which is the weapon of choice in here?

Well, it really depends on the style of playing. I prefer 4 strings, just because i don't see much need for more. I mean, it is pretty cool to be able to get high notes from a bass, but these sound better with a guitar. The whole purpose of the bass is to provide the coverage of lower tones that the guitar can't reach and set the beat(well, maybe that musch in metal, but still).

__________________

Depends on style I play...

For black metal/gothic/dark shit, I like seven strings - to make cool solos. (Yeah I know, I like to relate to normal 6-strings...)
For grindcore shit, I like four strings - if there's more, I always get confused... You know, that grindcore isn't the slowest style...

__________________

I get the job done with four, that's all I need.

__________________

If you want to buy a 5 string, just think about your music style first.. It's a bit more difficult to play because the neck is thicker and the bass is (much) heavier.
I do think you could get used to this easy though...
it's just a matter of musicstyle.

4 string for ever

dude...the 5 string bass gives you an extra low b, not a high one

__________________

Nuh uh, the one in music has an extre string that is a B, that would be the low 7th string on a 7string guiatr

so it goes

e - Guiatr
b - Guitar
g - Guitar
d - Guitar
a - Guiatr
e - Guitar
b - Guitar/Bass
g - BAss
d - Bass
a - Bass
e - Bass


Well thats whats in my Sheets fro music Book Starting form Thickest bass string, to thinnest guitar

__________________

5 string basses give you a low b

Well i'll be jiggered!

Makes snese now i think about it......

__________________

I´ve heard that the highest string on a 6-string is a "C", because basses are all the way tuned about "the fifths", when they come from the builder.
But 5-strings defianetly have a low b string.

__________________

yeah they got a low B string, like "duh!"
hehe...
anyways, IF you want to buy a 5 string be sure to check the b string out really good, lots of basses have muddy or/and floppy B strings that sound like shite.

i like the five string better, its just harder to play

__________________

I dont really see the point of having a 4 if you can get a decent 5, it just gives you the opportunity to have more options, be more creative, and be able to play some shit that require the low b. The neck might be a bit thicker but your not gonna be holding any major chords on a bass all that often or strumming it, so why not just get a 5 string?

well if you play realllly fast music like grindcore and stuff you won't need the 5th string that much and you definetly won't need the thick neck to go with it.
second, 5 string basses just play diffrent, it's a bit harder to play and they are more heavy, ofcourse it's just a matter of what you like when you pick a bass.
for me personally I still don't know, I think I'm going to buy a decent 5 string or get a musicman stingray.

5-strings are very good. But i need a 5-string-bass with the normal string spacing. I just can´t play with smaller string-spacing. The Ibanez BTB-series has a good string-spacing and of course all the Warwicks with broad neck. But the signature-Korn-bass sucks. It has this Korn-inlet and the string spacing is so small.

__________________

yes and the K5 looks like a pimpmobile if you ask me.
if you want a really good 5 string, buy a musicman stingray, it has the normal spacing and it sounds really really great, I would prefer it over a warwick every day.
then there's also the BTB series from Ibanez, yes, but one small thing, those pickups on the "economical" BTB's really suck, I tried one but I didn't like the sound, like most ibanez basses the pickups just suck.
only the expensive "prestige" models have bartolini pickups (which are pretty good)

if you want a 5 string with the normal string spacing there's still a lot of instruments to choose from, but the downside is that those instruments mostly just cost more money. OH yeah ever heard of BassCollection? they make pretty kickass basses.

Vice versa. I don´t like the sound of a stingray, but i like them of the BTBs. Don´t ask me why.
I didn´t heard of BassCollection. Just found some pics in the web. They look quite normal, but the 5-strings have the same spacing than the 4-strings. And i know now, that they are from NL.
Some good german bass brands
http://www.lefay.de/
http://www.ritter-basses.de
http://www.humanbase.de/
http://www.marleaux-bass.de/
and of course Warwick.

__________________

owww, yeah I checked those sites, Ritter makes really pretty basses!
I saw the Marleaux and HumanBase basses in the musicstorekoeln catalog but I didn't like their body shape at all.
same goes for the Warwicks, the look silly but they sound great..
Those lefay basses also look nice, cool bridge system, but they are probably reallllly expensive..

hmm, well everybody has got a diffrent taste, that's why they make so many diffrent basses, that's a good thing, uhm, well what type of BTB did you try?
I've tried those blue/purple cheap 405QTM one's, and they had pretty shitty pickups, but the expensive BTB with bartolini's sounded really good! (kinda like the SR3000 series but with way more low end)

basscollection doesn't have a website and actually yes it's a dutch manufacturer, the string spacing is indeed the same witch is nice (I can't play with a tighter string spacing either) I will try a basscollection next week, I'll let you know if they are worth the money. they aren't really expensive like the marleaux basses or something but they are more expensive then Ibanez and probably even warwick.. they do have custom made EMG's or Bartolini's on them and they are fully handmade.

I tried the cheap one, too. I liked the sound. Perhaps i had luck with the amp i choosed for trying and had bad luck with the stingray testing-amp. But i don´t know anymore which amp i choosed. But the Ibanez even sounded good unamplified (does this word exists??) and it had a good tone and good sustain.

BTW get the catalogue of MusikProduktiv ( http://www.musik-produktiv.de ) in Ibbenbüren. They say it is the biggest guitar-store in the world, but the staff sucks, damn unfriendly suckers!!! And get the catalogue of Art of Sound in Cologne ( http://www.art-of-sound.de/ ).

__________________