Do you use your B?

[BassAndReeds]

My favorite use of the B string is in the keys of A - B, where I start on the 5th to 7th fret of the E string. I can go down to the E - F# on the B string and not have to switch positions, or go up. Quick and comfortable. Easier for me to play in A on a 5er than a 4 banger.

 

[mazdah]

I play no more than 10 notes on B string during my gigs.

But those are the notes that are supposed to be there.

 

[lbbc]

When I had a 5'er, I rarely used the B string (unless we played something with a low Eb or D...which was rare). So, I traded it for a 4-string Alembic Persuader and have been completely satisfied.

 

[dave64o]

Sure, I do. The main reason I play fives is for positioning options, but having the extra strings can sometimes also make it easier to transpose on the fly. There are only a handful of songs here I use the lower notes.

 

[Wfrance3]

Yup. Rarely play an open low b. Play the smell out of a g f# e d...
Don’t even get me started on how b and F# off th b string work well together. Bflat F... g off the b string with the c right next to it...
All very basic examples, but see how a b string Can help you?...

 

[lfmn16]

I use it mostly for a thumb rest. I don't have anything against the B string, I personally just don't really have much use for it. However, on the few songs where I do need it, it's invaluable. YMMV

 

[Slevage]

Nope. Never have and never will. Sometimes I dont even add the b string to my 6ers.

High C and high F ?

 

[PaulPriest76]

Every day, every gig, every track. I don't know what I'd do without the B string, and I couldn't go back to 4 if I tried.

 

[Pedullist]

I don't care if use it often, and I never play anything higher than E on it (it sounds better on the higher strings). But I just LOVE to be able to drop a low D, C# and C in a song. It can give a song a certain lift off, that little extra it needs.

 

[ezstep]

A whole bunch of church music is written in Eb. The low B comes in handy with hand position, but I rarely go below a low D note.

 

[twinjet]

When I played a six string, my B saw occasional use. I used the low range as accented territory. Only for notes with the most impact were played that low.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

One guys says this.
"Consider the music you’re playing. With a traditionally tuned 5-string, you have 5 extra notes: Low B, C, C#, D, and D#."

Now here comes this.

While this is a common opinion, it is not an educated one. And people who actively play 5ers know that.

Looks lik I nede sum edumacation. What u talkin about Willis?

 

[stringthrough]

Probably not as much as I should and almost never above the 7th fret.

 

[garciawork]

Every time I play. To be honest, I didn't buy it for the B, I bought a 5 for the ability to use optimal hand positions for arpeggios in E and D. I play on a worship team, and don't like being up in the guitarist range, but I do use a lot of arpeggios so starting at the higher E (a string, 7th fret) and walking "up" I am essentially playing what they play a lot of the time. I personally find that I sound much better in the mix this way, for my purposes. I do use low B, C, C# a bit, but that wasn't my primary reason for getting a 5.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

What up TB!
Been considering a 5 or 6 string for a while. Just to experiment with, i’m not a working musician, just play by myself mostly. Have an opportunity to purchase an mim Jazz 5 for $250. But I only have 4 strings, and I don’t really know how to use the low B. I’m considering buying it to string it to EADGC, just for fun, I like to play above the 12th fret a lot. So i’m sure this question is beating a dead horse, but do you really use your low b string, and how often? If not, do you roll with a 5 string like I’m considering (eadgc).
And........ go

First thing is buy it. That’s a really good value, assuming it’s in serviceable condition. If you find out it’s not for you, you should be able to get your money back out of it. The second it’s to listen to music that uses a low B or notes below E. Third, get a lesson book that deals with it. You will be up and running with it in short order.

 

[khutch]

It really doesn't matter how much others use their B strings because EADGC is as fine a tuning for a five string bass as any other if it seems like it would be useful for you. That is how the first production five string bass guitar was tuned, actually. It wasn't a success so we can conclude that EADGC is not the tuning that the majority favor and that the bassists of the day were not imaginative enough to try other tunings on it. But there are a smattering of people here on TB who use and love that tuning.

 

[rtslinger]

Classic Rock player, I borrow a 5fer from a friend, he wasn't using it. I was thinking about buying one so, I had it for about 2 months, really didn't fit although I try to use it at a couple shows, but it wouldn't have been a good investment so I bought another 4

 

[Nedmundo]

Also.. We do many tunes in Eb or Db.

For those tunes the B is almost mandatory ( Imho).

Yes, a five is incredibly useful in flat keys. I once played in a band with a songwriter who often wrote in Eb and Db. I managed with my fours, but I realized a five would have been very helpful, and that's when I began thinking about one. In fact, I considered ordering a G&L L-1505 when I was in that band, but at the time I didn't like G&L's five string necks.

 

[Being and Bass]

I use it enough that I use 6-strings. But should I use a 5er ever, I would tune E-C and use a drop tuner on the E string for tunes that needed it.

 

[socialleper]

When I'm playing songs written for a low B, yes. If not, no.