Curious about picking up a 5'er

[jliptak06]

Aight people, Ive been slamming around on a 4 banger for about 8 years now. Really looking into picking up a 5 string to expand the sound and my knowledge. Issue right of the bat is the string spacing for slap. I played guitar for 5 years before moving to bass so my left hand doesnt bother me, but my right hand is all messed up on it. Any other's care to share their experience on moving to a 5 string and share some techniques and/or tricks to make it smoother.

 

[MrMusashi]

my personal experience is that moving back and forth takes some time to settle in. if you are considering a sr5 you will have to remember that the string spacing is smaller than on your regular 4 string.

i see you have a dual pickup mm. if you adjusted to playing slap on that without a problem you will probably not have any problems going to a 5 string either.
personally i think the ultimate test is to see if you can slap on a bongo hh model. if you manage that you can do anything

however, i am not you so the only way to tell is to go and try some basses. 19,5mm string spacing, 17mm string spacing. single picups, dual pickups..
it will be wierd with the extra string, but you should get a feel for if your thumb hits what it needs to hit. so ignore left hand confusion

hth

MrM

 

[njhammer]

I have no problem switching between 4 and 5 strings, but I do find the 5ers noticeably tight for slapping and have to concentrate much harder on the job at hand.

 

[jliptak06]

my personal experience is that moving back and forth takes some time to settle in. if you are considering a sr5 you will have to remember that the string spacing is smaller than on your regular 4 string.

i see you have a dual pickup mm. if you adjusted to playing slap on that without a problem you will probably not have any problems going to a 5 string either.
personally i think the ultimate test is to see if you can slap on a bongo hh model. if you manage that you can do anything

however, i am not you so the only way to tell is to go and try some basses. 19,5mm string spacing, 17mm string spacing. single picups, dual pickups..
it will be wierd with the extra string, but you should get a feel for if your thumb hits what it needs to hit. so ignore left hand confusion

hth

MrM

Yeah when I first picked up the Sterling it was a little tight with the neck humbucker, but I normally slap right where the neck ends so it was really not a big ordeal. I would love to get my hands on a bongo and slap it around for awhile. Couldn't stand the way it looked at first but it's grown on me a bit. You make very valid points, being in South Korea makes it a little difficult to try MM's out before buying. I'd have to make an hour and half trip to Seoul for that, which would be completely worth it and is hopefully going to happen in two weeks. 3 floors of nothing but musical equipment... Heaven on earth! I'll fiddle around on a few they have downtown, try to get as many specs on the neck and the spacing as I can. Hopefully I can get a good idea of what I like. I know comparing my Warwick to my Sterling, I feel ten times smoother on the Sterling cause it has a slimmer neck and a tighter spacing. If I like a tighter spacing on a four, I shouldn't mind a Five.

 

[kamakazee]

Give it 2 weeks, and you'll be slapping on a 5 (or even a 6) just as well as you were slapping on a 4. Try slapping a low D or low C on a Bongo's B string - make sure you dial in plenty of neck pickup - you'll fall in love instantly.

 

[jliptak06]

Give it 2 weeks, and you'll be slapping on a 5 (or even a 6) just as well as you were slapping on a 4. Try slapping a low D or low C on a Bongo's B string - make sure you dial in plenty of neck pickup - you'll fall in love instantly.

Funny thing is that my friend here in Korea plays a 5 string and he said the exact same thing. Except for the bongo part lol just need to get my hands on a bongo

 

[Golem]

`

If you dislike the looks of the Boingo ... isn't that
just all the more reason to slap it around some ;-)


`

 

[tkarter]

Slap is what you do to guitar players that think they are bass players.

tk

 

[ivbenaplayin]

Slap is what you do to guitar players that think they are bass players.

tk

t-shirt...

 

[jliptak06]

slap is what you do to guitar players that think they are bass players.

Tk

win!

 

[MrMusashi]

Slap is what you do to guitar players that think they are bass players.

tk

watch this from 1.09 into the song.. then count how many slaps you would need.. lol

Casiopea - Galactic Funk - YouTube

MrM

 

[jliptak06]

watch this from 1.09 into the song.. then count how many slaps you would need.. lol

Casiopea - Galactic Funk - YouTube

MrM

Sorry chief, I got nothing... Wow, pretty sure my mind just blew up! \m/

 

[tkarter]

watch this from 1.09 into the song.. then count how many slaps you would need.. lol

Casiopea - Galactic Funk - YouTube

MrM

None he ain't stealing the bass line.
tk

 

[tbonesullivan]

How hard the transition is depends on how you play. I play only finger style, so I really didn't have any trouble at all adjusting to a 5 with narrower string spacing and a slightly wider neck. Also as one of my friends said "well if you don't end up using the low B at least you have a nice thumb rest".

In the end though you've gotta go try it out to find out.

 

[Gravesend Black]

How hard the transition is depends on how you play. I play only finger style, so I really didn't have any trouble at all adjusting to a 5 with narrower string spacing and a slightly wider neck. Also as one of my friends said "well if you don't end up using the low B at least you have a nice thumb rest".

In the end though you've gotta go try it out to find out.

B string thumb rest adds you some versatility and comfort)