5 string/6 string. what is the point?

[chris_b]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1366435683' post='2052564']
.... just curious as to the reasoning of why people would rather have 5/6 strings....
[/quote]

Sorry Tim. It wasn't really directed at you.

After 5 years of these threads, and some of the comments we get, I tend to start the next one where I left off the last one!!

[Dingus]

Ultimately , you could play a seven string bass ( some do ) or a three string bass ( Tony Levin had one but it got burnt ) , but what would be important would be what you played on it in terms what the musical results were , and how much you enjoyed playing it . If you lack the ability to play properly or effectively on the four string then you will still lack it on the five an extra string won't solve many problems for you in that respect . The five string isn't an improvement over the four , rather it is just a development of it that suits certain applications . They are very handy for playing low notes in certain keys though , and that is why I am still looking for the right one because I hate tuning down .

Edited April 20, 2013 by Dingus

[Black Coffee]

Can we agree then that playing a bass with something other than four strings doesn't make you a better player - it just makes you a different player ?

Before the anti-Maiden brigade get their truncheons out - I am not saying Steve Harris is the best ever, but he has a reputation with some quarters as one of the best players / writers in metal music. He has never really strayed much from a Fender P. If he had gone 5 / 6 or more I dont know if he would have been better - he would certainly have been different.

[stingrayPete1977]

Better is subjective though so I would say no we cant all agree on that. Steve Harris does nothing for me and nor does the other lets all veto ERBs because X never played one 'Billy Sheehan'. It is not because of the 4 strings they prefer I just dont really like their music.

I was learning this earlier and it made me think of this thread....
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzOOQfhPFg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzOOQfhPFg[/url]
Tony Kinal is ace IMO, nice subtle use of the extra notes as ever and SR5 to boot

[Smythe]

I had a very similar mind set as the OP, i was a 4 string only player and didn't really have a care or a reason to try a 5string. I eventually started toying around with them in music stores and found one i bonded with (there's not many out there that's nice to play!!). I found playing 5 string over the last 18months has improved my overall playing and approach to bass guitar, as also fretless playing has. It's helped me overcome the plateau i was on playing just a 4string fretted bass alone.

[Ian Savage]

To echo a few comments already made, 'context is everything'! Back when I was doing pretty traditional classic/sleaze rock stuff I found the idea of any more than four strings abhorrant (mainly because they wouldn't look right ), but now I'm in a more modern rock band with the guitars tuned down to C it makes a lot more sense for me to have a five-string tuned up a semitone than a four-string tuned down two tones (access to higher notes, easier to find basses 'ready-to-use' rather than having to re-string and cut nuts, availability of more notes across the fingerboard and chords).

Whatever works best for you is 'best', so by all means give a five a try and see how you get one with it - borrow one or pick up a sub-£100 cheapy from eBay and find out for yourself!

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Smythe' timestamp='1366568899' post='2054242']
I had a very similar mind set as the OP, i was a 4 string only player and didn't really have a care or a reason to try a 5string. I eventually started toying around with them in music stores and found one i bonded with (there's not many out there that's nice to play!!). I found playing 5 string over the last 18months has improved my overall playing and approach to bass guitar, as also fretless playing has. It's helped me overcome the plateau i was on playing just a 4string fretted bass alone.
[/quote]
All of this reflects my own story!

[pete.young]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1366396896' post='2052145']
Like i always listen to the bassline closer than i used to when listening to music
[/quote]

Hold on to this as long as possible. Eventually, you will find yourself listening to the drums more closely. It's inevitable, and madness follows soon afterwards :-)

[ingmar808]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1366399185' post='2052199']
I play 4's, quite fancy trying a 5 - will it make me a better player?
[/quote]

Yes. 25% better, obviously.

[EMG456]

Play what you like and try anything but also try not to be affected by pre-conceptions - difficult I know, in the largely fashion and image driven music biz.

My logic went something like this...

Used to use detuning or bass pedals to reach down to the depths. Wanted the convenience of being able to do that without all the paraphernalia. Ordered my first 5 string from Wal in '92. Liked it a lot. Used it quite a bit but still used 4s a lot too.

Ordered a milestone birthday bass from Alembic in '98. Obviously, it would be a 5 :-) but then the extra cost of making it a 6 was inconsequential - so why not! Liked it a lot and the transition from 5 to 6 much easier for me than the transition from 4 to 5.

I now have two sixes, 3 fives and the rest are all fours. I use them all coz that's what they're for.

One thing to note - if you're not completely rooted in the traditional bass role as a player, once you start to make up parts using extended range basses, it's relatively easy to paint yourself into a corner and find that there are one or two songs in the set that you can't physically play without the extra range. This goes against my own ethos as I like to be able to choose what basses I'm going to be playing that night almost as I go out the door. Suddenly, you are restricted in choice because you "need" a 5 or 6 for certain songs. Hey ho - it's all part of the endless conundrum that is being a bass player!

Open minds are good.

Cheers

Ed

[eude]

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1366626244' post='2054922']
Play what you like and try anything but also try not to be affected by pre-conceptions - difficult I know, in the largely fashion and image driven music biz.

My logic went something like this...

Used to use detuning or bass pedals to reach down to the depths. Wanted the convenience of being able to do that without all the paraphernalia. Ordered my first 5 string from Wal in '92. Liked it a lot. Used it quite a bit but still used 4s a lot too.

Ordered a milestone birthday bass from Alembic in '98. Obviously, it would be a 5 :-) but then the extra cost of making it a 6 was inconsequential - so why not! Liked it a lot and the transition from 5 to 6 much easier for me than the transition from 4 to 5.

I now have two sixes, 3 fives and the rest are all fours. I use them all coz that's what they're for.

One thing to note - if you're not completely rooted in the traditional bass role as a player, once you start to make up parts using extended range basses, it's relatively easy to paint yourself into a corner and find that there are one or two songs in the set that you can't physically play without the extra range. This goes against my own ethos as I like to be able to choose what basses I'm going to be playing that night almost as I go out the door. Suddenly, you are restricted in choice because you "need" a 5 or 6 for certain songs. Hey ho - it's all part of the endless conundrum that is being a bass player!

Open minds are good.

Cheers

Ed
[/quote]

Nice summary mate, I completely agree.
I play 4, 5 and 6 string basses, feel most comfortable on 6 strings for some reason, not sure why, but I tend to always pick a 6er up first.
The most important thing is the playing, not what you're play it on, there are pros and cons to any instrument choice, one players' marmite is another's mustard, or something like that. The OP is nearly is valid as asking if black basses sound better than red ones in my opinion.
5 and 6 string basses are just as valid as 4 strings, 3 string, 1 strings, 10 strings or whatever anyone else dreams up and wants to play

Eude

[lonestar]

Somewhere to rest your thumb !

[Norris]

One thing doesn't seem to have been mentioned is that the strings on a 5/6 are usually physically closer together than a 4, and the neck is likely to be wider to accomodate them all. If you're a beginner this could be a factor. If you're moving from a guitar it probably won't be an issue having the closer strings, although the wider neck could be. If you're just starting out in music you might get on better with a 4 stringer at first.

It also depends on the style you like to play. A 5/6 will need probably playing more precisely, whereas a 4 stringer can be thrown around a bit more. It's easier to give the bottom E a damn good thwang for the last power chord if there's not another string sitting below it waiting to be hit by accident

Edit: BTW, all my basses are 4 strings - not felt the need for more (yet!)

Edited April 22, 2013 by Norris

[lastnotleast]

[quote name='andyonbass' timestamp='1366443112' post='2052602']
Pretty obvious really - your guitarist is less likely to pick it up and make a tw*t of himself thinking he can play bass!
[/quote]

Andy - Hilarious and true
Looking for info on a completely different topic but saw this a laughed out loud. This is exactly right. I am a convert from guitar first to 4 then 5. The transition to 5 didn't take long and was so complete, I sold my 4 'cause it felt like a toy (Ibanez - very narrow neck vs Yamaha BBN5 very wide neck). My guitar player picks up my 5 and struggles. Last time I played my 4 was when I brought it to practice so he could play it. That's when I decided to sell.

Edited April 27, 2013 by lastnotleast

[lettsguitars]

Range. 4 strings are restricting and actually more pointless. More strings is better. As many as possible!

[risingson]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1366397462' post='2052157']
... and the great majority of recorded music over the last 60 years has used a four string bass.
[/quote]

If 6 string bass had been the standard since the start I often think that the same could have been true of the ERB.

I'm a 4 string player mostly, I've owned 5 strings but currently they don't 'suit' what I play for the majority of the time. If I started doing more session stuff I'd be a 5 string player mostly because I could keep up with most eventualities with what a keyboard player might be doing with his left hand for example.

5's and 6's are just a means of extending the range around what you're already playing on a 4. They make things easy when you find yourself spread a bit too thin on a 4 string, tying together longer passages, extending what you play into a lower and upper register.

Having seen Anthony Jackson play last week, I totally get why some players choose 6 string, a player like him needs that range. It's just not really for me right now, maybe in the future though.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1366628982' post='2054988']
I play 4, 5 and 6 string basses, feel most comfortable on 6 strings for some reason, not sure why, but I tend to always pick a 6er up first.
[/quote]

Same for me I always tell people that once you're used to the wider neck and extra strings, a 6 string bass is the easiest of all to play! It gives you more options as well so it's a win/win!

Weirdly enough, I feel least comfortable on a 5

[chris_b]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1366397462' post='2052157']
... and the great majority of recorded music over the last 60 years has used a four string bass....
[/quote]

All music recorded on a 4 string bass could just as easily have been played on a 5 string (or more) and a lot of it could have been recorded on 3 strings, so I'm not sure why that point keeps being raised.

We should all be less judgemental and play the instrument that is appropriate and comfortable.

Victor Wooten was asked why he always plays a 4 string bass on workshops. He said he owns and plays 5 6 and fretless when required, but plays the "cleaver stuff" on 4 strings because that's where he feels more comfortable.

[ianrendall]

I went to five strings 10 years ago after having played 4's for 10 years.
I felt that going to a fiver was a sort of natural "progression", much the same way a racing driver would progress to a higher formula.
While I didn't take long to adjust to 5 strings, I didn't feel my musical ability altered for better or for worse.
Much of the music I play is big band swing, with notation rarely, if ever, going below low E. I could have put in below E notes if I wanted but the music didn't really call for it.
A few months ago I went back to 4 strings with a great P bass, and given the style of music I play, I've found it much more suitable. I found with less strings to concern myself with, I feel more able to 'let go' and my fills/improvs and general playing have improved as a result.
There are doubtless others here that would say the opposite, but this is just my story.
It really is as simple as horses for courses, one man's meat etc.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1367069385' post='2060891']
All music recorded on a 4 string bass could just as easily have been played on a 5 string (or more) and a lot of it could have been recorded on 3 strings, so I'm not sure why that point keeps being raised.

We should all be less judgemental and play the instrument that is appropriate and comfortable.

Victor Wooten was asked why he always plays a 4 string bass on workshops. He said he owns and plays 5 6 and fretless when required, but plays the "cleaver stuff" on 4 strings because that's where he feels more comfortable.
[/quote]

Totally agree with this.

And yeah! I've seen a video of Victor playing a 6 string, it was a real surprise! He didn't look hindered in any way, and it still sounded exactly like him. I wish I could find it!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1367064618' post='2060815']
If 6 string bass had been the standard since the start I often think that the same could have been true of the ERB.
[/quote]
It certainly could have been said of whatever stringed bass was most common.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1367069385' post='2060891']
All music recorded on a 4 string bass could just as easily have been played on a 5 string (or more) and a lot of it could have been recorded on 3 strings, so I'm not sure why that point keeps being raised.
[/quote]
Perhaps as a reminder that almost all of the time four strings (and very possibly fewer strings) is enough.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1367069385' post='2060891']
We should all be less judgemental and play the instrument that is appropriate and comfortable.

Victor Wooten was asked why he always plays a 4 string bass on workshops. He said he owns and plays 5 6 and fretless when required, but plays the "cleaver stuff" on 4 strings because that's where he feels more comfortable.
[/quote]
Yes.

[risingson]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1367074488' post='2061002']
It certainly could have been said of whatever stringed bass was most common.
[/quote]

Yeh absolutely.

It obviously made sense at the time for the transition from upright to electric bass to evolve around the tuning of the upright seeing as most players who were to adapt the electric bass as part of their ensembles would be most comfortable with the former. What I'm sure most people didn't realise at the time was the adaptation to electric would involve a whole new approach at what they'd been taught before, they're two very different instruments.

It's interesting that the Fender Bass VI didn't become the norm, I think had it been introduced a bit earlier than it could have become the standard as it would have encompassed a lot of what came naturally to guitar players of that era.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1367083785' post='2061160']
It's interesting that the Fender Bass VI didn't become the norm, I think had it been introduced a bit earlier than it could have become the standard as it would have encompassed a lot of what came naturally to guitar players of that era.
[/quote]
The Fender Bass VI was introduced about 1961 but the Danelectro 6-string Bass - with which the Fender was intended to compete - had been around since the mid-fifties.

I'm guessing neither become the norm for bass parts because they didn't thump like a Precision (or some other 4-stringers). When it did get used it tended to be either for tic-tac bass or for more twangy guitar-styled work in, for example, surf bands or Glen Campbell's solo on Wichita Lineman.

[onemanband]

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/best-thing-ive-ever-bought-6-string-bass-134500235.html