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6-stringers - which string do you use more, Low B or High C?

Sixers, which string do you use more often - low B or high C?

  • I use the low B more often.

    Votes: 49 49.5%

  • I use the high C more often.

    Votes: 21 21.2%

  • I use them about the same amount.

    Votes: 29 29.3%
  • Total voters
    99
#3
I'm so very used to playing in first position that I've not been using the B in the middle of the neck like I should. Consequently, the C gets use on fills and such more than the B for meat and potatoes walking bass or ostenato lines.

I am working on this, however. When I first picked up a bass with a low B, I thought it was mainly there only to play B thru Eb, but I know different now.
 
#4
A better thought-out thread would include a poll that offered three options... "B string", "C string", and "I use them equally", with no options for trolls who do not play sixers. Given that it stands to reason that both strings will be used equally (unless the bassist is involved in some sort of music that ignores one of the two), the question as the OP worded it is lacking.
 
#6
I'm not a big solo guy. I like to hold down the bottom. If my 6 didn't sound so good I would sell it. I rarely use the C. When I do, it's because I'm making myself do it, not because I need/want to.
 
#10
I don't own a sixer, but I have tuned my fiver to EADGC before (of course, I switched to a lighter set of strings to do this).

It was very cool to open up those higher-pitched melodic possibilities, but to me, the C tension was uncomfortably high.

I liked the C-string, but eventually I went back to BEADG. So I suppose if I had a sixer, I'd probably play the B-string more often.
 
#11
I use the C more often.

mikeyswood said:
A B string is great to have and is a terrible thing to use to much.
Click to expand...

I think Anthony Jackson is a great, and rare, example of how to use the low notes on a B very often and still create fantastic lines that fit.
 
#13
Low B, definitely. I rarely use the high C, and sometimes wonder if I should just trade my MTD 635 for a 535. But, I always think better of it as I haven't found a 535 that I like as much as my 635.
 
#19
In my 6str basses (namely 1 Prima and 2 Prima Artist Dingwalls), the B string is used more often cause of the "groove" factor, while the high C is used for "extensions" and soloing, thus not as frequently (but definitely not sparingly). So B string sees more action in general
 
#20
My second bass was a six string I bought when I was 15. I paid for it myself and while a lot of money for me at the time (around 1992 or 93) it was not a really high quality bass. Well, more specifically it was a pretty nice five string bass E-C but with a very floppy/undefined B string.

Consequently I ONLY used the B string for notes below low E and didn't really use the B outside of first position except as a thumbrest. So obviously I used the C string a lot more.

My next two basses were five strings tuned EADGC with a detuner on E. It wasn't until a few years ago when I played a few basses with really solid, even and great sounding B string. I've been exclusively a 4 string player the last two years but now have an ADG sixer on order. I'm guessing that soon I'll be able to say I use the B and C strings equally.
 

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