So where did 5's and 6's get us?

[Rich]

53 minutes ago, skankdelvar said:

• Observe man standing apart from others, a grave expression on his face and a pork-pie hat on his head

 

You've been to a few of my gigs then   

[skankdelvar]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

You've been to a few of my gigs then   

Funnily enough, when I was living in BoA I nearly went to one of your gigs (without knowing you were in the band), then something came up and I missed it. 

[Belka]

16 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

For me, 5 and 6 string basses are useful as a lead indicator when attending gigs. It works like this:

• Arrive at pub
• Observe 5 or 6-er on instrument stand
• Observe man standing apart from others, a grave expression on his face and a pork-pie hat on his head
• Access memory banks, recall slot: 'immobile player, excessively busy bass lines'
• Leave pub, go to off-license, buy pack of 8 Ace, sit on park bench

Does yer missus let yer back in 'ouse when yer get 'ome or does she mek yer sleep in the ff...ff..fff'in shed?

Edited July 11, 2020 by Belka

[nige1968]

22 hours ago, BigRedX said:

TBH most of us could get away with a 2-string bass - either E and A or A and D depending on what you were playing. Certainly in my dad rock covers band days 90% of the songs could have been played comfortably on a bass with just 2 strings.

 

[whynot]

Been playing a 5 for the best part of 30 years. Low B great for resting your thumb on while playing other 4.

[skankdelvar]

9 hours ago, Belka said:

Does yer missus let yer back in 'ouse when yer get 'ome or does she mek yer sleep in the ff...ff..fff'in shed?

[louisthebass]

What one of our membership said in this video:

 

[grandad]

Still learning to cope with 4, any more I think lead would to discombobulation.

Edited July 11, 2020 by grandad
grammar

[itu]

Tony Levin had a three string Music Man, but I think he lost it when his studio was burned down. Atlansia produces Solitaire, both fretted and fretless. https://atlansiaguitars.com/Bass-Guitar.php?strings=1

[dmccombe7]

All this talk of 5 & 6 stringers put me right in the mood for playing my Overwater custom fretless 6er. 

Its an odd thing but the string balance always sounds better and more balanced tonally thru a modern style of amp like my EBS Reidmar 750 compared to my Mesa Mpulse.

The upper strings appear to sing better. Clearer.

Have to say i thoroughly enjoyed my wee spell with it. I need to play it more often to get the benefit of fretless again.

Dave 

Edited July 11, 2020 by dmccombe7

[binky_bass]

8 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

All this talk of 5 & 6 stringers put me right in the mood for laying my Overwater custom fretless 6er.

just remembered to use protection!

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, louisthebass said:

What one of our membership said in this video:

 

Lot of well put points. 

Aside: found myself disagreeing with the analogy of the bass and a spoon in cooking! A quality musical instrument can make a difference to our sound eg Stradivarius vs £50 violin; they're not the same thing. A great violinist will sound very good regardless. But he or she will sound better on the Strad played with a top notch bow (which can, by itself, cost more than a high-end electric bass). And you can blind test that any day of the week. 

But that's, of course, not a comment on 4 vs 5 vs 6 string basses. 

[dmccombe7]

51 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

just remembered to use protection!

Thanks, now sorted altho i am very close to my basses. 

Dave

[chris_b]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Lot of well put points.

I agree, but I thought he should have stopped at the soup analogy. After that he starts to ramble and loses the impact of the message.

[Newfoundfreedom]

Simple answer is. I play a six because I like playing a six. I started on a 4, wondered if I'd get on with a 5. Thought "sod it!" and jumped straight on a 6. Then I found I just preferred playing the sixer. I like the feel of it more, I like the closer string spacing more, and I much prefer the look of it, which inspires me to pick it up more often. 

I'm not a particularly clever bass player. I don't play a lot of high end chordal stuff that the sixer would allow, neither do I spend a lot of time bashing away at the bottom B string creating thunderous undertones. 

What I do "do" is play it exactly as I would play a four string, but utilise the extra strings by playing the higher or lower notes in the same position, rather than having to do fretboard gymnastics up and down the neck. In many ways a sixer is "easier" to play than a four string. 

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

On 10/07/2020 at 11:09, dmccombe7 said:

 

As long as the bass player is competent and doing a good job. That's really all i'm interested in from any musician. 👍

 

That's me out then.

 

I'll get my coat. 😂

[dmccombe7]

11 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

That's me out then.

 

I'll get my coat. 😂

Meet you in the bar then. 

[dmccombe7]

21 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Simple answer is. I play a six because I like playing a six. I started on a 4, wondered if I'd get on with a 5. Thought "sod it!" and jumped straight on a 6. Then I found I just preferred playing the sixer. I like the feel of it more, I like the closer string spacing more, and I much prefer the look of it, which inspires me to pick it up more often. 

I'm not a particularly clever bass player. I don't play a lot of high end chordal stuff that the sixer would allow, neither do I spend a lot of time bashing away at the bottom B string creating thunderous undertones. 

What I do "do" is play it exactly as I would play a four string, but utilise the extra strings by playing the higher or lower notes in the same position, rather than having to do fretboard gymnastics up and down the neck. In many ways a sixer is "easier" to play than a four string. 

 

That's kinda where i went years ago from 4 to 6 and then back to 5 because i needed a low B string but less weight than my Overwater. And now back to 4's again. The trend tends to follow the bands i play in at the time.

I still quite fancy a fretted 6er for those high end chords i like fooling around with.

Dave

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Simple answer is. I play a six because I like playing a six. I started on a 4, wondered if I'd get on with a 5. Thought "sod it!" and jumped straight on a 6. Then I found I just preferred playing the sixer. I like the feel of it more, I like the closer string spacing more, and I much prefer the look of it, which inspires me to pick it up more often. 

I'm not a particularly clever bass player. I don't play a lot of high end chordal stuff that the sixer would allow, neither do I spend a lot of time bashing away at the bottom B string creating thunderous undertones. 

What I do "do" is play it exactly as I would play a four string, but utilise the extra strings by playing the higher or lower notes in the same position, rather than having to do fretboard gymnastics up and down the neck. In many ways a sixer is "easier" to play than a four string. 

 

That makes perfect sense, adapt playing to what’s available and make life easier.

[Woodinblack]

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Aside: found myself disagreeing with the analogy of the bass and a spoon in cooking! A quality musical instrument can make a difference to our sound eg Stradivarius vs £50 violin; they're not the same thing.

To me they almost certainly are.

Not talking about a spoon that is so cheap it falls apart when you try to use it, but a spoon that is basically functional as a spoon. A Stradivarius will not make you sound better than a £500 violin unless you are already very good. If I picked up a Strad and tried to play, I would sound terrible. If a great player picked up a cheaper violin they would sound great (well, not great because its a violin, but you know what I mean). The effect the player has is way over the effect of the instrument*. 

So I think the analogy holds up.

*Noting that when they did a blind test, most leading violin players who didn't have a Stradivarius failed to pick it out from a high end modern one.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25371-pro-violinists-fail-to-spot-stradivarius-in-blind-test/

Edited July 12, 2020 by Woodinblack

[Al Krow]

Nah completely disagree. A musical instrument is not a spoon.

 

[binky_bass]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Nah completely disagree. A musical instrument is not a spoon.

 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Nah completely disagree. A musical instrument is not a spoon.

 

Are you sure. 

 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Nah completely disagree. A musical instrument is not a spoon.

 

Aahhh but a spoon can be a musical instrument. That's the difference 

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

Like them. I now have spoon GAS