Tasteful use of a B string

[dbertel517]

About a month ago I purchased my first 5 string with a low B string. I spent the first few weeks using only the EADG strings while I got used to the extra string. Once I started to get comfortable I started playing around the with B string. My first time hitting that low B gave me an immediate rush of !!! through my veins. I felt all powerful. I had power, I had commanded the low end. It sounded sexy. I couldn't wait to start using my B string more. The next song I played I was constantly seeking out my low B string as much as I could. Anytime I came to a B C C# D or D#, I played it on my low B string, thinking I could remain all powerful with those low notes. Guess what I quickly learned...


It sounded awful. Kinda like a factory. An industrial waste zone. A war.

I quickly learned that too much low B C C# D D# isn't tasteful at all. Maybe in some settings, certain songs, etc, it would sound awesome, but not for what I was looking for.

So, I come to you all, asking for some advice, general rules to follow, suggestions, etc on how to tastefully use a low B without over doing it. Thank you everyone here for all of your suggestions and help. TB is a great community!

 

[SteveCS]

Having played the Stick to many years I find that my split between low D (below 4-str low E) and 'standard' D (same as 4-str open D) is probably somewhere close to 2%/98%. Every now and again I hit the open low C or C#, but it is very rare. When I do use the lower notes (F# or below) it is usually, but not exclusively, in slower/ballad/acoustic tunes. In a solo setting the lower notes can be useful but not to the extent that I GAS for a 5-er.

If you listen to orchestral music it is often the case that the basses play the same lines as (at least some of) the cellos. The cellos 'carry' the bass line to the listener whilst the basses add a bit of 'thickness' to the low end, a bit like we bassist might use an octave pedal. There are not that many instances where the basses alone really 'take the tune' or give it 'fff', but when they do it is to serve a particular dramatic, emotional or rhythmic purpose, not just because they can.

 

[Progfan44]

I feel you, imo you don't need notes that low unless you're a boring metal bass player and want to reduce your band input to a low fart heard under the guitars. I had a 5 for a long time and I too discovered very quickly that when you're playing that low anything other that slamming the root note sounds like total arse, so I traded down to a 4. I could see a 5 being strung E to C, but imho the B string is really unnecessary.

 

[tfer]

I use the B string all the time. Our singer (country/classic rock/bluegrass) sings in C and D predominately, so I transpose down to stay out of the way of guitars in drop-D tuning.

 

[Pelao]

For me, the B string isn't for notes below E, but for new fingering positions. I don't like the tone of the notes near the nut (especially the open strings) So a B string gives me access to a fretted low E, and nice round F and F#, etc. Plus, I can do 10ths and 11ths For all chromatic pitches in a span of 5-6 frets as opposed to the 12 needed on a 4 string. Flexibility and versatility, not low end is what does it for me.

 

[electracoyote]

Well, under the category of "I'm A Cover Band Bass Player Who Can Write and Play A Better Line Than The Original"...

I'm pretty tired of bass players using string 5 to get an octave lower than the original line in the name of "doing it my way, man, you know, making it my own..." It's not clever, it's not cool, and it sounds bloody awful most of the time. To my ears, it's like slapping a line that was not originally slapped just because you think slapping is the cat's meow.

I think the B should be used tastefully or not at all. I play fivers in cover bands, and it does come in handy for in-between keys, drop tunings, and with walking patterns for the sake of consistency. Some songs make really good use of it, like Cee Lo's "Forget You." Country players are using it tastefully more and more. But if it doesn't serve the song and you're just experimenting from boredom, it is usually more of an awkward distraction than anything.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Well, under the category of "I'm A Cover Band Bass Player Who Can Write and Play A Better Line Than The Original"...

I'm pretty tired of bass players using string 5 to get an octave lower than the original line in the name of "doing it my way, man, you know, making it my own..." It's not clever, it's not cool, and it sounds bloody awful most of the time. To my ears, it's like slapping a line that was not originally slapped just because you think slapping is the cat's meow.

I think the B should be used tastefully or not at all. I play fivers in cover bands, and it does come in handy for in-between keys, drop tunings, and with walking patterns for the sake of consistency. Some songs make really good use of it, like Cee Lo's "Forget You." Country players are using it tastefully more and more. But if it doesn't serve the song and you're just experimenting from boredom, it is usually more of an awkward distraction than anything.

Just my .02 cents.

I am not adding to this, I just agree with it so much that I want to repeat it. I used to gig my 6er in a blues band and while it worked fine for the originals but everything outside of the standard 4-string range sounded plain old wrong on covers where it shouldn't be.

 

[Pelao]

Well, under the category of "I'm A Cover Band Bass Player Who Can Write and Play A Better Line Than The Original"...

I'm pretty tired of bass players using string 5 to get an octave lower than the original line in the name of "doing it my way, man, you know, making it my own..." It's not clever, it's not cool, and it sounds bloody awful most of the time. To my ears, it's like slapping a line that was not originally slapped just because you think slapping is the cat's meow.

I think the B should be used tastefully or not at all. I play fivers in cover bands, and it does come in handy for in-between keys, drop tunings, and with walking patterns for the sake of consistency. Some songs make really good use of it, like Cee Lo's "Forget You." Country players are using it tastefully more and more. But if it doesn't serve the song and you're just experimenting from boredom, it is usually more of an awkward distraction than anything.

Just my .02 cents.

I totally understand where you're coming from, and when trying to play covers that sound like the original I can see the improvisation of lines making the tune sound messy.

However, I am a firm believer that most covers SHOULDN'T be attempts at sounding like the original. For all intents and purposes, IMO, covers should be treated like originals with only the defining traits of the song being kept.

E.- Only because most of the time, the covers sound really good and most cover bands can't make them sound as good.

 

[pickles]

Any of the strings can be played tastelessly. Listen to how great bass and keys players use the various available ranges.

 

[blixild]

Wow, lots of B string hate here.

- Grab the fifth below an E string root note
- In my band that has a lot of songs in B, I let the open B ring out or sustain it with my EHX Freeze while playing different parts higher on the bass.
- Those low notes are great for song endings.
- As said here, it's a lifesaver when you need to transpose on the fly.

If the B string is muddy, adjust your EQ or move your amp around in the room. It can get muddy in smaller rooms, but on my Warwicks tuned down a half step, my low notes are always nice and tight.

Honestly, just play what you feel. Don't avoid it just because people say you should. The audience hears music. They don't hear which string you're playing the music on.

 

[AFRO]

I came from a cover band that did many songs in either Eb or 'Dropped D' or tuned down a whole step kinda thing..so this is the background for this response:

Ill echo the 5th poster, and say that for me its not just the first 4 frets per say, but having a 'closed E' in the 5th position and too, the 'closed Eb' in the 4th are very nice options. and typically sound very good sonically. so essentially it comes down to a thing comfort as well. playing in the 5+ positions are (for me anyhow) a lot easier on the comfort scale.

Also like the G in the 8th position. this cannot be achieved in 4 string format.

I love that Growly-Low-End-B note. it is bliss..

but the aforementioned experience in a cover band made me switch to a 5 for ease of tuning. it made my life so much easier to move a position or two rather than tune up to four strings (wasting crowd time, killing the energy and flow of the show) while peeps go to the bathroom or the bar and leave the dance floor in the lul. plus I dint need more than one Guitar!

I personally will never go back to the four. 5 strings have the 4 "Default" strings anyhow

 

[interp]

I play mostly small rooms and have a rig that is capable of producing voice-of-God tone below the E. Nonetheless I play below the E on the B string very rarely, maybe ten or twelve times in a 3-set gig. The less I use it, the more effective it is when I do.

Same thing with slapping.

 

[cnltb]

I like the B string.
It really helps when i do reading gigs.
Less shifting of positions makes life a lot more comfortable.

 

[kesslari]

I find dipping the B string in Nutella is very tasteful.

 

[scubaduba]

If you play gospel the low B is very, very handy for Eb and low D's.

 

[Gougedeye]

Yeah. Its not really the notes below "E", although I use them when I think it fits the song, its the notes above. From the 5th fret on. The B string just adds some flavor and allows playing across the neck as opposed to up and down it. Personally, I like the timbre of notes fretted on the 5-12 frets on the B, E and A string better than those in 1st position on the D and G.

 

[Spaldo]

It's nice to have a B, but you don't have to live there. I have a couple of 5's and I'm using them more these days; my band recently did a Jackson's tribute and we did a lot of transposing to suit our singers - some quite dramatic shifts were needed, and it was better to move down rather than up. Plus I like to use the B for muted skips off the E....

 

[electracoyote]

I totally understand where you're coming from, and when trying to play covers that sound like the original I can see the improvisation of lines making the tune sound messy.

However, I am a firm believer that most covers SHOULDN'T be attempts at sounding like the original. For all intents and purposes, IMO, covers should be treated like originals with only the defining traits of the song being kept.

E.- Only because most of the time, the covers sound really good and most cover bands can't make them sound as good.

It depends on the standards of the band. If you're in a band that believes in make-overs and re-writing lines, more power to you.

But there are many bands in my neighborhood who sound pretty darn good and close to nailing it just by making the effort. They sound about as good as the original, sometimes better than the original artist live. So it is possible. And they are some of the most popular cover bands in town.

And I'll maintain that sometimes the bass player thinks he's improving the line, and he's just not. And I've seen more than a few bands doing make-overs, and their versions were not as good as the originals either.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

LIsten to music where the bass player have a 5 or 6 strings ? no ? You'll hear plenty of use for it ! Just sayin'

 

[lowfreqgeek]

If you want to understand tasteful use of a B-string (or any string, really), go listen to anything by Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy is James Taylor's bassist, also in the Steve Gadd Band, which is basically JT's band sans JT (absolutely NOT a chops-fest). Also, Anthony Jackson, Tony Levin, Neil Stubenhaus, Nathan East, Jimmy Haslip, Mark Egan... ALL those guys use a B-string to very good, tasteful effect.