welp, i guess i'm a 5 string guy. i know it doesn't sound like really much of anything but it goes a bit deeper than surface level. let me explain.
for virtually my entire career of playing bass i've firmly identified as a 4-string guy and played 4 strings exclusively. when thinking or talking about 5-strings i'd quickly dismiss them as "unnecessary" or "not my thing". i'm positive i've been rather disparaging towards them and made fun of bassists that play them. i admit it.
for a while though i had sort of thought to myself, "well, i ought to have one to be a well-equipped bassist" but it never went any further than that. in fact, i'd even say i have no place playing one because 4 strings was plenty and i hadn't even come close to getting a good handle on a 4 string anyhow. then i got one.
i played it for about 5 minutes, maybe, and then put it back in the case and stuffed it in the back of the closet. it was awkward, i didn't understand it, and it made me feel bad as bassing. out of sight, out of mind. every now and again i'd dig it out and play it for a few minutes and then send it back to the recesses of the closet for another month. it was to remain a novelty.
several months ago i decided i was fully capable of learning how to play it so i made the effort. i still played mostly my 4 string basses but at least i was putting in more time on it. each time i picked it up it felt a little more natural until i really didn't think about it anymore. for the past month i've been playing it almost exclusively and i'm really into it. the bass itself is super well designed and made so it's a pleasure to play, but hitting an occasional C# or something is super satisfying simply because it is effectively a pitch to me.
i've thought about it and it really strikes me as being identical to shooting photos with strobes. a lot of photographers, me included, will say that they only shoot "natural light" as if it means something. well, it does... it means "i don't know how to use strobes". now, i'll just state for the record you don't need to use strobes for anything, but saying you only shoot natural light is just justification for not learning how to use them.
i absolutely was the same way. i steered clear of strobes for a long time. when i put in the effort to learn them my photographic ability jumped dramatically. i mean, it's literally controlling light... if that isn't photography i don't know what is. the point is, i had rationalized and justified not using something because i didn't understand it. well that was awfully silly of me.
back to bass. i got on board with the 5 string. i took a thing i didn't understand and shied away from and made it a thing i'm really into. in retrospect it was ridiculous to act like that, but hey, that's what people do. i mean, i did it with strobes and 5-strings, i'd like to say i've learned my lesson. i hope i have because i may be missing out on something else that's super cool.
