Stepping away from the 6..thoughts?

I've been a four string player for most of my career. In the last two years I've purchased two six strings, a Yamaha TRB-6P and a Tobias Toby Pro6 Deluxe (the latter being a suprisingly good bass, except for the preamp). I've been playing these almost exclusively live for the past two years. Largely because my four strings tend to stay in the studio.

However, on occasion when I play the 4 string live I realise how much I really enjoy them. Frequently I wish I'd bought a five string. In fact, I think what I really should have are a couple (or more) good quality 4 strings and one good quality 5 string. It is just that I never bring myself to sell any of my basses so I'm keeping the sixers. But I'll never buy another 6 string. I've never had a five string and that will probably will be my next purchase (Sadowsky or a Valenti).

But know that you are not alone in thinking that 6 strings maybe redundant in a lot of cases and that there is something sexy about a four string.

 

I was gonna get a 6 string...but then a dream 4 string of mine turned up, and I had to re-evaluate my outlook on "the string thing".

I decided to go for a 4 string...I would never go for a 5, only 4's and 6's. I prefer 4's now, in a weird way. When I'm playing on a 4 string, I find myself being much more creative with my basic tools, rather than knowing "oh, I have a lot of upper register so I'll just widdle away up there". I like that "trapped" feeling you get a 4 string, where you have to work harder to wow yourself with what you have...

Also, I find 4 strings much more comfortable to play, more so than 6's. It's mainly a weight and size issue. I'm by no means a small guy, but I play a 32" scale bass, for the feeling. I like them light, you can groove and bop with them, and you can solo away on them like guitars if you feel like it.

For me, it was a big thing getting oer the need for 6 strings...but since I have, I feel like the world is my oyster!

 

Matt, I'm exactly where you are these days... I have been playing a 6 string for over 10 years and when I initally did this, it made total sense. I played in a situation where I was doing alot of chording and really needed the extra string. I also use my six string for soloing. I am actually more comfortable soloing on the 6 string than anything else. Lately, I find myself going back to the 4 string more often. For the cover tunes I play (mostly R&B and Jazz) it makes total sense. I think playing an old motown tune on a 4 string sounds better than a 6 because you are playing up and down the neck instead of across the neck. Which I believe helps with the feel of the tune.

Oddly, I have had the hardest time adjusting to a five string. In the past 3 years I have had a few very good 5 strings that I could not get comfortable with including Pedulla, Yamaha, and Lakland. I finally found a 5 string I like alot and still I find I go back to my Fender Jazz most often...

On the other hand, I have some bass playing friends who have 7 strings and I think for MOST things this is overkill. I have seen very few people use this tastefully in a band context

 

Personally i plan on owning a fretted and fretless pair of 4s, 5s, AND 6s, because for me the playing experience on each type of bass is totally different and makes me come up with different things in different contexts. 6s make me let loose melodically in a controlled Jazzy/Progressive manner, 5s make me want stay deep in the pocket and really groove and nothing else, while 4s make me want to go crazy in a instrument manipulation kind of way (slap, neck bending, harmonics, etc.).

Honestly i'd tell everyone to have every string amount they enjoy and not regulate themselves to just one.

 

I made a serious committment to 6 & 7 string basses over the past year and truthfully do not regret the decision at all. I use the basses for everything, no matter the style or complexity. If I don't play every string every song, then so be it.

I do have two 4's (part of my old school upbringing ... you always need a decent fretted and fretless 4), but they rarely see any activity. I have been considering another 5 (stopped playing 5's when I upped the string count) for some of the more basic funk dates, but I'm not sure if I'll take that step right away. Right now, I'm happier with my equipment than I have ever been .....

I guess that I feel at home with the higher string counts, but I can see where someone may want to downsize a little. Who knows what my opinion may be one year from now ...

 

I adjusted easily to the 6-string coming from a 4 and love the wider neck. Lately I've found it easier within a band context to use the more narrow neck of the 5-string. I guess my main bass is the 5-string, and I use the 6-string for solo stuff (when I have time). I'm actually contemplating an 8-string for next year with more narrow string spacing (17-18mm versus 19mm) for more solo stuff. I don't see myself going back to a 4-string any time in the future.

 

I've gone on to a six with no regrets. There's a point now where I do a lot of writing on the six so my music requires it. I think what got me very comfortable is just refering to it as a bass, not a six string bass, just a bass. I've really never understood wanting to go back to 5 or 4, I feel knda "naked" on those, but I'm just a bassist whose always looking to expand my possibilities. Recently thinking about a 7.

 

If anyone's looking to ditch their 6, send me a PM - I've just about had it with my Brice 6 and their noisy electronics. Did some recording with it on Friday night and was quite embarrased by how nasty it sounded - didn't make a good first impression.

Thanks!

 

I was thinking six when I bought my last five string but the deal on the five was sweet so I went five and now glad I did.
I play a lot up the neck and the five works well for me. I like the five so the low E can be freted and to me sounds better than open. Also makes grooves easyer in the low range. But to play higher than a five string will take me I just go up the neck a ways. As some of you sead that you dont go that high often and the same here. That is why we play bass. If you are going past a G string you are getting up there with the guitar that I do now an then but not often.

 

I was in a similar situation. I played a 6 for about 11 years. Recently, my 6 was destroyed in an accident, but I haven't had the overwhelming urge to replace it. I had been using it less and less over the last couple years. I found I was kinda "forcing" myself to use the C string as well ("well, it's there, I might as well use it...") but for the music I do these days ('70s-style prog meets '80s New Wave), a 4-string does the job. Sometimes I miss the B string, but not enough to really justify buying a 5 string at the moment. (Plus I just acquired a set of Moog Taurus pedals which do a fine job of nailing those below-E notes. )

 

I see no need to feel guilty about not using the C string that much. How many of use all the notes available on any bass? Right now I'm playing a Peavey Fury P-bass until I get my five string back from the tech. I miss the low range, but I still enjoy playing. I would be playing 90% of the same songs even if I had a six.

I bet piano players don't go around saying they only need 60 keys!

 

Ha, that's true actually. I know of many keyboard players who will not settle for anything less than an 88-key model when shopping for/playing a digital piano.

 

Am I the only person who actually enjoys switching positions? I mean, it adds visual flair!

 

I got my six string the same time - I got my upright back, so I don't really have a lot of mileage on the 6 as I tend to practice the upright more. On most gigs that are electric I bring my old 4 strings. However I practice on the 6 string only -- Never touch the 4 at home. Weird but somehow my brain does not get confused when I have to gig on a 4.

I have a Yamaha TRB-6P also and the local music store is having a hard time to sell their Pedulla six and I already got a call that they just want to move it out. I might actually enjoy a fretless since I use fretless a lot.

So bass guitar wise I only step away from the 6 on gigs but end up with it at home