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i tried some 5ers and 6ers! my thoughts...

thehangingmist

thehangingmist

Dec 14, 2007
6,367
302
New Delhi, India
#1
hey! i have been a 4 player all my life but recently i had been thinking a lot about the possibilities with more strings you know... living in this part of the world its hard to find basses. but anyway yesterday i went all the way around the town trying 5er and 6er basses

i got to play a few nice basses a few bad basses but heres what i think;
on 90% of the basses i tried, the B was too floppy to be usable, of course the basses at the shops were not set up the best but it was not just the flop but i noticed anything i played on the low B even sounded floppy!
the notes on the low B werent loud like others, they didnt have the same attack just mud!

turning all the way to bridge pickup made it a little better but still not really good enough! i also got to know 6ers' necks are too wide for my hands. anyway what am still wondering is a lot of people play 5ers and if the low B is always so bad then they wouldnt be all using it right?

:eek::atoz:
 
#2
Not all 5ers have bad B strings. The floppiness or tightness depends on a lot of things; the setup, the string thickness, the scale length, how tightly is the neck secured to the body, about a zillion different things.

The sad state of affairs is that most basses in stores *are* set up badly. Even my bass (a 5 string, and my first and only bass) took a lot of time, setup, and effort to get a good B sound.

If you want to try a bass with a good B string, try a 5 string Music Man bass. As bad as some store setups get, I've never played a MM Stingray-5 in a Guitar Center that had a bad B string. Your mileage may vary, of course.
 
#4
high(er) tension strings
relatively straight neck
relatively low action
stringing through the body
longer scale lengths (35-36 inches)

For what is worth, I've been playing 6-string basses for many years now and there are several great builders out there that will make basses with great sounding B strings (i.e. musical). IMHO these great luthiers manage to build stiff and stable necks that allow for very precise set-ups, which along with the construction techniques, woods and electronics result in a very good overall low frequency response and a great dynamic range for the instrument.
 
#5
FWIW, i don't remember the last time i tried a bass at a music store that was actually in tune. while a low B has less tension than the other 4 strings, a proper tune, set up, etc. will make it quite usable.

i'll second the opinion about Musicman 5 strings. I own 2 Stingrays and a Bongo and they all have a DELICIOUS low B.
 
#7
FL Knifemaker said:
You need to play a good, properly setup 5er with a good B string. That way, you will have something to judge all others by. You can't always go by price and brand. At my local GC, there are big name basses with BLAH B strings. At the same time, there's a used OLP with an AWESOME B string. You'll know when you find an awesome B string :D
Click to expand...

I had an rbx375, no matter what strings I put on that thing it was always floppy and muddy and crud (stock strings, DR black beauty .125, elixirs .130 etc),...

now have the ibanez K5, have only used elixirs on it cos thats what it came with and the low B is awesome,... the only problem I really have is that the low B sounds CRUD through my ashdown 2X10,... through my 4X10 it sounds awesome though!

always make sure you try the low B of a 5 and 6 through the best possible amp you can in the store, it may just make that much more difference IMHO...

as for how some bands get an awesome sounding killer B, well im still trying to find that out,... I love coal chambers bassist's cos when that low B comes out its just so pure and thick, no muddines and no quick decay or anything... have a feeling it may be either studio technology or massive amps tho!

EDIT: oh yeah and no matter what you do, try playing a bit gentler on the B string, it will always feel and sound a bit different to your other strings I think just due to the sheer nature of it...
 
#8
portmanteau said:
If you want to try a bass with a good B string, try a 5 string Music Man bass. As bad as some store setups get, I've never played a MM Stingray-5 in a Guitar Center that had a bad B string. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Click to expand...


playing a MM stingray at GC was the reason i thought they were overrated and would never own one for the longest time..

it wasnt until i played one at a proper shop that i realized that i had been way off.

the real sad state of affairs is that 5ers are being churned out by various companies that just plain suck.

i once played a used six string with aftermarket seymour duncan pups in it.. best b string feel and sound i've ever experienced.. it couldnt all be in the duncans.. i'm currently searching for the brand cause i always forget it

however i used to have a cort action 5 that the b string was consistant with the other 4 strings.. the pickups were very weak imo but atleast it had consistency
 
#9
Yeah don't give up yet, they ARE out there. I bought an awesome Yamaha bass used at GC for cheap that has a fabulous low B. Better than the used Warwick on the wall next to it for 4x the $$.
Not that I'm slamming Warwicks by any means, just saying you don't have to spend a fortune to find a good one. Price is not the determining factor. Your ears and fingers are.

My 5 and 6 string basses both have top loader bridges too. IMHO the 35" scale is usually the first thing I look for.

I've been known to bring a tape measure with me to the store (and get that glazed look from the salespeople) but after reading a lot of threads in TalkBass I decided I was being too anal. I bought that Yamaha after a/b'ing it against everything in the store that day and when I got it home, guess what? 35" Scale length. :rolleyes:

edit: Yamaha RBX775, ceased production in '04 I believe
 
#10
IMO/IME ... with either a 5 or 6 string; Brand of Strings/types of strings, Gauge, a proper set-up, as well as scale length, makes all the difference in a "good B". Even if you find the magical combination ... you'll still want more out of your "B" ... as I find there is no "perfect B".

Scale length probably makes the biggest difference in a "good B" or not-so-good one. However being a 4 string convert ... changing scale might pose a problem, as many bassists find it hard to switch from 34" to 35"+ scale lengths (frankly ... there all about the same to me ... but then again, I do look at the fretboard a bit more than I should :o).

Possibly the hardest way to get a "good B" out of a bass with a so-so "B" is finding the right set of strings. However, IMO/IME ... it is also the best way. It's amazing how much of a difference in getting a "good B" comes from the strings themselves.

All in all ... don't give up on extended range basses. Find the one that fits your needs, with a "B" that you can live with ... then start your search for the type/gauge strings that will make the "B" better.
 
#14
D Rokk said:
here is a link to the pic of that 6 string.. cant read the headstock cuz its too early.. any help?
http://www.triplerguitar.com/store/m.../Image2183.jpg

okay found it.. its an alvarez aeb 6
Click to expand...
URL not found however try playing a Ken Smith or an MTD-USA a thru a quality amp and speaker system, better yet, record a song with 1 of those 2 basses and then hear the B string. Makes a world of difference on build quality and amplification choice to really tell. Good thread ......;)
 
#15
I use an Ibanez 505 with Marcus Millers and the B string is pretty solid. As others have said, it's a matter of string choice and setup mostly.

As far as the clarity of the sound on the low-B, that's more of an EQ issue. Most bass overtones are going to sit between 140 and 200Hz and that can cause the sound to get a bit muddy. If you cut that frequency a bit and then boost the fundamental (100Hz) and the harmonics (800Hz), you can get a clearer sound without losing much warmth.
 
#16
HogieWan said:
I like 5ers and I feel the same way. I hear over and over that you can make a good B with a 34", but I've tried a lot of them and I only like the ones with thick B strings and 35+" scale.
Click to expand...

I read ya and used to swear by 35" scale until I could try one for myself. A friend of mine has a few Curbows and I simply thought they wer 35" scale because it sounded so damn good. Some of the top notch luthiers do a very good job in the 34" scale low B department, and a few have specialized in doing this in 33" scale, and a select few in 32" scale.

However, it's crucial to take everything with a grain of salt. TB's #1 recommendation for a 5er (the non-Dingwall.....) has never impressed me.
 
#17
i went all around the town again today! mainly to buy strings i didnt yesterday and to met a friend but i thought okay i'd try those 5ers again and some more 6ers
i only felt bad for i couldnt not like even one 5 or 6 string bass. i really want one but there is nothing i can find which sounds and plays better than my squier 4! crazy isnt it?

i tried a ibanez SR 705! today its pretty up the range bass and it gave me no GAS at all. i just kept telling my self no wonder its so easy to find bad basses, glad that leo fender got the design right but too bad he never made a 5 string fender!!?
man am depressed, the good thing could be i'd spend my money on a loop station or a drum set or something :hmm:
 
#18
The BEST B string IMHO and IME can be found on a Dingwall and I've owned over 100 basses (most were 5strs with less than 10 being 4str and 6 or 7 str)

On the other hand, proper construction and set up allows for a good (Carvin, EBMM5) to GREAT B string (Ken Lawrence, Ritter, Fodera, Status, Stambaugh, RBass, Fbass to name a few)

Unless one tries several many basses, there is no way you can find what works for him/her
 

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