5 String acoustic bass?

[karlthebassist]

At the top of my list of instruments I'd quite like, just below an NS WAV4, is this



The Michale Kelly Club Custom 5 string. Now, for me the low B on any 5-string bass is useless. My mind just doesnt work that way - I tend to play in higher registers.

What I would really like is to be able to tune EADGC, like on my 5-string electric (my 6 that I had was E-F). But I can't see how I could go about it. I can't find strings for acoustic bass that have a high C, and I imagine that the intonation would be way out without making a new bridge.

Anyone here have or have experience with acoustic basses with a high C? 5 or 6 string. I'd love to at least know where to get strings from as a starting point.

Cheers
Karl

[cLepto-bass]

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='789806' date='Mar 29 2010, 07:38 PM']At the top of my list of instruments I'd quite like, just below an NS WAV4, is this



The Michale Kelly Club Custom 5 string. Now, for me the low B on any 5-string bass is useless. My mind just doesnt work that way - I tend to play in higher registers.

What I would really like is to be able to tune EADGC, like on my 5-string electric (my 6 that I had was E-F). But I can't see how I could go about it. I can't find strings for acoustic bass that have a high C, and I imagine that the intonation would be way out without making a new bridge.

Anyone here have or have experience with acoustic basses with a high C? 5 or 6 string. I'd love to at least know where to get strings from as a starting point.

Cheers
Karl[/quote]


Flats are always an option.

Thomastik do really good flats with the option of a high C gauge. Certainly worth a go.

[karlthebassist]

[quote name='uzzell' post='789835' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:02 PM']Flats are always an option.

Thomastik do really good flats with the option of a high C gauge. Certainly worth a go.[/quote]

Cool, I just looked on the Thomastik website and they actually do full 6 String acoustic bass sets! Would stringing an acoustic with steel flats cause a problem with tension? Somthing like this wouldn't bother me with electric as I know a fair bit about the technical stuff, but acoustic basses, I know NOTHING about really.

[shinhoman]

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='790073' date='Mar 29 2010, 10:39 PM']Cool, I just looked on the Thomastik website and they actually do full 6 String acoustic bass sets! Would stringing an acoustic with steel flats cause a problem with tension? Somthing like this wouldn't bother me with electric as I know a fair bit about the technical stuff, but acoustic basses, I know NOTHING about really.[/quote]

no you can string them with electric strings perfectly fine, you'll probably need to do a set up afterwards though. i would keep them medium/light though. i've actually been thinking about doing this myself.

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Edited April 2, 2010 by shinhoman

[karlthebassist]

Really, I would like to retain the acoustic bass sound from bronze strings. The Thomastiks are 60 quid though for a 6 string set, which is the only way I can see to get a hight C.

[shinhoman]

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='794566' date='Apr 2 2010, 07:22 PM']Really, I would like to retain the acoustic bass sound from bronze strings. The Thomastiks are 60 quid though for a 6 string set, which is the only way I can see to get a hight C. [/quote]

It will still sound like an acoustic bass if it has electric strings on it. It will be slightly different, but not so much that it wont sound like an acoustic anymore. Give it a go and you'll see what i mean.

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