I’ve been threatening to buy a fretless for awhile now and have narrowed my choice down to an Ibanez SRF Portamento. I’ve been waiting for my birthday (just about a week away) as the perfect excuse to treat myself and was about to place an order but now I’m in a quandary. The store I was about to order from had the four string on offer but now they have the five string even cheaper. It’s only about £20 cheaper which is neither here nor there but it is unusual for a five string to be cheaper than a four string.
Now, I currently own four basses and all are four string. I’ve never really had any interest in owning a five string but i’m wondering whether this might be a great opportunity to add some diversity to my arsenal. One day I might even want to play a five string but on the other hand I tell myself I’m a bit of a four string purist and that redundant bottom string will just annoy me.
So, what would you go for? As always I’ll probably get 50% of opinions for 5 string and 50% for 4 string resulting in absolutely no clarity so I’m more interested in the reasons behind your recommendation.
It’s a personal choice of course. I’m sticking with 4-string mainly for the reason that I find the B-String too low for my personal taste in music. I also struggle reaching all the strings on a 4-string and while I know I could reach the 4 highest strings easier on a 4-string than on a 5-string, I think the low B would be a stretch a bit too far for me. And yet, I know there are little kids playing 6-strings and what not.
Watch Scott’s “why you shouldn’t play a 5 string bass” video on YouTube. Contrary to what the title suggests he isn’t actually telling you not to buy one, he just brings up some arguments that might help you decide whether you really want/need a 5 string or not.
Also, a lot of music aimed for the fretless will be for a 4-string, because that’s what an upright is. Of course, you can play what ever style music you want on it though.
If possible, go try a 5-string (fretted is fine) in a shop. Then you will probably have your answer.
I had an Ibanez 5 string fretless and loved it. However, I must caution you, playing fretless is a bit of a challenge, mainly with the intonation. Not to say you can’t do it, I’m just pointing out that the absence of frets creates the need to land your fingers precisely on the right spot to get the correct tone.
With that said, this may not be the best scenario to venture into the 5 string arena. When I got my 5 string fretless, I was already honed in on the 5 string concept, so I didn’t have that extra challenge thrown in.
Just something to think about. My opinions are worth about 2 cents, and I just gave you the full value.
I would go 4 string first vs. adding in complexities of two things at the same time. Both come with ‘opportunities’ to excel on after much practice. However, combined, you may find yourself not playing it.
I have a fretless AE bass and a Yammy 5 string, and I am happy they are not mated (however, if they did mate and started producing 5 string fretless basses I would be cool with that, and I would share with your all).
I agree with @JT that you are going to want to play it for a lot of 4-string music. I do a lot of ‘looking’ for the fret markers, and if you are not used to that big B string staring at you in the way, you may have more trouble than it’s worth.
Thanks guys. Your responses have actually allowed me to focus and come to a decision on the four string. Simple fact is I just dont play music that requires a five string but they are different challenges and if I ever decide a low B is missing in my life I will buy a dedicated 5 string. Having played a bit of fretless previously I know how important it is to be able to see the precise positioning of the fretting hand and having a thick bottom string that does nothing other than make it more difficult to see the other four seems counter-productive.
I tried 5 string and failed miserably. Possibly I should have persevered a bit longer but it began to take a lot of the fun out of playing for me and to be brutally honest I struggle with 4 strings at times
I have the SRF700 (4 strings) but I must admit that it mainly sits in the closet waiting for me to become a better player. I mainly got it out of curiosity and for its killer looks. The sound is awesome, especially the piezo pickup. My main issue with it is, that at my current level I should have rather bought a neck with fret lines. While the clean neck looks supercool, almost like an upright bass or cello neck, it’s a challenge to intonate well without micro-sliding into the correct positions by ear (and even that is tough for me). If I stay in one position it works quite well but shifting is pretty hard (and I usually play without looking at the neck very much on my fretted instruments). Another thing that’s a bit strange for me is the very flat fingerboard radius that feels completely level. I’ve read that fretless players prefer this but it felt very new to me. However, I don’t regret getting it and plan to dedicate more time to it in the future when my fingerboard knowledge and muscle memory will be more solid.
Edit: Just read that you have experience with fretless basses, so you will very likely feel much more comfortable with it than I do.
Edit: Here’s a nice video of someone acing on the 4-string version:
I’ve tried so many fretlesses over the years!
I don’t know the Ibanez, but I’ll bet it’s rad. I like their sound and neck profiles. That’s probably a very good call.
As for the 4 or 5 string debate -
There’s a learning curve but it’s doable.
If you want to have lower note access, go for it.
If the music you like utilizes those sweet, sweet low notes (I have a 5 string and love it), then go for it.
It’s different, so there are challenges. If you put in some time, you’ll adapt and adjust.
That’s why I don’t have any YouTube videos about this stuff. It seems so simple… my videos would be too short.
I mainly got it out of curiosity and for its killer looks. 
The sound is awesome, especially the piezo pickup. My main issue with it is, that at my current level I should have rather bought a neck with fret lines. While the clean neck looks supercool, almost like an upright bass or cello neck, it’s a challenge to intonate well without micro-sliding into the correct positions by ear (and even that is tough for me). If I stay in one position it works quite well but shifting is pretty hard (and I usually play without looking at the neck very much on my fretted instruments). Another thing that’s a bit strange for me is the very flat fingerboard radius that feels completely level. I’ve read that fretless players prefer this but it felt very new to me. However, I don’t regret getting it and plan to dedicate more time to it in the future when my fingerboard knowledge and muscle memory will be more solid. 
