Five String Basses Are the Future. Here's Why

Strong opinion: the orchestral bass world needs to move toward purpose-built five string basses, and we need to talk about it.
Gary breaks down why C extensions — while still widely used and something we continue to install — may not be the best long-term path forward. 

Why many five strings have not been working as well as they could. (hint: they're conversions, not purpose-built)
The string tension mismatch problem nobody talks about — and how fixing the E string was a pivotal moment for this bass
Why playing in the C extension range is genuinely bad for your shoulder, scapula, and neck
Fingerboard width, bridge arc, and what a properly set up five string actually needs
The mental shift required to play and hear in five strings
Why the US industry is behind, and what it'll take to catch up

We're continuing to refine neck dimensions, fingerboard roundness, and string isolation to get five strings where they need to be. The technology is there. The will needs to follow.
If you're dealing with shoulder or neck pain from playing up high, or you've tried a five string and been disappointed — this one's for you.

Transcript

Why Five Strings Matter

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Strong opinion here. Five string bases. It's the thing to do. We're getting there and we're going to continue to get there. We're going to continue to refine things like the neck dimensions, the roundness of the fingerboard, isolation of the strings. But one of the things I wanted to point out, right? C extensions. Many basses are built as four strings. You could put a C extension on it. You nearly have all of the range that you do, minus a little. So many instruments built as four strings

C Extensions Versus Full Five

SPEAKER_00 0:26

that have bass bars and dimensions that are built to be fours with a C extension. You see them in all the at least majority of American symphonies, and it's a required piece of equipment to play the rep. Five strings, why doesn't it work? Well, most five strings I've seen are conversions, a lot of factory type bases that are kind of built as four string bases with five-string kind of kit on them. Limitations, in my opinion, are fingerboard dimensions, widths, uh bridge dimensions, width, the uh arc that we can get on the bridge, uh relative to the fingerboard, playability, isolation, so on and so forth. But one of the factors we don't talk about are string mismatches. And I think a really big piece of misinformation. We say, oh, you know, the A strings really don't speak because they're down the middle of the bridge and it

The Real Issue Is String Tension

SPEAKER_00 1:12

can't rock. And a lot of people have kind of regurgitated that information and then played five strings and said, hey, it doesn't work. This bass, for example, I was having some trouble with the E-string, and it sounds great now. But the problem on this bass was a string mismatch tension problem, and I could immediately feel it as I played it. The E-string from the same set did not have enough tension. So one of the ways I got there was not only did I put a different E-string on, this is a Thomastic Sparcore 3885 medium intended for a shorter string, like aiming to get a little bit more tension out of it on this base. The A, D, and G are the Spyro Medium S42. And I think I want to even go to the Vikes to lighten them up a bit more. But that E-string change was a pivotal moment for this bass. Had I handed this to someone thinking about a five string with that wrong E-string on there, they would have gone, oh, I've lost that great that great bottom end sound. The B string, I think it could be even thicker. Feel your what your arm has to do. I I know a lot of top-level players with arm problems, hand problems, tendinitis issues, technically uh having kind of

Ergonomics And Orchestra Injuries

SPEAKER_00 2:51

like body body dysmorphia stuff going on where like their scapula is raised up, neck impingements, lots of pain. Largely in the orchestra world, playing up here, this is a bad territory for your shoulder. Perhaps if you're sitting and you can get it right down here, that makes more sense to me across from the face. But if you play with your shoulder and you push on an item, put put it push on something here. Now put your hand above your head and see how much tension you don't have up here. Having to do this with dexterity, sound, and then kind of turn off, go to that lizard brain and be able to do as a performance and with with top, top level uh finesse and sound, all the things that musicians embody. I just think it's it's a bad idea. And yes, we're still gonna keep putting C extensions on basses. We've done tons of them, but I do think the forward movement as we progress through this is five strings, purpose-built five strings, that we continue to adjust and finesse, and as you guys know, I love the word hone to get them to be really capable uh instruments. Another problem, you get so used to playing a four-string. Where's G? Oh, wait, that's a D now. It really does throw you off. I'm not gonna I I get why people kind of say, oh,

Relearning The Neck And Ear

SPEAKER_00 4:03

some guys will say to me, like, I can play six string electric, the five string's weird, four-string makes sense to me. It takes some plasticity and some practice. But it I can tell you, the more you play a five, the more you can think in a five, the more you can hear in a five. It's another thing I think players like don't really hear those low 20 hertz notes very well sometimes. So it takes some training. You certainly have to hear it over here. One thing that's nice about a C extension is you get this big old string, and as you open up the gate, you get this nice or ample space to with your bow. This string height, right? I can't fit my finger underneath here. This string height is significantly lower than this C

Fingerboard Relief And String Height

SPEAKER_00 4:49

extension height relative to how much relief there is in the board here. Look at this. I can fit my finger the same, I have the same dimension. Here I have even more. I have this massive amount of relief to make the C extension work. Here we have less, less, less, less, less, less, less gone. So if this were my bass, I'd bring that E string up, I'd bring that A up, I'd bring that D up. See, I just did it. I'd bring that B string up, the E string up, the A string up, and I actually could use to make a rounder board. Idea, an even wider board, slightly flared. We don't have any flare here. This is very much so a nicely proportioned feeling four-string neck making a five-string work with nice string spacing. See, it's not this isn't craziness. You know, I can fit my thumb over here, I can kind of fit my thumb over here. This doesn't feel like, oh gosh, this is too tight. But I think it'll be a while before the industry, at least in the US, starts to adapt to this. Someone in the world of high, high esteem playing C extension work to really want to take the dive into perfecting and getting us all the way there no matter what it takes with a five string. I think there's a thing here. Um, it's gonna require more and more and more honing. Uh, meanwhile, everyone that's talking to me about the sea extensions and shoulder impingements and neck things and such and such, we're gonna be talking more and more about five strings because I know they can do it. That's really my position. And I hope that other people will scratch at it and let's talk, guys. Thanks.