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5 or 6 strings?

#61
speyer said:
Ah ha... sounds like 19mm is just "standard" spacing for a P or J bass, not ALL basses. That's what I misunderstood... learn somthing new every day. :D
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It can be confusing. While it is standard for P basses, people consider it wide. So it oges from "wide" (18-19) right to "narrow" (17 or less). Basses like my Contrabass (20") are "mutant" I guess:D

Or maybe "Shrek".
:cool:

The first fives were typically converted four string necks. Nowhere near 19mm. I couldn't wait for wider spacing, I hate narrow. The first five I built was around 17mm... it was tolerable. It was a fretless jazz with P bass neck that I had the tuner area routed out and replaced with a strip of rosewood and drilled for 5 tuners, looked very nice. The first new five I bought was an Aria back in the early 80's, probably 16mm.
 
#62
I bought my Carvin LB76 and LOVE the tone. I just have no use at all for the high C. I've tried to get into it with lots of hours of practice, but no go. I'm a 5 guy. If I had gotten that bass in a 5, it would be my main bass. As it stands now, I'm probably going to sell it.
 
#66
I had a 6 and while it was very nice, I just didn't use the C enough to justify the wide neck - especially with my small hands. For me, a 5 makes more sense as I go low more than high, but that isn't the case for everyone. You need to decide if you need to have that higher option.

Another thought is if you want just the high stuff but don't go low, you could string your 5 EADGC. I did that once for jazz gigs. You don't really need the low B, and the extra range can be nice for solos.

It all boils down to your needs. I have been playing a 5 and am trying a 4 right now. Most of my playing doesn't "require" a low B, but I am finding after playing 4 exclusively that I do miss my low B from time to time. I'm just not sure if I miss it enough to go back.
 
#67
spade2you said:
In my case, I prefer slapping on a 4, although I barely play enough slap to justify this. I also have a short scale, some 4s with a Kahler, and I tend to keep my 4 strings tuned to dropped D for a little added variety.
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I can play only one slap style riff and it's one I came up myself years ago on my rickenbacker. So I too have no use for being able to do that style - I have enough problems trying to play clean notes just with finger-style and no frets...

That said, it can be done and I've seen a few players doing very good slap style on 6 strings (tho that's without knowing what spacing they had). Victor Wooten's brother plays slap style on a strat... ;)

Just eyeballing it, I think the Steve Bailey has the "standard" 3/4" spacing at the bridge. At least it looks a mile wide down there compared to my bunny. There's an artist named Nik West who uses a fretted SB (I believe) and she plays wonderful slap on it.

LS
 
#68
unclejane said:
That said, it can be done and I've seen a few players doing very good slap style on 6 strings (tho that's without knowing what spacing they had). Victor Wooten's brother plays slap style on a strat... ;)
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I know it can be done, but it's not a huge priority to me to learn it based on the limited amount of slap I use. With both of my 6ers being fretless, slap hasn't been terribly appealing, although I have a fretted 6 on order and due sometime next spring. Perhaps I may adjust my views at a later time.
 
#69
spade2you said:
I know it can be done, but it's not a huge priority to me to learn it based on the limited amount of slap I use. With both of my 6ers being fretless, slap hasn't been terribly appealing, although I have a fretted 6 on order and due sometime next spring. Perhaps I may adjust my views at a later time.
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Slapping on a fretless can work very well. I did a recent gig with my fretless 6 and played every style I play on fretted.
 
#70
Brad Johnson said:
Slapping on a fretless can work very well. I did a recent gig with my fretless 6 and played every style I play on fretted.
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Yeagh, I like the sound of slapped fretless, its definitley different to a fretted slap sound (or at least is when I do it) but still sounds pretty cool. I think theres an Aerosmith track with fretless slap but I cant remember what it was called.
 
#73
Ziltoid said:
I did 4 to 6, never regretted, best decision I made.
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Same Here. Although it may take a little time to get used to it. I recommend figuring out all of the extended scale/chord/arpeggio patterns and doing some mechanical drilling to get your hands used to the neck. You will fill with glee when you realize you can reach 3.5 octaves and repeat the same pattern, just by going up one position.

Play a 6er exclusively and hard for like 3 months, then go back to your 4 and see how much you rip!:hyper:
 
#74
MNAirHead said:
..I've had some turds that were not comfortable.
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smiley-laughing024.gif



Carry on fellas,
 
#75
speyer said:
I respect that... :)

Out of curiosity....what's the wide 5'er you play? And what is the norm for "wide" spacing on a 5 string.... 21mm or so?
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The common definition of "wide" 5 is 19mm string spacing at the bridge (same as Fender fours), and 1-7/8" overall width at the nut.

I'm currently playing Sadowsky, Benavente, and Fender Roscoe Beck fivers, all with the above specs.

Other "wide" fivers I've owned and liked have been:
MTD 535
Warwick Streamer Stage 1 5 (extra-wide 20mm spacing at bridge)

I'm most comfy with sixers if bridge spacing remains at 19mm. If I ever did get one I would probably tune it F#BEADG. :eek: :)
 
#76
kraigo said:
I agree with you, but I've got to confess that I've never had a B string that really felt totally integrated into the instrument either. I've gotten it close, but never such that I would happily use the B if I can easily get the same note on the E string.

KO
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I agree that it can be a challenge. The first step is proper intonation. And IME, the B string tends to wear out quickly, whether because of its diameter or thicker windings or whatever.

The Modulus Quantum 5 had the most integrated string set I've ever tried (B included), but overall tone of the instrument was modern IMO. That's why I've gone with Sadowsky: they're as good as I've found on a Fender-style instrument. My Fender Roscoe Becks have decent B strings, I simply accept the fact that they will sound slightly darker than the others. And that's okay with me: I like each string to have a slightly different timbre, so I can play the string as well as the note: 10th fret A versus 5th fret D, for example.
 
#77
Brad Johnson said:
On most two pickup fretlesses, you can get much closer to a traditional slap sound using both pickups. Solo the bridge pickup and things get interesting.

I use Nickel roundwounds on all of my fretlesses.
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Perhaps my fretli are oddballs, but the Rob Allen with high action and tapewounds is a little challenging and perhaps a tad too thuddy.

My Conklin is easy to slap, but the combo of stainless steel strings and a Dymondwood fingerboard make it sound like Michael Manring for everything. I'm not complaining, but it's not quite an every day tone.
 

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