Learning What To Do With More Strings

[Fatalistic]

I told one of my guitar player friends about a five stringer I wanted (I have MASSIVE GAS), and he advised me to play six strings instead of five, saying that I'd get bored of five after a while.

He has a twin brother who plays bass, and his brother must have been complaining about being bored with his five or something.

I don't believe that the number of strings you have determines how much fun you can have playing... I would know. I've matured enough as a Bassist to get creative with what I play on my four while wishing I had a five. For instance, there was that Cryptopsy-esque bass line I made...

He did, however, tell me something that interested me.
He is a rhythm guitarist, and he plays seven and eight string guitars. My explanation for wanting a five string was for the low B, so I could play all the Death and Black Metal I want, and that if I got a six, I would have no clue what to do with the sixth string. He told me that when he first played a seven, he liked it, so he made that his primary. He didn't want an eight string because he didn't know what to do with it. However, he tried one out, and decided to give it a chance, so he took it home with him. He told me that over time, he learned what to do with the eighth string. So, he theorizes that the same thing will happen to me.

Is he right? That's probably a bad question to ask, considering that the only way to know is if it happens. Has any one else learned what to do with a six just through playing with it, or have you had a solid idea of what to do with it before you got it?

[Raymeous]

I may be biased here but there are a lot of things you can do with a 6 string (thick string version of 6 string).

On the surface its simply a few more notes on both the low and high end that can give you more room to stretch out.

One thing that can be a fun challenge to do is use your fretting hand to play a bass line, while using your plucking hand to tap out some two or three note chords. Also if your tone is set up right you can mimic that warm jazz guitar tone, while being in the correct range.

I was once in a semi-fusion trio of guitar/bass/drums and when the guitarist stopped playing the chords to break into a lead, I was able to keep the chords going underneath and yet still maintain the bass line.

On another assist gig, my buddy took his thickly layered (think Seal meets DMB) to a small coffee shop with acoustic guitar/vox/bass/percussion. I was able to cover the piano parts which were a key component to the chorus, while pulling off a simplified version of the low register bass line.

As much fun as they can be, a 6 string bass can become too much over a long set. You wont really use that thin upper register string that often, so a 5 string is probably the ideal. The 5er has that sweet ultra low end, yet maintains a bit of that jam factor that a 4 string has, without becoming a big ol' beast like a 6 can. Ibanez makes some nice thin necked 6 strings that would probably be easier on the hands over the course of a long set.

[Jazz Ad]

If somebody gets bored with 5 strings, I'd recommend going down to 4. Limitations are fun to work around.
Going to 6 would open new horizons, offer a wider range for melodic playing and chords but it has no reason to be more fun.

[Fatalistic]

I tried out an SR506 at a Guitar Center. It didn't sound too bad. But the low B (the string itself) was FLOPPY... But that's an issue with either the gauge being too low or some random guy downtuned it and forgot to tune it back up. I have a bad recording I made with my phone of me mostly slapping ('cause it's fun. X3) and accidentally making fret buzz, if any one wants to hear it.

Jazz Ad, I think you're right. I once read a post that a TB'er made that said, "What's so great about a six string? The middle four!"
I'm starting to think that wasn't just a joke.

I've heard that people who play six strings tend to get exhausted fretting hands quickly...
I also can't believe I forgot to put the word "friend" after "guitar player" in my post...

[u84six]

Originally Posted by Fatalistic

I told one of my guitar player friends about a five stringer I wanted (I have MASSIVE GAS), and he advised me to play six strings instead of five, saying that I'd get bored of five after a while.

He has a twin brother who plays bass, and his brother must have been complaining about being bored with his five or something.

I don't believe that the number of strings you have determines how much fun you can have playing... I would know. I've matured enough as a Bassist to get creative with what I play on my four while wishing I had a five. For instance, there was that Cryptopsy-esque bass line I made...

He did, however, tell me something that interested me.
He is a rhythm guitarist, and he plays seven and eight string guitars. My explanation for wanting a five string was for the low B, so I could play all the Death and Black Metal I want, and that if I got a six, I would have no clue what to do with the sixth string. He told me that when he first played a seven, he liked it, so he made that his primary. He didn't want an eight string because he didn't know what to do with it. However, he tried one out, and decided to give it a chance, so he took it home with him. He told me that over time, he learned what to do with the eighth string. So, he theorizes that the same thing will happen to me.

Is he right? That's probably a bad question to ask, considering that the only way to know is if it happens. Has any one else learned what to do with a six just through playing with it, or have you had a solid idea of what to do with it before you got it?

Getting bored by the number of strings is interesting. I think that maybe the more strings you add could make it more boring unless you have a particular technique that calls for if. I remember playing a gig and breaking the D string. I wouldn't call that boring. If anything it was a little frightening and kind of a surprising challenge.

[russtolium]

Originally Posted by Fatalistic

I tried out an SR506 at a Guitar Center. It didn't sound too bad. But the low B (the string itself) was FLOPPY... But that's an issue with either the gauge being too low or some random guy downtuned it and forgot to tune it back up. I have a bad recording I made with my phone of me mostly slapping ('cause it's fun. X3) and accidentally making fret buzz, if any one wants to hear it.

I've had an SR506 for a year now and I can say that you probably should take your GC experience with a grain of salt. I went to several stores and played them and they all had issues, dry fretboards, action that was either too low/high, etc, but I knew that one that was either new or well cared for would be better. I bought a very lightly used one off Ebay and after swapping the strings out (I prefer light gauge EADGCF) and doing some light setup, its the best bass I've played. B string flop wasn't a problem for me with a .130 b string, but your gauge will directly determine how tight it is.

Getting more strings because you're bored though probably isn't a good excuse to get a new instrument. Get a bass with more strings because you have ideas that can't be acheived with your current setup, not because you think ideas will come to you after the fact.

I wanted a six string because I wanted a wide range instrument that started at the bass end of the sound spectrum with enough strings for crisp harmonics and chordal possibilities, mostly for playing solo. I learned on guitar before switching to bass so six strings is natural to me.

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by russtolium

Getting more strings because you're bored though probably isn't a good excuse to get a new instrument. Get a bass with more strings because you have ideas that can't be acheived with your current setup, not because you think ideas will come to you after the fact.

Excellent point. I noticed that Pino Palladino, Dario Deidda and Jaco all play 4 string basses, as do a lot of great players. The real problem is that you are bored with yourself, not your bass. Learn some new songs, a new style, challenge yourself. A new bass will only provide temporary relief.

[Muttleybass]

I heard that someone once asked Stanley Clarke why he doesn't play a 5 string. His reply was "Heck, I ain't even leard to play a 4 yet."

The ONLY reason to get a 5 is to get that low B. It has nothing to do with how "exciting" it is to play. I still get excited playing my 4 and it's been 30 years. That high 6th string is up to you.... To me it's a waste. How often would you be playing up that high?

Saying that you'd get bored playing a 5 is ridonkulous in the extreme.

[squiresuzuki]

Originally Posted by Muttleybass

I heard that someone once asked Stanley Clarke why he doesn't play a 5 string. His reply was "Heck, I ain't even leard to play a 4 yet."

Hmm..I've heard that same story with Justin Chancellor multiple times.

[Nev375]

More strings has nothing to do with a low B or a high C. It only means you have more notes to choose from in each hand position. Most of us can move our hands up or down the neck just fine, so 5s and 6s are not that much of a revolution.

If you want a different RANGE of notes, select the tuning you want and buy appropriate strings. If you need access to 5 higher notes, 5 more frets will accomplish the same thing. To me, BEAD tuning on a 20 fret bass is enough for what I want to do.

If you need more notes on the same number of frets and you like really wide necks, go for it!

[Fatalistic]

I should tell my friend's Bass-playing twin all this.
Some thing I've tried doing (being a metal head and all ) is making Death Metal baselines in standard tuning on my Bass. That was fun. Thinking about it, not having the low B didn't actually matter that much.
If I were to get a six string bass, I would use the other two strings more as effects, use the high C for chords, and playing in a melodic bass style (Not that I can't do that on a four).
I LURV me some melodic bassing.

[Henryy]

Getting bored..?? Maybe its not the guitars fault. A friend once told me.."I used to have a telecaster until I could do more than the guitar could do"..I laughed my ass off.

[iridiumrocks]

I have never really wanted a 6. I have a 5 string Warwick and played it constantly for years, but found that I really didn't need the low B too much. I have gone back to playing 4's nearly all of the time. We play some songs in dropped tuning and I keep second 4 for those. After I play my Geddy Lee Jazz for a while, the neck on my 5 string Warwick feels like a tree trunk

[Fatalistic]

I wouldn't say that I could do MORE than a guitar could do. I would say that something about the guitar I have isn't doing what I want.
Like, for instance, I need to put round wounds on my Bass again, the flats I have aren't doing what I want.
And, just as a note, while I do want a Bass with more strings, I'm not bored with what I have (At least, not any more). I'm interested in what I can do with more strings. I've been listening to bands where the Bassist uses a six string to get ideas of what I could do with it (like Obscura and Dysrhythmia). So far, I get, "Follow the guitar," or, "Play Melodic Bass".
Plus, I'd like to get a second Bass so I can defret the one I have.

[AmadeusXeno]

I have 2 basses that are 6 stringers. They are great and you do learn what works for using all the strings. I plan on getting rid of one of mine and going back to mainly playing a 4 though. Having the extra range of a high and low string opens up many posabilities. I like just rocking out with a 4 most of the time myself.

[topo morto]

I had a 506 - wonderfully set up and great to play, but didn't persist with it because those high notes just aren't in the bass range to my ears, which is where I want to be - also, muting was much tougher.

A 6 tuned F# to G, I might like...

[Epidrake]

Even Jeff Berlin said 4 strings is more than enough. I agree with the other guys here, challenge yourself, learn jazz. For me Jazz is more fun to play than to listen to.