How many strings?

[BobTheBassist]

Hi there.

This is really just me indulging a curiosity but where do people stand on this? You see untill recently I've always played a 4 string. "Who needs the extra notes" said I, "just drop the D."! But then I started using open notes to get a specific sound and realised it'd be nice to have the extra string, so when I got a new bass I went 5 string.

It's awesome! Not just the keeping stuff fretted but the strings being closer together has also proved useful, and also forced me to be neater. I just love it.

Of course I'll never go to 6 strings, who needs it? Just move your hand up the fretboard

So if anyone would like to participate in my little social study please do.

Bob

[pantherairsoft]

Only 6 for me.

I played a 5 for most of my playing life as I loved the tone from the lower, heavier string. As my playing matured I learnt that the low B should be used sparingly. Around the same time I strung my spare 5er E - C as I was playing up the neck more... I liked it and ended up using 1 bass for some songs and 1 bass for others...

After a while this started to bug me having to take 2 basses to local gigs on public transport so after a trip to bass direct a year ago I went for a 6 and have never looked back!

I seem to find 6 necks very comfy (all mine are very slim though) but I don't share your thoughts on close string spacing as my 5ers and my 6ers have all had 18.5mm - 19mm string spacing so no closer than any 4's really. There are some musical ventures I'm involved in where I don't use the B or C strings at all... I don't feel the need to use them because they are there... But it means 1 bass suits all my needs, no detuning, and I love the neck profile.

6 wins for me!

Edited November 28, 2010 by pantherairsoft

[Prime_BASS]

4 for me is enough.

My experience of users who use more than 4 is that they spend their time noodling on the treble side above the 12th fret; if your gonna do that play guitar? Which is what I do.
Bass is for bass, although I agree the Low B is needed sometimes, in some settings.

[JTUK]

Exclusively 5's for me for the best part of 20 years. Wouldn't go back

[bartelby]

4 strings for me, but I do own a 5 string bass.

[niceguyhomer]

I play 5 dtrings exclusively but now I have gut-wrenching GAS for a good 6er.

[JimBobTTD]

5 for me. I do have a 6 but I'm finding the combined width and thinness of the neck uncomfortable, so I'm pretty much only playing 5s except for noodling at home.

[xgsjx]

I've only ever had 4s but my next is gonna be either a 5 or 6 as I could do with the extra strings because I'm regularly up the dusty end filling out spaces when the guitar is soloing (I don't do noodling, that's for guitarists ).
It would be better to be able to get the lower notes & higher notes together rather than having to compromise on the sound I'm after.

[Cat Burrito]

I've always been happy with just the four. Nothing against 5 strings etc but I am a real traditionalist in general around music

[4-string-thing]

You just need to look at my screen name and sig to know where I stand on this one!

[geoffbyrne]

5

G.

[Bassassin]

4 string, with the occasional dropped D for some songs. I do have a 5er but haven't gigged it or otherwise used it in anger - that B string just turned out to be an unusually long thumb rest. I should dig it out for a bit of a muck around, though.

Certainly never considered a 6 or above, for me the extended ranges seem more geared towards solo playing & stunt-bass antics, which doesn't interest me as a player.

Jon.

[waynepunkdude]

I've had 5 strings before I find them fun but not really my style so 4's for me.


I think anything up to 6 is fine but more than that gets a bit ridiculous.

[Happy Jack]

If I could stick to 4-string basses then I'd be delighted.

In practice, I find that playing almost exclusively in covers bands forces me to play 5-string for at least some of the time, in which case it just doesn't make sense to turn up at a gig with a 4-string.

If you're wondering why I "need" to play 5-string in a covers band, it's because there are several numbers where the singer's voice requires us to drop the key by anything up to a 4th. Instead of doing "[i]Gimme Some Loving[/i]" in G, we have to play it in D. Instead of doing "[i]Whatever You Want[/i]" in D, we have to play it in A. The bassline sounds completely crap played like that on a 4-string, but on a 5-string it sounds like the original, only ... erm ... lower.

[BigRedX]

I've been playing mainly 5-string basses for more than 20 years now. For a while when I used a 4-string for fettless, but since I got a couple of really good fretless 5-strings, the 4-stringers have hardly been out of their cases.

It's got to the point where I find the 5-string neck width the most comfortable for me, and even if I don't need the play any notes below open E the B string makes an excellent and very versatile thumb rest!

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1039482' date='Nov 28 2010, 12:57 AM']My experience of users who use more than 4 is that they spend their time noodling on the treble side above the 12th fret; if your gonna do that play guitar? Which is what I do.
Bass is for bass, although I agree the Low B is needed sometimes, in some settings.[/quote]

My experience of people who exclusively play 4 string is they spend most of their time rabbiting on about their percieved superiority over people who play more than 4 strings...

[chris_b]

[quote name='BobTheBassist' post='1039462' date='Nov 28 2010, 12:25 AM']....Of course I'll never go to 6 strings, who needs it?....[/quote]
Didn't you just say that about 5 string basses?

[Dread Bass]

If i had to choose right now like Shep i would go for a 6. However I play five string in one my bands that doesn't warrent the 6 string and i love playing 4 string too. Like Shep says its all about using the extra notes in the right place not shoe horn them in.

I am planning to go to a 7 string soon though as my guitarists are going to 8 strings.

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='Dread Bass' post='1039778' date='Nov 28 2010, 11:45 AM']If i had to choose right now like Shep i would go for a 6. However I play five string in one my bands that doesn't warrent the 6 string and i love playing 4 string too. Like Shep says its all about using the extra notes in the right place not shoe horn them in.

I am planning to go to a 7 string soon though as my guitarists are going to 8 strings. [/quote]

Amen bro! The 6 string still has the same strings as the 4 string as well! I actually find mr Roscoe & RIM necks comfort than most 4 string necks due to the extreme thiness and flatness of the profile as having the extra width means a good luthier can do without thickness for structural support...

It was Oakbear at Nottingham Bass bash that found it amusing that I thought his 6 string Ritter had a thick neck (as they are considered slim in the 6 world)... Then he picked up my Roscoe. It was prob the slimmest neck in the room!

[Machines]

5 for me. I find 4's easiest to play and 6 is a bit too much (having owned one for a year), never did use that high C. I think my playing and knowledge has developed to the point I might be better in a 6 string now though.

[skej21]

Depends for me. If I could, I'd do everything on a 4 string. However, after doing a lot of pit work recently, I've found that a 6 string (which I borrowed from a good friend) just makes sightreading tricky parts a lot easier because you remove the problem of position shifting all the time.

I've already started saving up the gigging pennies for a custom 6er as a result.

[Doctor J]

I hover between 4 and 5. I did play a 6 for some time as the band I was in at the time I was able to use all 6 strings while fitting in with what the band was about, sonically. After that band broke up, I really had no use in anything I was doing for that C string and it made no sense at all to have that extra bulk under hand, so I moved it on. 4 always feels like home and, if I'm honest, I could probably do everything I need to do on one but sometimes 5 is a nice change.

[Mog]

i dont really need the low b (normally tuned to low A for the originals band, A-D-A-D-G) at all but i still use the 5 string more than the 4's. just got comfortable on the neck i suppose.

[ThomBassmonkey]

I wish I could get by on a 4, there's a lot of very pretty basses around, but I just feel like I'm missing something when I don't have that low B. I used to play 6 then moved to 5, I would like a 6er again though if I could find the right one.

[Wilco]

5 for me. 5 strings should be the new bass standard!!

Anything lower than a B would be too flappy to play & anything higher than a G is just pointless. (Are ERB players just frustrated guitarists? Just go get a baritone guitar if you need those high notes & want to play chords - leave the low zone to those who like groove!!)