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7-string bass pros and cons?

D

dominus1986

Aug 14, 2006
14
0
Rocklin, CA
#1
I'm in the works of starting a build on a custom bass and I'm thinking about getting a 7-string this time. I already own an Ibanez SR506 (6-string) so I have exp. with wider range and all that good stuff. Anyone who plays or who has played please give me feed back, this will be a huge step for me in making this dream bass so I want to take every pre-caution.
 
#5
Pros--wide range, ton of possibilities every time you look at the fingerboard. Being able to show your guitarist what they're playing wrong, or being able to play an F# so low that only your subs will reproduce it, depending on how its strung.

Cons--wide range, ton of possibilities every time you look at the fingerboard. Strings aren't easy to get, and are usually very expensive; I generally just get a 6-string set and order the extra to avoid paying $70+ every time I want to restring.
 
#6
The neck is uncomfortably wide for some. I have tried out several 7 strings. Very cool instruments. I would love to have that low F# on there. But I think most people use that extra string as a high F. The ones that I have played were tuned that way anyhow.
 
#7
dominus1986 said:
I'm in the works of starting a build on a custom bass and I'm thinking about getting a 7-string this time. I already own an Ibanez SR506 (6-string) so I have exp. with wider range and all that good stuff. Anyone who plays or who has played please give me feed back, this will be a huge step for me in making this dream bass so I want to take every pre-caution.
Click to expand...

I have thought about this, too, and my main motivation would be for tuning; I could tune the top strings like a guitar EADGBE and still have a low B. This would give me access to all the guitar chord voicing, a lot of which are impossible on an instrument tuned fully in fourths.

As for strings, MTD sells six string sets at competitive prces, and the extra high F string they sell for about $2.00, so the cost of strings isn't really a problem.

You do have to go a little narrower on the string spacing, IMHO - not sure what the Conklins are at, but the 7 string I played was quite comfortable; probably 17 or 17.5.

Pickups are also a BIG issue...as is a bridge. The Hipshot B with the aluminum bed is a great one, and they're available in 7's I believe.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#8
I like playing my 7... I wish I made the jump sooner. Mine is a 34" scale with 19mm spacing at the bridge. I don't have overly large or small hands and I find it very comfortable to play. I also have a 4, 5 and 6 string bass... I don't play them nearly as much, but they all have their own uses.

String wise I order them from www.bigcitystrings.com and don't pay a whole lot... I order 5 string sets with 2 extra higher strings (I tune mine BEADGBE). The pickup on my 7 is a Delano and it perfectly suits my needs so I'll never have a need to swap it out.

I've not played country in a long while, but I have taken it to Classic Rock jams... I don't let bandmates dictate my gear. I know how to play and sound good doing so... that is ALL they need to concern themselves with.
 
#10
Pros
Impressive-looking
Range
Range w/o shifting

Cons
LOTS more *wrong* notes
Heavy
Again- IME- I'm not a good *melodic* thinker, so the high F didn't get much use; what's more, mine was fretless- another beast entirely(IMO). The High F was much more difficult to play in the typical fretless style I was after, & for me, impossible to do chords accurately.

I'd still like a fretted 7 for guitar-esque chordal wanking & composing.
 
#11
James Hart said:
I've not played country in a long while, but I have taken it to Classic Rock jams... I don't let bandmates dictate my gear. I know how to play and sound good doing so... that is ALL they need to concern themselves with.
Click to expand...

Same here...plenty of people call me for all sorts of gigs, and the 7 goes with me. I haven't been called by any Nashville country producers yet, but I don't think that has anything to do with my choice of bass ;)

ethompson2 said:
I've really considered picking up a Conklin GT7 here in the next few months to. Just for the extra possibilities as far as chords and tapping and what not. Ive always thought they were cool basses for sure.
Click to expand...

Do it. Do it now. I got the Bill Dickens model, and it quickly became my favorite bass, and a favorite of the musicians, bandleaders, soundmen, and engineers that I work with. They just sound that good.
 
#12
RTL said:
Pros:
You can land your airplane on it.
You'll never get called to play a country gig.

Cons:
Other people will try to land their airplanes on it.
Everyone will think you can play jazz.

:hiding:
Click to expand...


ROFL.....I rarely use my 6er unless my goofey guitar player thinks I should do a "bass solo". IMO, the five is all you need and BTW, every jazz bassist I know plays a 4 fretless anyway! You'll look really cool standing up there with all those strings (even though you are only playing on five of them). :rollno::eek:
 
#15
RicoDirenzo said:
every jazz bassist I know plays a 4 fretless anyway!
Click to expand...

Odd, unless you're counting DB as a fretless, I can only think of one jazz bassist who played a fretless four-banger exclusively...

I know, I know, don't feed the trolls.
 
#16
I owned a seven-string for a while, and kind of lost interest after a few months. It was set up for the high 'F', and I just never found much use for the additional range...even on jazz gigs. :D From a playability standpoint it wasn't bad - the only time I struggled with the neck was while playing repititious vamps (i.e. Sade tunes). Ultimately, it was kind of fun to experiment with some extended chord voicings, but on single-note playing I just didn't care for the uneven tone from that super-skinny string.
 
#19
john turner said:
one of the cons to remember, at least that i've run across -alot- in my 16-ish years of only playing 7+ string basses, is that you're going to deal with a lot of crap about your choice in instrument, mainly from other bass players.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's because I'm a relative newcomer to it, but I haven't run into this, except on Talkbass...all the bassists I've met face to face have been interested, curious, or even impressed with the beauty of the instrument.

My guitar player was wary at first, but it took all of one rehearsal and about five minutes playing it himself, and he was a convert.
 

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