I play chords to fill parts that may be played by other instruments such as keyboards. It's also fun to re-arrange a song and apply the use of chords on the 6-string bass to make the bass the lead instrument. Have the bass play the guitar or piano/keyboard chords. Of course you need to play with open-minded musicians that are willing to try something a different, which fortunately I do.
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6 string bassists: C string in a band setting?
- Thread starter Matthew_84
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Chording and double-stop slides/embellishments.
I play little other than sixes these days.
I play little other than sixes these days.
Well, yes, using the extra string to eliminate position shifts is certainly one good way to make use of it...but another way, which I often find useful in certain types of music, is completely antithetical to that: You use the C string when you want a note that sounds timbrally different from that same note played on any other string. And sometimes that means playing out of position, just to get to a note that has the appropriate spectral balance for the part you're trying to execute. E.g., you may be playing a passage in 5th or 7th position, but you need a D# (2nd space above the bass clef) that doesn't have the thickness of a 8th-fret-on-the-G-string D#. Voila, you've got one, albeit down on the 3rd fret of your C string.
Give yourself a gold star and a cookie, you found a mistake by a fellow TBer. Hope you're proud. Maybe you could put it in your signature.Wait, wut?
No I meant the G on the 7th fret, he knows what I meant. My point was that the same note sounds different on different strings, but on TB the minutia is more important than the point.
Thanks Singlemalt! Just a quick question, what do you mean by a "hot set up"? Like an active bass with a lot of output?
I'll give you an example. I play the piano chords for Let it Be by the Beatles on my six string bass. It sounds very cool, yet different due to the unique sound and tuning of the instrument. I'll try to put up a video soon to give you a better idea. I have a great teacher that developed his own unique approach to the use of chords on the six string bass - even wrote his own book (he's been playing six string bass since 1989). He does some REALLY crazy work on the six string bass and I've been fortunate to learn quite a few chords and fingerstyle techniques over the years. I think he may have some videos on ReverbNation. I'll see if I can find them.
Not necessarily active, but it could be. I'm talking about sensitivity, and gain, and good control of both through touch and compression. But good balance is going to be found on the bass and the strings. Part of the beauty of the fanned fret design is the balance of volume and tension across the strings. Pickups that can be adjusted for height at either end helps too. So your pup is much closer to the C string than the B string.
Check out Todd Johnson's six string stuff for cool ideas and tons of chordal playing. He's in the ask a pro section. Adam Nitti is another cool six stringer that gives advice here on TB.
Check out Todd Johnson's six string stuff for cool ideas and tons of chordal playing. He's in the ask a pro section. Adam Nitti is another cool six stringer that gives advice here on TB.
This is not me.But this is an example of what I aspire to do with the C or F on a six or seven string bass.
