• 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.

Do you use your B?

#81
I hardly ever use the low B. I rarely play open strings.
On my 6, I have a fretwrap sitting in the 1st fret to dampen the stings and that sometimes slides down to the 3rd fret,
often without me noticing. I like variation and the B string gives another option to play all the notes in the range where the money is in a different way (i.e. five frets higher up the neck on a fatter string). I also have lots of songs that were written on 4 strings transposed up the neck for better feel or because I like the sound more.
 
#82
Unless you're playing in a jazz group where you get to solo a lot, or in some group where the bass is asked to occupy the upper register more than it typically would (and there's nothing wrong with either of those situations), a 5-string tuned BEADG will be more useful than one tuned EADGC.

I play 5 strings on my gigs almost all the time. My group is a horn funk and dance variety band. The low B isn't strictly necessary, but it's useful. Since I am accustomed to the way the 5 string feels and where the notes are, there's no downside to playing the 5 versus a 4, and I have access to the low notes when I need them. In my situation, I would have to try to invent ways to use the high C, none of which would likely serve the music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jamie_Funk
#84
Yes, i find the low B very useful, And after playing 4 string basses for over 25 yrs (switched to 5’s in 2014)
im convinced 5 string basses (higher end-well built basses) sound bigger & thicker.. with more “girth” than 4’s. And im not even talking about the low B, i mean the E-G strings just sound better, fuller to me. Im venturing to say its due to more neck & body mass...
 
#85
I in a classic rock/country band. Mostly classic rock, but there are some spots when a low D or C will work in old tunes and sometimes it is just quick passing tones. Also, being able to play across the neck helps and it helps on Wild Night. (I hit that low G on the B string).
 
#86
Back to the OP - First, there are a lot of reasons you may want to have a B string. However, many of them have to do with playing with other people. For example, there are a lot of songs (mostly from the 90s onward) that utilize the lower notes, especially Eb, D and Db. There are also many singers who need to take the original key down a little, so having the lower range is helpful. If you mostly play by yourself, this is probably not a consideration. I'm someone who plays out some of the time. At one point, I had amassed a large collection of 4 string basses that were iconic to me. Unfortunately, they almost never left the house because when it came to playing with others, it was always better to take a 5 string.

There are other advantages to having a 5 string, mostly being able to cover more notes without moving your left hand up and down the neck. In a sense, using the B string for notes that are not unique to the B string (playing higher up the neck). This works even when you're practicing alone.

I'd probably avoid the high C unless you really have a need for it. In the end, you can largely ignore the B string when you don't need it, just use it as a thumb rest. You really can't ignore the C string as you have to reach over it. In other words, it probably has to be something you really want or need. I learned this the hard way when I purchased (and later sold) a 6 string a few years ago. Having a higher string that I rarely used (but had to mute) was an annoyance, especially as it further compressed the string spacing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mpike and Altitude
#87
For me, the answer completely depends on the gig and material being played.

How much improv is being done? How true to the cover you are playing? Does the cover call for it? Are you playing original compositions?

You’ve got players in all sorts of different genres posting here; so, there are going to be a lot of different answers; none of which are universal player truths.

FWIW, I did a stint for two years in the last working Big Band in the Phoenix area. We had nearly 500 charts in 4 massive three ring binders that I dragged around and read from on the gigs. I played my 4 string for those dates, because not one of those charts needed the lower notes. Sure, I could have played a 5; I just would not have used the B string. Though, I did use my D-tuner for a couple of low Eb’s here and there.

Still, there are certain cases where a HipShot 4 can’t get it. For example, my current gig is playing Can’t Hurry Love, transposed down to Ab to accommodate the male singer. The 4 with the HipShot has the notes, but can’t cop that descending 4th Jamerson toggle. So, I use the 5 for that one. That’s a fingering example for where the B is useful.

In terms of fingering other than the example I gave above, I still think a player benefits from having the shift based approach, such as the Simandl Method, in their tool kit on the 4 or the 5. Fluency with shifting is useful for getting your phrasing right. Using a B so that you can play vertically across the strings is sometimes useful, but needs to be balanced with phrasing needs.
 
#88
I like how thick the notes sound when I play them on the B string above the 12th fret, and also many noteson the others strings, rather than on the G string (which can sound thin).
I also do a lot of soloing, so if I can play long passages in one position by simply crossing strings, as opposed to running up and down the neck, I ill do that.
 
#90
I personally think its easier to play fast on on a five string, because on every string but B, there is another string that your finger can fall onto, allowing you to bring it back up quicker. The B is very useful when it comes to improvisation and coming up with bass lines, even without using the "new" notes, it allows you to go lower once you reach E without having to think about intervals in terms of half tones, and rather positions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KIL0117
#91
Depends what music I'm playing. With my punk/thrash band I use my Stingray in drop-D tuning.

For my metal bands, I use my 6s and the B gets used a lot, for the heaviness.

If I'm playing jazz (which is rare these days) having the B makes it easy to jump around chords in one position.

Soo yeah. It gets used.
 
#92
I played 5's for 20 years and one day it occurred to me it was just an expensive thumbrest. I went back to 4 and am happier for it. However, no matter the music, sometimes it's nice to have that string there so as to not need to change hand position. Or go down to a D as necessary.

Still, unless you're doing heavy music, it's far from necessary. In fact, I know one internationally-known player who refuses to hire bassists who play a 5.
 
#93
It's indispensable for me - mostly blues and jam band playing.

I hear people all the time say "Use the B string sparingly". I can't wrap my brain around that. The string is part of the bass just like the other strings. Play it whenever you feel like it. It doesn't matter what genre music you are playing unless you are trying to replicate a cover tune exactly as it was recorded. Most people in the audience (let alone your band mates) can't tell what a low E is.

For what it is worth, I have yet to hear a critical comment from any of my band mates that the notes being used are too low.
 
#94
You get 5 lower notes, which can be great. I usually play a 4 string but when I play a 5, its not always about the lower notes, but the ability to stay in one position for notes you would have to move for on a 4 string.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mpike
#95
I'm in an originals band, so unless I conscientiously write with the B string in mind, it gets almost no attention.

I've been tuned to drop D, even on a 5. That means the only low notes I would utilize would be B, C, and C#.

In a metal band or a cover band, I'd utilize it much more, but as the metal genre gets further and further diluted in my area I can't see myself ever wanting to join one again. I do a lot of recording for friends' projects however, so the 5's get plenty of use when I'm called upon.
 
#98
I constantly use the B string. I don't have large hands and I use it as an invaluable tool to play higher up on the neck for less fret spread. In my alt/indie band I constantly use low B for that extra girth since we're a 3 piece band.
 
#99
bdplaid said:
Still, unless you're doing heavy music, it's far from necessary. In fact, I know one internationally-known player who refuses to hire bassists who play a 5.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what "heavy music" has to do with it - an Eb is an Eb.

That "internationally known player" story, if it's the one I think it is, was not about whether the B string is useful. That guy has a very identifiable image that has a lot of retro in it. I always figured he was filtering out the bassists who brought 5s to the audition as not understanding the optics of the gig they were trying to get. He was probably right!
 
Last edited:
#100
Does your music have notes? Are any of those notes a B, a C or a D,? Yes? There, use the B string.

Joking aside, I use the B string to do my bass lines fuller, using fourths along with the roothnote to make some fills.

If I have a bassline in G and A, with the fifth string I can get an extra groove by playing D/G and E/A isntead of just the rootnotes. We simple have more options, to really bring up the BASS
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back