BEAD is great too. Personally I prefer BEAD to a 5 - I am just not in to the 5-string string spacing - but yeah for modern metal you really want that B string, maybe in drop-A 
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I agree, BEAD tuning is a thing to try. Most of the 5 string bass lines sit on the lower strings anyway. GHS makes a set of BEAD strings, I have one and will likely try them out this weekend.
5 string changes a few things up. The fretboard is wider and flatter, the strings are closer, muting is more of an issue, and the 35" scale threw me off. Bass is heavier.
Nothing that canāt be practiced through, but BEAD is much friendlier
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And some Van Halen, and 80s synthy stuff. And a few other oddballs. B isnāt just for metal, theyāve just perfected it
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B is popular in modern country
Sometimes you might want the open D drone note too which is less convenient on the B string if you donāt have Louis Johnson sized thumbs.
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Watch this video starting at :50 seconds and say u donāt want a low b string
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-GSfkkShE
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I mean wanting a Dingwall is whole other storyā¦ 
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Personal preference again. I do agree that most modern metal bands seems to prefer 5 string bass and 7 string guitars. Gotta djent bro
Gojira is a good example that you really donāt need special metal instruments to play metal. Jean-Michel Labadie played on a 4 string Fender precision bass and Joe Duplantier has played on a 6 string tele (think it was a Charvel). Jean-Michel Labadie is a very underrated bass player imo. Seen them live together with Slayer \m/
I donāt find the spacing that troublesome on a 5 string (especially if you play it with a pick) and I also like 7 string guitars just because it feels more closer to the bass. 
Playing with your tuning is fun to do and with the right preamps you can make everything sound metal tbh. I think itās more about moving your fret hand less on more string guitars.
I really enjoyed these NAMM 2020 vids from these DG artists. They focussed on demoing the sound of the bass. Itās just good reference stuff. I know this more hardcore metal genre isnāt everyoneās cup of tea but Iām always really impressed by the technical performance of those kind of bands.
Olivier Pinard has a sick tune on his 5 string Spector:
Jared Smith on his 6 string Kiesel:
Yes please! Altho I wouldnāt mind a good Spector either.
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You have a Warwick, thatās a lot like having a good Spector 
I honestly wonder how many modern metal bands get up the neck on the G string much at all. Some for sure and obviously metal subgenre specific. But for most I bet (unscientifically) that BEAD would be fine.
But youāre gonna want a B string for sure.
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Actually I think BE would be enough 
Yeah for sure. Itās just an oldie and passive. I prefer my Solar 4 string in drop D. Iām staying away from a new bass or guitar for the next few years haha.
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I just knew you were going to link that clip haha. 
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Classic!
Soā¦thereās a guy an hour away that has a left handed dingwell 5 string multi scale that I am using this forum on a Saturday night to convince myself to go visit. It seems like itās different enough than my Jazz Bassā¦and maybe practicing on both will help me generalize. Thatās the current level of rationalization I have going on.
I see the advice to try things out - but wondering, what would I want to try out. The string spacing seems to be 18mm vs 19mm on my jazz bass, so that seems close enough. But yeah, I will try out songs I know on that one to see how they feel. But not sure how to test out how that B string will vibe with me. I am thinking I can play scales across all 5 strings and 12 bar blues patterns with the 1st or the 4th and 5th up on the B stringā¦what other things should I be trying out, to see if itās going to be a good, fun fit?
But I appreciate the advice here too, where if the 5 string doesnāt vibe great, that I can use another 4 in BEAD rationalization.
And just cause Iām posting - Scar Tissue by RHCP used the 21st fret of the G. That stands out to me, cause I only got 20 frets on my Jazz bass. It didnāt ārequireā it, cause I just skipped it and repeated the note on the 19th. But itās something this thread made me think ofā¦
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That 1 mm of spacing makes more difference than you think. And the width of the fretboard. To learn a 5 or 6 string in my opinion, you need to commit. Which I mean play it exclusively for a while. Going back to a 4 was like riding a bike. But the muting and spacing on the 5 took a while.
I kept bumping the next string when plucking. Just takes practice, nothing hard. And it improved my muting overall as it is more of an issue and I needed to step up my game.
That being said, I think they are wothwhile. You could play a walking bassline on it, you can start those in any key.
There are some basslines like Tainted Love which I find easier on a 5 string. Free Falling by Petty also works well on a 5.
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Dingwall are a thing all their own. I was really into the look of them, then I played one, and saved myself over $2000. For me the feel was fine, cool in fact, but I did not like the tone. YMMV. I went with a Lakland 55-02 and couldnāt be happier. Because of tone.
So my advice, check to insure you like the tones you can get. Itās another world from a jazz bass.
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Itās gong to depend a lot on ones technique and how they play and how easily they adapt to things. I donāt play my 5 strings all that much and it only takes me maybe a 10 minute warm up to get used to playing them. I find the 35in scale length (itās 37 on a Dingwall B) is a bigger deal than the 18mm spacing or even the 16.5mm spacing on my fretless. If I play fretless a lot, going back to fretted is more of a challenge than spacing of anything.
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I was hoping that itād take a minute or two for me to feel like this just wasnāt going to work. But it kept feeling better and better. Iāve been trying to get my thumb more perpendicular to the frets when near the head stock, as I was getting some tingles every now and then. This neck, is wider for the 5 strings, but felt like a thinner C than I have? And something about the way it curved near the head really encouraged that thumb to slide around. Floating thumb muting seemed do-ableā¦I think the thing is, Iām just not good enough to really benefit from such a nice bass. Like, I went golfing once in Hawaii, bragging about how tough a course it was. I lost the same number of balls as I normally do - Iām used to not breaking 100. The course just gave me better stories about lost balls (into a jungle! Into the ocean!) I donāt think Iām good enough to play this bass - which is strange -I have no imposter syndrome issues in other aspects of life - why am I getting it here! But I figure, I just keep reading these boards and Iāll get enough rationalizations and will buy the bass. My wife was surprised we left without me buying itā¦she feels its inevitable, and I might as well just start practicing on it sooner rather than later. 1 rationalization closer to getting it!
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Awesome! Glad you found something you like.
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Yes, 5 and 6 string necks can be thinner and flatter. Less U.
But what it comes down to is whatās most comfortable for you. Which only you can answer.
If itās the right bass, itās the right bass and thatās all that matters.
Noodling on a 5 and 6 string improved my muting technique and I naturally gravitated to floating thumb.
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