I don't have a 5, but I did recently get an 8 string. I had been thinking it would be more difficult to fret and barre, but I was fortunate to be able to play one before I bought it. The set up he did was wonderful and it was as easy to fret as any other of my ukes. Some music sounds better on the 8 and some sound better on one of the 4s. It's fun to switch them out.