Reassessing the 6 string

[Dabndug]

I like 6 string basses, I have 2. I have a strong preference for narrow string spacing though, at both the nut and the bridge.
The C string is handy for chords, double stops, fills, and solos of course.
I don't use the B string as much.

You want a Bass VI then!

 

[flojob]

I like the platform. I'm not in love with the import MTD version, which is all I have, currently. It's my second 6 string, and I doubt I'll go back.
I do find myself staying away from the C string because the timbre doesn't match the mood.

 

[UntitledUser]

You want a Bass VI then!

Also a 9 strings baritone guitar 29" that is [C#, F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E]
(it's nearly like a short scale bass, that then goes higher incorporating a full 6 strings guitar inside its range)
It nearly can do everything in solo project... but is it a bass or is a guitar? Don't know.

 

[Spent]

After 30+ years of fours, and occasional fives, I've been playing six string exclusively for the past three years. I can see myself playing fives again, but not fours. I do occasionally drag out my Spector Euro LX4 for hired gun gigs with a couple of bands, but I practice and rehearse with a six.

 

[TheMaynorD]

Went to a 6er about 8 years ago and fell in love. I far prefer moving string to string across the board than running the length. I use the c string for soloing, chording, and to add an octave up on a note from time to time. Low B string is an absolute necessity for me as my band tunes in drop C and my Low C note is integral to many of our songs.

Downsides are weight (11lb thumb 6 that i can use as a life raft in case of aquatic accidents) string costs ($30 or higher every set) and the extra effort it takes to slap with a 17mm string spacing. Just have to use good technique. All totally worth it.

And the confused, judgemental, slightly scared look in the eyes of the traditionalists when you pull it out of the case? Priceless.
"Man you dont have a 4 string?"
" yeah i have a 4 string bass, it sits right between my B string and C string"

 

[Watchootognbout]

I love my 6 strings. No need to move around the neck, and believe it or not, people with small hands who aren't 6'4'' can really benefit from the extra 2 strings.

In fact I regret I didn't start out on a seven string. Skip the 5, forget the 6, just get to the bottom of the line. All my future basses will either be a 6 or a 7 string.

I did have a fretted seven for a while.

But I found that the extra wide neck caused my fretting hand fingers to constantly hit the high F when shifting positions.
Plus,that bad boy was 13 1/2 lbs!
So I went back to the six.

In this case,less is more.
In weight and width.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I have owned a 6 string for decades, but at heart I am a 4 string traditionalist.

Six strings never seemed as intuitively comfortable as a 4 or 5 and muting and string spacing were an issue. For chords, I grab a guitar or keyboard.

The last two years I have dug into guitar and sax solos on the bass. The 4 with 24 frets will cover a lot of the territory,, but often way up in the neck where access is hard.

The 6 solved that. I got home today and retrieved my 6 string out of the closet.
Pure joy playing the high register stuff and covering more stuff in one position.

Your thoughts on the 6?

I think they have their place. I have my own pros and cons to 4,5, and 6 string basses. Because of the thinner high C string they are great for chords, and if I had to go down to one bass I'd probably make it a 6 just for the versatility

 

[OptimalOptimus]

a 6 is still a bass. I play regular bass too on the 6. I just prefer the feel of a 6 and the fact that I don't need to change basses if one song I'll play some Red Hot Chili Peppers, the next some Korn and then Dream Theater.

I can do it all with a 6 strings bass in hand.

I played a lot of classical music too, very good for reading and it is way more fun on a 6 stings to me.

I never understood people need X or Y or Z for this or that specific scenario that no one will care unless you play the wrong thing.

Muting is simple with moving anchor or floating thumb ... but I guess it is hard when you only played with the thumb anchored on the pickup

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I am fully committed to the sixer. I've written material that literally cannot be played on a five at all, and a bunch more material that could only be played on a five with difficulty. Like most bassists I started on a four, and I still like to play four-string at home occasionally. But I've been a six-string bassist for so long now I actually get lost on the four-string sometimes, especially if I'm soloing above the 12th fret. I tend to think I'm on the C string when I'm actually on the G.

 

[G On Bass]

I like 6's a lot. But for the kind of stuff I play, I have no need for the high C. Mostly I'm in trios (no soloing), and when I go higher, the bottom end falls out of the song and it sounds wrong, IME. I play all 5's now, but if given a choice between a 6 and a 4, I'd grab that 6!

 

[Adam Wright]

I love properly built 6 strings. Most that I've owned and tried have really terrible ergonomics and/or way too much fall away in the upper register to be truly playable. A MTD 634-17 was the best I've owned but sold it during a difficult period.

 

[Turxile]

You want a Bass VI then!

Not at all. I like bass and I like it 34". But I also like to play chords and double stops and take a solo here and there. And a bass can do those.
I like tighter spacing on my 5ers as well as 6ers. Not bass VI tight, 16.5"-17" at the bridge. My main basses have been Warwick 5ers for years, so too used to that..
I don't use the B string much because if I can play a note on the E string, I do. The B is for the occasional very low note, or when the note is in significantly easier reach than I can find it on the E string. And that's not very often.

 

[rollie 55]

love playing my six

 

[rollie 55]

A six-string is the definitive electric bass, in my opinion.
All of the extra range is useful and adds value; you can play with guitarists in altered tunings without needing to retune yourself, you have easy access to an Eb, there's more scope to play inverted arpeggios or have your lowest note something other than the tonic.
With the high string you've got the ability to double lines in the guitar range, you can hit partial chords or arpeggios dead easy, there's lead playing or melodic lines if you do that. Plus the whole thing puts three octaves under your fingers without needing to shift hand position, which is probably the biggest advantage.

Anything more than six is an extra but isn't strictly necessary; the added range of a seven- or eight-string bass adds a lot more options and you can do a lot of cool stuff with it (I play an eight so I speak from my own experience) but it starts requiring different techniques and approaches at that point.

Six is a logical development of the electric bass, people have their fours and fives but I'm my own view and based on my own experience, a six does all the essentials, whereas a four only covers most of them.

Each six also comes with a built-in four-string, so there's really no downside.

this says it all 100% correct

 

[MattZilla]

They're entertaining.

I'd prefer a 36" 4 with thirty frets tuned ADGC if I were wanting the extended range.

maybe a Dingwall 6 would convert me, but on the most even and balanced tone stringsets I still hear a different voice on each string. I'd rather do my runs up and down the neck, occasionally jumping strings either out of range necessity or for tonal choice, than across it and having to work my plucking hand everywhere from in front of the bridge to above the 22nd fret to try to keep a single voice through a run.

In the end though, the more I study whole songs that I really enjoy no matter the context, the more I buy into that old garbage about no money being above the fifth fret or whatever. I'm really liking delegating cool isht I'd like to play on the bass off to a synth, bari sax, or a telecaster tuned down a little. It just sounds better to my ears and lends more of a bludgeoning weapon-status to the bass, regardless of genre.

 

[kesslari]

Nothing against 6'ers. The logic makes perfect sense but they don't fit me. I've played 5's for so long and I'm totally satisfied with that. Play what you enjoy.

 

[fourstr00]

I've been playing six since high school, but about three years ago I bought another four. There's something about the limitations that I enjoy, and it's fun to take parts with wide range and re-write them to fit.

But when it's time to throw down, yeah, still need a six.

 

[ArtechnikA]

I started bass on 5.
In a couple of months I'd moved on to fretless 6 which is my #1.
5 - 6 - 7 in the inventory now; even the EUB has 5.
Truth be told, I almost never play anything on the C - so far. And the 7, which I bought to explore chording and to have something a little different (one of about 40 Roscoe 7-string SKB's made) mostly sits in the rack. Some day...

 

[40Hz]

I have owned a 6 string for decades, but at heart I am a 4 string traditionalist.

Same here. Not so much a traditionalist since I think if myself mainly as a prog rock bassist more than anything else. But 4-strings is definitely my home turf.

Six strings never seemed as intuitively comfortable as a 4 or 5 and muting and string spacing were an issue. For chords, I grab a guitar or keyboard.

Mostly this for me too. Although the high C on a fiver felt far more a natural extension to my sad brain than the low B did at first.

The last two years I have dug into guitar and sax solos on the bass. The 4 with 24 frets will cover a lot of the territory,, but often way up in the neck where access is hard.

Interesting. When I started bass, the method books my teachers used were all saxophone and clarinet solo studies. It was hugely beneficial to my development as a player. I'm surprised those studies don't figure more prominently in the average bass player's education.

The 6 solved that. I got home today and retrieved my 6 string out of the closet.
Pure joy playing the high register stuff and covering more stuff in one position.

Pretty much how I felt putting a high C on my fiver. For lows I hardly ever (as in virtually never) need anything lower than a low D. So dropping the E is all I need to do.

Your thoughts on the 6?

I'm for it! A six is strong contender for my next totally unnecessary instrument purchase. But seriously, if I didn't already have so much already I'd probably be shopping for one as we speak.

 

[BishopHastur]

I've got a 6, and I like it, but I don't use it much cause if I'm going for extended range I tend to grab my 8 first.