Is a 6 the one to rule them all?

[Altitude]

I was in a covers / party / wedding band for well over a decade, probably 1500+ gigs and not one person (in the audience) ever commented on any of the instruments anyone played. Show up appropriately dressed, play well, have fun and groove. That's all the audience cares about.

"Appropriately" is where opinions differ. I don't feel comfortable with the statement a 6-string bass makes in certain musical settings. You might.

Oteil Burbridge plays a 4-string J when he tours with the Allman Brothers. I have no idea if that is his idea or theirs. It's just another data point.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So I have 4 5-stringers, 3 are fretless of which 2 are strung BEADG and since a few days ago 1 is now EADGC. So now I'm a high C virtuoso (that's sarcasm btw) I am wondering if a 6 string fretless will be the one to rule them all? I'd still keep the 5s and most of the 4s but I'm sorely tempted...

But wouldn't it look like I just want to be a guitarist?

The point isn’t which bass, or which instrument for that matters, the point is which one serves your artistic inclination/creativity the best. Frankly, I see no reason to not to venture out an explore new avenues.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I've got one backordered right now!

Thomann will be wondering what's going on, unless they're following this thread of course

 

[rtav]

Yes.

Played 4s for 35+ years, switched to 6s 7 or 8 years ago and unloaded all my 4s and won’t even consider a non 6 string bass.

I even turned down a free (and nice) Squier Jazz bc it’s not a 6. My thought was i wouldn’t play it so it should go to someone who will.

6 strings rule them all.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Is a 6 the one to rule them all? Yes!
But wouldn't it look like I just want to be a guitarist? No!!

 

[A9X]

"Appropriately" is where opinions differ.

The appropriate in my previous post referred to dress. A birthday party in a paddock would be different to the more formal attire at a wedding, but maybe not the biker wedding we did once.

I don't feel comfortable with the statement a 6-string bass makes in certain musical settings. You might.

What statement does my SR706 make for the band type I mentioned? It hardly draws attention to itself (no one would notice unless they counted the tuning keys) and I'm hardly going to rip out an extended bass solo in the middle of the bride and groom's first dance.

 

[Altitude]

The appropriate in my previous post referred to dress. A birthday party in a paddock would be different to the more formal attire at a wedding, but maybe not the biker wedding we did once.

What statement does my SR706 make for the band type I mentioned? It hardly draws attention to itself (no one would notice unless they counted the tuning keys) and I'm hardly going to rip out an extended bass solo in the middle of the bride and groom's first dance.
View attachment 4334241

No more. I understand your position, no need to further discuss.

 

[bad_andy]

I started on 4, went to 6 for a few years, then settled on 5 for my main gigging basses. 5 feels like home to me and I own several, along with a Jazz 4 with flats and a Curbow 6 I love playing at home. A lot of 6'ers have wide necks and while I love the musical options 6 strings give me, I was originally mostly drawn to the B string as a bassist.

The main reason I switched to 5 was the presence of the C string shifts many of the notes I get paid to play a bit further out of my hand and most of my gigs haven't involved the chords and solo stuff I know how to play on a 6'er. (If I stumbled onto a deal too good to pass up on a 37" Dingwall 6'er, I'd probably string it to be tuned F#-G.)

That said, I completely agree that finding a deal on, for example, an Ibanez 6'er is a great idea. You need to live with one for a while to know if it's really scratching a musical itch. You'll know if it's for you and if it isn't you've still got the option of playing one of your 5'ers strung E-C for chords and soloing. I still dig having mine around.

 

[lordradish]

But wouldn't it look like I just want to be a guitarist?

If you wank and don't groove, yes, but you won't do that, will you?

6 string opens up a lot of doors, if you walk through the right ones. My harmonic understanding has really improved, dramatically.

 

[lordradish]

Nope. Most folks don't need more than 4 strings.

Hah, that's funny.

 

[A9X]

No more. I understand your position, no need to further discuss.

OK, I'll leave it at that, except to say that I don't understand your position which was what I was trying to do. All the best.

 

[lordradish]

One thing that's important to bring up with the 6... consider string spacing. If you're not a slapper, consider a narrower string spacing. I have 16.5 spacing on my CB sixer, and when I play a regular one with 18 or 19, it feels way too wide for me.

 

[badinage]

Count me as one who believes that what bass is played modifies how people perceive a performance about as much as how you dress, how you move, how you smile (or not) does. Some will notice and make assumptions about the player whether they're personally moogicians or not.

 

[Gothic]

One thing that's important to bring up with the 6... consider string spacing. If you're not a slapper, consider a narrower string spacing. I have 16.5 spacing on my CB sixer, and when I play a regular one with 18 or 19, it feels way too wide for me.

I love fours and can do most -if not all- of what I need to on one but I very, VERY MUCH prefer the tighter string spacing of ERB's. If I could get even a mm narrower on a 4 string, I'd be all over it. Don't mind the neck width, mind you. Just the spacing. I'm decidedly faster and more accurate on 16-17mm basses than on fours. And yet I continue using only those. Hm...

 

[RumbleBot]

Thomann will be wondering what's going on, unless they're following this thread of course

I ordered mine about three weeks ago. When I originally ordered, expected availability was about one week out, but that changed and now they're expecting them on July 21-22. I've heard that with their shipping from Europe to the US, the average is only about 3-5 days! Crazy!

 

[MikePlaysBass]

I almost threw up when I saw the strings over 750

It’s all relative. If you’re playing in an orchestra with a $30K 200 year old bass, you’ll want the best strings you can afford. And, they will last a very long time. I mean, would you put $75 strings on something like that?

 

[cnltb]

Is a 6 the one to rule them all?
For me, the musical idea is what rules it all.
What bass one plays is pretty much the bottom of the list.

 

[MikePlaysBass]

When I do play my 6, it’s mostly for chords, which are great for solo work and the right band setting, but I haven’t ever had an opportunity to play it out. Chords on a fretless would be a real challenge in getting intonation on several strings right on. Double stops maybe, but 3 plus strings just increases the possibilities of one being a bit off, so lots of shed time for it in addition to the other basses. Regardless, I’m also really tempted to try a fretless 6, knowing that it would likely never leave the house.
If I run across a really great deal, I’ll jump at it, but I’m not on a position to justify throwing serious money at something like that right now.

 

[coyote1]

So I have 4 5-stringers, 3 are fretless of which 2 are strung BEADG and since a few days ago 1 is now EADGC. So now I'm a high C virtuoso (that's sarcasm btw) I am wondering if a 6 string fretless will be the one to rule them all? I'd still keep the 5s and most of the 4s but I'm sorely tempted...

But wouldn't it look like I just want to be a guitarist?

If this helps: I purchased the Ibanez Portamento 6 string a couple years ago. It’s a fantastic instrument; it does everything I could want in a fretless. The only reason it’s not my primary instrument right now is because I’m working hard on playing upright.

The cool thing about it is that with six strings, you can play nearly every song in just one position. And if you make that position up around the 10th-12th fret, you can get some tones that decently approximate an upright.

 

[Bill Murray]

I wouldn’t say it’s the “one to rule them all” but it could be exactly what you’re looking for.

6 strings are a lot of fun and I know three bassists who use them for everything. You still have the 4 and 5 string inside that annnd you get better access to higher notes giving you even more helpful hand positions, but where it really shines is with chordal work. It’s hard to beat a 6 string and a loop pedal! Endless practice opportunities await.

Here is why I sold my two six strings years ago. My tone. I have a very smooth, low end oriented sound that I almost always use. I hate compression because it takes away that extra boom on the B and E strings, so the high C usually gets buried in a band setting. For virtuoso bass songs (think solo bass like Michael Manring, etc) it worked great. It was helpful in jazz settings as well but I personally don’t like my electric playing for Jazz, I always play my upright instead.

Don’t listen to the people saying so and so only needed a 4 string… that’s cool and 4 strings are obviously a classic choice but there are plenty of reasons to play extended range. If you want one, get one!

My advice is to look towards Ibanez or Schecter. Affordable and great bang for your buck. 6 strings and beyond are much harder to offload than a 4 or 5 string so unless money is a non-issue I’d test the waters before diving into a top of line 6 string.

FWIW: Victor might play a 4 string but I’ve seen him on stage with bassists who played 6-7 strings multiple times. I can pretty much guarantee he picked those guys to tour with because they played 6 strings.