WHAT DO I DO

I have two basses. One is broken (the nut came off, don't ask 'cause I don't know ), and is a 4-string. One is not broken, and is a 5-string. I want to get my 4-string fixed up. Question is, what do I do with it once it's fixed up?

I definitely want flatwounds on one of my basses. I love the sound, I love the feel. But I also want to slap, and flatwounds aren't exactly great for slappin'. Flatwound 5-string sets are incredibly hard to get hold of for a reasonable price, so I'm thinking of putting roundwounds on my 5-string and using that for slapping, and putting flatwounds on my 4-string and using that for reggae and the like... but wouldn't using my 4-string for slapping be better than using my 5-string?

Or should I try out halfwound strings? Never used halfwound strings, but they sound like they'd solve all my problems in one fell swoop... or would they simply be a rubbish imitation of both rounds and flats?

This guy does alright for slap with 6 strings

Sounds like one vote for rounds on the 5 and flats on the 4... anyone have a conflicting opinion?

I've posted this before, but as far as extended range slapping, this is your guy.

I would put rounds on my 5 and flats on my 4, but because you would be playing raygay and stuff with the flats, I'd say you should go for the 5.

Actually it depends on the spacing between the strings. True, those guys have 6 string basses, but the strings are spaced as if they were on a 4 string.
Secondly, what kind of slap would you be doing? The sophisticated jazz-funk thing in those videos or the chaotic punk-funk slap ala Flea?

I have a 5-string bass, but the neck is as wide as that of a 4-string so the strings are jammed quite close. I can still slap on it, but I can't really cut loose as much as I want.
Since I prefer the chaotic slap stylings of Flea I use decided to use my 4-string for it. Plus, it has a waaaaaay better slap sound on it's own.

So I put flats on my 5-string. They're costly, but I figured I could afford 2 D'addario chrome packs a year.
I put nickelwounds on the 4-string, because they supposedly grant a better slap sound. Can't say I'm disappointed

Also, if you play reggae, you will want some deep sounding notes, and the 5-string basses are usually better for that (excluding the big-bucks models)
I would vote for 5 flat and 4 round (or nickel if you want to experiment).

What basses do you have by the way?

MetalJacob wrote:I would put rounds on my 5 and flats on my 4, but because you would be playing raygay and stuff with the flats, I'd say you should go for the 5.

Raygay. Ha Ha! Love it!

Stryfer wrote:Actually it depends on the spacing between the strings. True, those guys have 6 string basses, but the strings are spaced as if they were on a 4 string.
Secondly, what kind of slap would you be doing? The sophisticated jazz-funk thing in those videos or the chaotic punk-funk slap ala Flea?

I have a 5-string bass, but the neck is as wide as that of a 4-string so the strings are jammed quite close. I can still slap on it, but I can't really cut loose as much as I want.
Since I prefer the chaotic slap stylings of Flea I use decided to use my 4-string for it. Plus, it has a waaaaaay better slap sound on it's own.

So I put flats on my 5-string. They're costly, but I figured I could afford 2 D'addario chrome packs a year.
I put nickelwounds on the 4-string, because they supposedly grant a better slap sound. Can't say I'm disappointed

Also, if you play reggae, you will want some deep sounding notes, and the 5-string basses are usually better for that (excluding the big-bucks models)
I would vote for 5 flat and 4 round (or nickel if you want to experiment).

What basses do you have by the way?

My natural kind of slap style is somewhere in between. It's closer to the jazz-funk style in terms of how it looks, but it's closer to Flea's in terms of how I play.

I have an Ibanez 305 and a Crafter something. The Crafter was my first bass and I still don't actually know what model it is... I just walked into the shop and picked out a bass I liked the look of

Not sure about the Crafter, but I have an Ibanez GSR205. The flats helped reduce the overly treblish sound. Actually, you heard it on my video That's the sound I got.

Buy another 4-string and another 5-string, making you win at life forever and move on to the next level.

I don't even know what kind (round or flat) of strings I'm using, but they're good. Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies. Get some of those. For everything. Ever.

Those are roundwounds

Trust me, there's a huge difference between rounds and flats. Flats are like an attempt to bring the electric bass closer to the sound of the doublebass.
Imagine really dead rounds, but with tone. Then imagine that when you slide from one end of the string to the other your skin doesn't burn