Folk to black metal, that's a heck of a transition!
That's cool though, I'm the same way
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Anyone moved away from bothering with a B-string?
- Thread starter topo morto
- Start date
Folk to black metal, that's a heck of a transition!
That's cool though, I'm the same way
I don't play my five-string much anymore and I never touch my sixer. That being said, I still have a four-string setup for Bb and one for C.
That may sound silly to some, but it all comes down to the bass and what I'm playing.
That may sound silly to some, but it all comes down to the bass and what I'm playing.
If Leo had actually looked at a piano he wouldn't have called his instrument a "bass" when it didn't even cover most of the low notes on a piano! Just saying.
But that said I will say I'm not a huge fan of either notes at B or below on either bass or piano. On the other hand I love the range of notes across the neck on a 6 string.
I made this move some months ago.
had a very beautitul 5'er, the neck was comfortable, but I hated the tone of the notes took on that B. The lowest registers were not used really, at least in my music, and the notes above the low E on the fifth string sounded in a way I did not like. I ended up using the fifth string as a super comfortable thumb rest.
I must precise: my technique was neat, I was able to play and control that fifth, but simply I didn't care much for it...
kept only four stringers, plenty for my needs and no need to spend an higher bill to change 5 strings...
had a very beautitul 5'er, the neck was comfortable, but I hated the tone of the notes took on that B. The lowest registers were not used really, at least in my music, and the notes above the low E on the fifth string sounded in a way I did not like. I ended up using the fifth string as a super comfortable thumb rest.
I must precise: my technique was neat, I was able to play and control that fifth, but simply I didn't care much for it...
kept only four stringers, plenty for my needs and no need to spend an higher bill to change 5 strings...
I said that for years. I couldn't even pick up a 4 string without feeling limited and tripping over my fingers. I'm adapting back to it quickly though. My slap work is much tighter on a 4 and it's much tastier on the fretless. There's still a few things I use the 5 for but the P-Bass is rapidly becoming my go-to axe.
Second bass was a 5, longest owned bass is a 5. I use it when I need to, but I feel more creative when "limited" to a 4 (my P-Bass is my go-to electric when I'm not playing upright). I like to have a low Eb and low D for certain songs, and unless I'm specifically paid to go lower on a 5, I don't need anything lower. So I put Detuners on my 4's. A drop tuned D sounds so much more wonderful than the 3rd fret on the B string. Just IMO.
I really like having 5 strings, at least for one bass. I like it so much that I'm just about to buy a 7 string guitar as well to be able to keep up with it. For Larry Graham and that kind of stuff a 4 is better, but except for that I really see no disadvantage in having a lower string.
It has the same notes as a double bass. That instrument, in turn, gets that particular name due to being lower than the other bass instrument of the string family, the cello (though the double bass actually has its roots in the viol family rather than the violin family of instruments).
Just because there are instruments with even lower range does not preclude the electric bass, or the bass viol, from being a bass instrument, especially when it would be ridiculous to write its notation in any clef other than bass clef, just as the existence of the contrabassoon does not make the regular bassoon something other than a bass instrument.
Here is what I do - I love a 5 string. I have more ground to cover, more tones I can hit and I love jumping to the upper registers and then back down to the low end.
I string my 5 string different though.
i actually buy a 6 string set of strings and then throw away the B string. I shift everything down so my bass is actually E-A-D-G-B. If I'm in Drop D I'll up that high string to D, or Drop C I'll tune it up to C. This gives me really cool options on the upper registers and basically gives me a power chord layout on the upper registers.
When people ask how/why I play on my B string so much I take a moment and explain to them how it's strung and tuned. Most of the time they are confused once I am done because they are stuck on the mindset of a 5 string having a lower B, not a higher B.
D
I string my 5 string different though.
i actually buy a 6 string set of strings and then throw away the B string. I shift everything down so my bass is actually E-A-D-G-B. If I'm in Drop D I'll up that high string to D, or Drop C I'll tune it up to C. This gives me really cool options on the upper registers and basically gives me a power chord layout on the upper registers.
When people ask how/why I play on my B string so much I take a moment and explain to them how it's strung and tuned. Most of the time they are confused once I am done because they are stuck on the mindset of a 5 string having a lower B, not a higher B.
D
Yes, I have decided to rock and roll all night and party every day with my EADG bass
I play both a five and a four, and sometimes it's nice to have the low b, not just for the extra four notes, but also so I have to shift less.
And it can add an interesting tone by being two octaves below the guitar, as opposed to just one.
And it can add an interesting tone by being two octaves below the guitar, as opposed to just one.
I play with a big band (amoungst other things) and they have a ton of music scored in Eb and and Bb and scores often call for a low Eb to be played. When recording R&B tracks a low D comes in handy.
I've been playing a 5 string almost exclusively for about 5 years. I use a four string fretless also and have no trouble going back and forth
I've been playing a 5 string almost exclusively for about 5 years. I use a four string fretless also and have no trouble going back and forth
