5 string or 6 string upgrade?

[IbanezBass229]

hi i've been playing on a 4 string for about 4 years now and im about to start college for music where ill be focusing on bass, i play a lot of different styles from heavy metal to jazz to blues and everything in between. im looking to buy a new bass for school and ive wanted a 5 string for a while but im wondering if i should just go straight to a 6 string, i love to slap but i love to play melodies and running lines as well. i only get to choose one or the other cuz i have very limited funding and ill probably be stuck with whichever one i choose.

 

[ilovethesechord]

uh... you could buy a 5 string, and then choose whether or not you want the extra high or low string.

 

[Pacman]

Why not?

But it's not an "upgrade". It's just a different instrument.

 

[TheFrogPrince]

hi i've been playing on a 4 string for about 4 years now and im about to start college for music where ill be focusing on bass, i play a lot of different styles from heavy metal to jazz to blues and everything in between. im looking to buy a new bass for school and ive wanted a 5 string for a while but im wondering if i should just go straight to a 6 string, i love to slap but i love to play melodies and running lines as well. i only get to choose one or the other cuz i have very limited funding and ill probably be stuck with whichever one i choose.

Get an Ibanez 5-string. As Gary Willis says, most c strings sound like a strangled cat. Todd's custom Zon is one exception I can think of. It sounded amazing even through crappy computer speakers. It's just that you pay for what you get so Zon basses are pricey. I'd love one, though.

To be honest, bad as it is, most guitards will look at you with a six-string and pretty much write you off as a 'jazz guy' (as if that's a bad thing ). A fiver means no need to down-tune and lets you play in modern pop contexts and fusion jazz in addition to other styles.

 

[()smoke()]

if you feel like you're going to eventually want the 6, you might as well really consider it now if you can find a good one to meet your budget...after playing 4-string jazzes, i bought a 5 and played it almost a year before selling it to buy a 6, so i would've saved myself some $$ by going straight to the 6...on the other hand, it took that long with the 5 for me to find myself limited and understand how and why i wanted to use the high string for what i'm doing (and trying to do)

fwiw, i LOVE the 6

 

[taygunov]

to FrogPrince : I don't know what Gary is talkin' about, my C is a very nice sounding one. I could play a C# on my G and then the same on the C and the tension would sound almost the same....

Also I would say get the 6. You will save a buck and if you don't like either the B or the C, then you can get a 5 or whatever and that'll be the end of it

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Try them both out. I personally love my 6-string, but I understand that it can be overwhelming or unnecessary in some music, but I always think it's nice to have the option to use it.

 

[Todd Johnson]

hi i've been playing on a 4 string for about 4 years now and im about to start college for music where ill be focusing on bass, i play a lot of different styles from heavy metal to jazz to blues and everything in between. im looking to buy a new bass for school and ive wanted a 5 string for a while but im wondering if i should just go straight to a 6 string, i love to slap but i love to play melodies and running lines as well. i only get to choose one or the other cuz i have very limited funding and ill probably be stuck with whichever one i choose.

FWIW....I recommend getting the bass that you're the most PASSIONATE about....get it....PRACTICE your butt off....and become the best musician you can be.

IMHO it doesn't make a difference whether you get a 3, 4, 5, 6 or 18 string bass. Get the one that excites you the most and MASTER IT!!

Above all........HAVE FUN!!!

Cool?? Cool.....

 

[ninefingerbass]

6 strings are tons of fun. They can be intimidating but after practice you can feel comfortable.

There is much you can do with a 6 string considering you have the B and C string. It can be fun but at the same time frustrating.

I've been playing 6 string for about 2 years and have a good grasp, I'm still not as comfortable as I want to be as I am with the 5.
Don't get it for the sole reason that you want to say you have a 6 string or look "good". Yes there are people out there that say " 6 strings are jazzers, 5 strings rock and 4's beginner" all that BS means nothing. Do what you can with the instrument, make music and have fun.

9FB

 

[buddyro57]

I had a difficult time going from 4 to 6 strings. I tried for a while to adjust, but too many things were new...all of my reference points were off, reading was greatly affected. I ended up playing 5 strings for a couple of years, enjoyed it greatly. Then I moved to 6 string (by accident really, traded for a pretty nice Ibanez), and was hooked- been playing 6 ever since and have no desire to go back.

My retort to the "strangled cat" comment is that its always the player who determines the sound, I can assure you that my C string does not sound that way.....and besides, I like cats. My C string sounds like George Benson's E string..........(of course that's where the similarities end!).

So the moral to the story is- why not try a 5 string, the transition wont be tough, then you can move to 6 later if you like. I also think that you want to do this before you start school, you don't want to be under the stress of getting aclimated to a new environment AND a new B string!

 

[inbrednedd]

hey all,
I just wanted to provide a clarification. Gary Willis compared the sound of a cat not to a fretted six C string, but a fretless six C string. See Invalid Link Removed .


In response to someone asking him if he recommended for or against stringing a 5 E-C, Willis responds:

"Hey Todd,
I don't think it would create any intonation problems, since the scale length and ability to adjust the intonation of each string wouldn't be affected. From a playing perspective, it wouldn't really make much difference either. But from a sound perspective, I'm compelled give you my opinion about the sound of a fretless C string: It kinda sounds like a cat. And I don't mean that in a good way. I mean, I really love dogs but I have a passionate indifference to cats that's almost matches their impressive capacity for indifference themselves.
Really, except for the 5 extra half steps that don't exist on the G string, every other available note on a C string sounds much better if it's played on the G string. So, if you can get over the sound problem, is it really an advantage? If I find myself unable to finish an idea because it includes notes above the high G then I'm usually able to get to that note with false harmonics. Problem solved. . . for me, at least. "

He does refer to fretted and fretless sixes later-he mentions that he prefers the sound of the equivalent note on the G as opposed to C string. On the other hand, he uses a 5 string bass strung E-C on the album Bent-see Invalid Link Removed

-Pat

 

[theoldmiami]

This is the WRONG place to post this. Justin is probably the least likely professional player here to recommend a good 5 or 6 string.