan to be a 4 string player. any song in the world can be played on a 4 string.

[Cone]

Learn the 4-string first Bro because it will help you become a better player.  Also the 4-string is more challenging.  I have both, but I started with the 4-string then the 5-string.  Good Luck!!

[The Dojz]

You should learn as much as you can with a 4 string and then migrate up to a five.  That's what I did.  I talked with lotsa cats that started out with all these strings and when push came to shove, and they happened to not have their bass with them, when all that was available for them to play was a 4 string, they flopped.  But only you know what you can do, gotta go with what works for you, friend.  Feel me?

[mr.dj]

Basically you have to do what's comfortable for you I started out on the 4string and about a year later switched to a 5 but once I started playing the 5string playing got alot easier but I can't play a 4 string anymore, so if you do switch keep on playing your 4 string

[corbro007]

Honestly just choose one and learn it to the full extent.  I never played a 4 string first starting out and picked up a 5 string and went to town, but then I picked up a 4 string and had to learn a new way to position the notes without having to play lower on the higher fret in which I was used to on the five string.  So then I forced myself to never use the low B string to condition myself to play a song with out the dependancy of the low string.  But in a nut shell get 5 string and learn every note and every position possible and make yourself learn without the Lower string so you don't because too dependant on it, cause there maybe a gig you might run into where you left your 5 string at phone and you may have to play the song on a 4 and you don't want to be lost.

[acts2-38]

i switched to a 5 after about 4-5 months of playing and Im glad I did. Using a 5 string made it a lot easier for me to learn songs. But now days, they are almost always using 6 strings in the gospel music industry.

[ddwilkins]

I agree with Corbro007.  I started out of a 5 string and went to my present day 6 string.  It's hard for me to play for cuz I'm kinda dependent on that low B string.  I kinda wished that I had learned the 4 string first and then went up, but as others have said, most gospel players today use 5 or 6 string strings.  I am going to get me a 4 string so that I will be fluent with all three. 

[malthumb]

Why not consider 4 AND 5 string?  If you are in a position where you can have more than one bass, why not make one a 4 string and the other a 5?  They are not mutually exclusive.  I learned on a 4, because way back in the dark ages, that's all we had  But once I got used to playing a 5-string, I found that pretty much anything I could play on a 4, I could play on a 5 by just ignoring that the B-string is there.  Or I could move everything down a string and play in positions that required less movement than sometimes required on a 4 string.  I often play a 6 string and pretty much ignore the high C string unless I really need it for chording (which I rarely do) or just moving to more comfortable positions or fingering patterns.

Keep in mind, when you add the B string to go from a 4 string to a 5 string, you are really only adding 5 notes that cannot be played on a normally tuned 4 string.  Thing is, when you need those notes, you REALLY need them.

Try playing "In The Sanctuary" on a 4 string, then play it on a 5 string.  My Praise Team is working on this for Sunday morning    When the bass line moves from Bb played on the G string up a half tone to B, it sounds okay if you use the B that's 7th fret on the G string or 2nd fret on the A string, but it is thunderous when you can use an open B and play the D and the E on the B string.  And you can still bounce the octaves to give it that funky low to high feel.  It's a totally different feel playing it on a 4 string compared to a 5 string.  Of course, if I REALLY want to, I can play it on the 5 string EXACTLY the same way I would play it on a 4 string.

Peace,

James

fwiw - here's how I'd play the first change in "In The Sanctuary" on a 4 string, then on a 5 string......I think it's pretty close.  Tabbing from "air bass" in the office can look pretty wierd when people walk past my office and wonder why I'm flailing away   

G--------------------------------------------5----------------9----------------------------6----------
D---------------------------8------------------------------------------------9-------------------------
A------4-6---4-3--4---------4-6---4-3--4----------5-7---5-4--5-------5-7---5-4--5--------
E--6------------------4-6---------------------4-6-7------------------5-7------------------5-7----


G-------------------------------------------5-----------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------8----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A------4-6---4-3--4--------4-6---4-3--4--------------------------------2-------------------------
E--6------------------4-6--------------------4-5-----------------------------5-7--------------------
B---------------------------------------------------0-0--3-5--3-2--3-0-0--------3-2--3-0-0-----