The 5-String Double Bass

[Paul Warburton]

I been 5ing it for so long, I have trouble playing a 4 stringer.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

I been 5ing it for so long, I have trouble playing a 4 stringer.

Paul, Please come by and bring your bow. Play in one of the orchestras for one night and then tell me it's not a problem!

If it was jazz pizz, I don't think it would have been so hard but with the bow, yikes!

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Paul, Please come by and bring your bow. Play in one of the orchestras for one night and then tell me it's not a problem!

If it was jazz pizz, I don't think it would have been so hard but with the bow, yikes!

What kind of man are you?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

What kind of man are you?

Paul, please keep the questions simple..

[Jeff Tranauskas]

Ken,
I am sorry to hear that the mighty 5er is gone for good.
Did you try playing it when it was strung with a high C?
If so, did you feel the high C was any benefit to the style of music that you play?
For me the age old saying "some is good, more is better" applies with regard to string quantity. I've had a Shen Willow previously that I played side by side with the 5er and ended up going with the 5 over the 4.
Of course my skill set ( on a scale of 1-10) is in the negative numbers.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff Tranauskas

Ken,
I am sorry to hear that the mighty 5er is gone for good.
Did you try playing it when it was strung with a high C?
If so, did you feel the high C was any benefit to the style of music that you play?
For me the age old saying "some is good, more is better" applies with regard to string quantity. I've had a Shen Willow previously that I played side by side with the 5er and ended up going with the 5 over the 4.
Of course my skill set ( on a scale of 1-10) is in the negative numbers.

Well Jeff, I did play it for a bit but mostly for the buyer to listen to it from various distances to judge its tone.

I personally would not play it with a high C. By the way, all the Strings put on were older used Spiro Reds and not new strings. My point on the strings was that the Bass sounded great with Spiros and more open than I had ever heard it. Also, the tension was actually loosed than it was with either 2/3 Flex/Perm, 4/1 Flex/Perm and maybe even all 5 Flatchromes. The Reds really sounded good on the Bass and the Spiro 'edge' was gone 10 feet away from the Bass, much to my surprise.

For Jazz, that Bass sounded great with the Reds. For me now that I have been shedding some rapid Extension passages I have decided to stick with a 4/ext or just 4 as needed for orchestra playing. On the other hand, I did a Jazz duo last week in Philly with a great Pianist and used my Bisiach with Ext. The Bisiach has a Thomastic Superflexible/Ropecore Ext E/C string on it and sounds huge for Pizz or bowing but doesn't Bow as well as Flexocor. It's sound makes up for the extra effort with the Bow but I still might go back to Flex on that E/C as it's all I had handy for Jeff when he finished up the Ext job.

The High 'C; to me is more of a musical thing than a string choice. If I were doing only Jazz and playing a 5er (that Bass!), I might use Reds and a low B, just like Uncle Pauly does..

[David Powell]

Well, I'm afraid I've become a 5-er guy for life. I'll just have to put up with the infrequent unintended double stops. I'd really miss the low string and the way it plays just like all the others. Theres just nothing like dropping down that extra octave to C or D or B or even the Eb in the jazz ensembles. I don't know if I would ever go to more than 5, but 5 seems more and more comfortable now that I'm using them on all the basses. I do think it would be quite confusing trying to switch back and forth unless I just spent all day everyday switching basses. Back to practice .....

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

Well, I'm afraid I've become a 5-er guy for life. I'll just have to put up with the infrequent unintended double stops. I'd really miss the low string and the way it plays just like all the others. Theres just nothing like dropping down that extra octave to C or D or B or even the Eb in the jazz ensembles. I don't know if I would ever go to more than 5, but 5 seems more and more comfortable now that I'm using them on all the basses. I do think it would be quite confusing trying to switch back and forth unless I just spent all day everyday switching basses. Back to practice .....

I hear you loud and clear about the double stops. That was a major problem for me and sometimes just a single stop but missing by a string..

Last night I took out one of my Excerpt Books and tried one of the Brandenbergs' using a 4-str w/Ext. It was much easier playing it with only 4 strings and the open 'C' but when I had to quickly hit a D or Eb and jump into a run a string or two up it wasn't so easy. Hitting a shorter sounding quarter note or eighth is not so bad jumping back on the extension but missing the string entirely and playing a completely wrong note is much worse I think.

Now I am working on the Storm parts with a CD to play it up to speed. Again, when not playing below the E, I don't have that 'B' pushing the other strings further away from me of have confusion of which string I'm on or the occasional Dbl Stop mistake.

Also, I've done a few Jazz gigs and playing some Lows on the Extension when wanted is much easier then playing them when written!

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Also, I've done a few Jazz gigs and playing some Lows on the Extension when wanted is much easier then playing them when written!

You always make it sound like jazz players don't have to deal with as many probllems as classical players and I think your right.