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Tasteful use of a B string

#42
20db pad said:
It's often said or implied by a number of luthiers that quality of lumber and high-attention-to-detail build quality are what make for a good B string. Of course, that comes with premium costs for materials and labor. I can't come up with a scientific or physics-based reason why either but it does seem to be the case.
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Not true I have a really inexpensive Squier p5 that is just great. I also have a Warwick Dolphin Neck through they both work fine . Used to have a very pedestrian Lakeland 5501 .. 35 inch scale defiantly helps.. I have a 4 STRING mim p bass that I setup as a BEAD...
There is always a reason to sell an up charge for even the most minor variances... if there was no validation.... why would you pay the premium?
A 4 can be converted to a 5 with a little enginuity..
@Ric5 can be found with a quick search..
The right setup and technique and strings makes more difference than anything else.
I have no issues using the low notes with authority with vintage amps. Modern cabs defiantly help.. that means anything of quality in the last 20 years.
Hell even an svt with an 810 from the 70s works just fine.. don't buy into all the hype.

Kala just added a 5 to their offerings....of ukulele basses.
 
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#44
It's great for having superb control over your tone. Being able to hang out around the 5th fret instead of having to compensate for the brighter tone of being next to/on the open notes is pretty grand.

Plus, great for creative writing. The EP I'm working on starts in D minor, first note being the low D on the B string of my ATK; I could have gone drop D on a 4, but at the time I didn't have a suitable one. My bass acquisition pattern has been a strange one, undeniably. But another track has a big slide down to a heavy low C#, and only the thick metal of a B string could deliver the punishing sound I wanted (on an instrumental, loosely psychedelic funk-based project. heh).
 
#45
[flameproof suit dawn]

I know this will sound totally controversial but then hey, it's Talkbass.. but I've tried twice to play a 5 string and found it completely useless for any cover songs that (I WANT) to play.. seems like just about every (if not every) song I like and want to cover was written on and originally performed on a 4-string bass.. I can't help but feel that 5-string is a very niche bass, and that most 5-string owners are rarely making use of that 5th string...
 
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#48
SamJ said:
[flameproof suit dawn]

I know this will sound totally controversial but then hey, it's Talkbass.. but I've tried twice to play a 5 string and found it completely useless for any cover songs that (I WANT) to play.. seems like just about every (if not every) song I like and want to cover was written on and originally performed on a 4-string bass.. I can't help but feel that 5-string is a very niche bass, and that most 5-string owners are rarely making use of that 5th string...
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You may feel that way.. I originally thought I'd just use BEAD .... because very seldom do I use the high g..
 
#49
Progfan44 said:
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.
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Meh...I love playing Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" doing the D# on the B string, and keeping most of the song on the originally recorded octave. You don't necessarily reduce the bass to a low fart just by playing lower, if you have a bit of taste and common sense. When you choose your octave carefully you can achieve a fantastic effect.

I hope this doesn't turn into a "fingerstyle vs pick"-esque discussion.
 
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#50
SamJ said:
[flameproof suit dawn]

I know this will sound totally controversial but then hey, it's Talkbass.. but I've tried twice to play a 5 string and found it completely useless for any cover songs that (I WANT) to play.. seems like just about every (if not every) song I like and want to cover was written on and originally performed on a 4-string bass.. I can't help but feel that 5-string is a very niche bass, and that most 5-string owners are rarely making use of that 5th string...
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Oh, you're just telling us you're over 40.

It's not about what music _you_ like. It's about what the OP wants to learn about the 5 string. As we've seen in this thread, there are plenty of folks that play on a 5 quite effectively.

To the OP:
As you've probably gathered from the thread, Modern Gospel (or Praise) music is almost mandatory low note 5 string territory. Lotta Metal and Doom get down there too. 80s and 90s rock is heavy on the D, and for the cover and tribute players, working with singers teaches you to be more flexible with key changes that you might have thought you'd like to be.

Playing in different positions is a big boon to many players, especially in jazz. Try playing in F# with your root on the B. Sure, you can do it on a 4 string. But did the new position make you "see" the key differently? I'll bet it did. Because in Jazz, you can do any song in any key you want, and no one cares except the sax player.

Extended range is extended range. Do you need it? No. Can you use it? Yes. Do you sound good doing it? Well, maybe. I will say that the low notes are something that should be used with taste, sparingly, just like the notes above the 12th fret. Some of the early greats tried the low B and decided they couldn't do much with it. Jack Bruce was one of them. His comment was he liked it, but the 4 string was more traditional. I thought that was contradictory since he pushed the instrument out of its traditional range as a performer, but couldn't see the next step in the instrument itself. But on the other hand, John Entwistle couldn't understand why anybody would buy a bass without a full 24 frets. And yet there are still people who believe that there is no money beyond the 5th.

And so, my friend, play on. Find your groove. It may involve that low B. It may not. But as you can see, there are plenty of people putting it to good use. You can do it too, if the sound calls to you.
 
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#51
Some guys seem to view the b string as some sort of effect, as if it is different/seperate from the other strings. I think the guys who are the most successful at using a fiver are the ones who simply view/use it as a natural extension of the other strings. Personally, as a bassist I use my b strings as much as I do the four higher ones. I mean were BASS players, right?.........
I think a more befitting question would be, how does one tastefully use the g string.
 
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#55
Mystic Michael said:
OK, I'm going to let you in on the grand secret. Ready? There is only one rule, which is:

There are no rules. Some things can be taught rather straightforwardly, i.e. music theory, technique, reading, etc. Some things cannot. I believe that good musical taste falls into the second category. It can be learned, but not taught. It's all part of being a good musician. If it's within you, you've gotta find it for yourself. Welcome to the mysterious, beautiful path of creative discovery. .
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Best statement posted on TB in many moons. Agree 100%. An artist may use any brush, applicator, paint, paint color, color mixture, or canvas deemed necessary for creation of art.

Michael Manring uses devices other than extra strings to extend range of tone and tuning in his amazing work. Michael Hedges and Joni Mitchell created guitar tunings to support compositions first realized at the piano. Pat Metheny uses his Picasso guitar (42 strings in 4 courses, piezo pickups, hex pickups for additional synth sounds, 1000 lbs of string pressure in a 14-lb instrument) to support his ethereal muse. Jaco busted out pliers, marine epoxy, and frets to support his artistic vision.

There are no rules, indeed. . find it for yourself. .
 
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#56
I am also in the group that prefers a 5 string for position/fingering more than for range (in the low end).

That being said, 3 out of 4 of my basses-all 5ers (one of them an EUB), sport a high C string, and I'm getting ready to change or omit the one with the low B. It's a bit confusing, when I grab that bass and have to read charts. The EUB is great for reading gigs because I can play up to a
high Eb (3rd "fret" on the C string) and never have to go up the fingerboard.
 
#57
I think it's a lot harder to have total (tonal) control of the B string in comparison to the other strings. The string usually has more tension, is a lot thicker and on some basses longer as well, so it needs more energy from your picking hand or fingers. Of course the setup of your instrument or the type of strings can make a big difference but the B string needs to be "played" differently than the other strings because of those physical aspects.

I had to work and exercise hard on this, but after say 6-8 months I find playing on the B string as comfortable as any other string and don't think about it anymore. I played 4 strings for about 10 years before I bought a 5. It opened up many, many sonic, musical, creative or technical possibilities, not only on those low notes...
 
#58
hintz said:
wish I had the patience to practice on a 6... Unfortunately I sound like half a bassist on a 6 with all the low B rumbling by accident cuz I forget to mute....
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Well, that's the main difficulty there... One of them. But nowadays when I switch to a fretted 4 after playing a fretless 6, I feel like I'm playing a 2 string bass. :)
I'd say for a first couple of months muting is an issue, but like everything else it is a skill that eventually becomes automatic.
 
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