• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What happened to 6 strings?

#25
73jbass said:
I just started playing a 6 string on a regular basis,after finally finding one that fit. Not that I need the 6er,I just love playing it.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Half the note tones on a 4-string are on a guitar as well. I only play sixes, and I almost never play the five highest notes, which are the only ones a 4 or 5 string don't have. You can have a 13-string bass and still have only the range of a 4-string if you tune it accordingly. Some people just see/hear the number of strings and have a knee-jerk reaction without actually thinking about it.
 
#26
And I was in that catagory until I got one. I used the high C on a few quite interludes and bridges in some metally stuff, and I used the hell out of the B string. But the notes were all available to me on a 4 string tuned in drop D if I had wanted to. I preferred it the way I was doing it. MY bass teacher taught me to play more in single positions than up and down the length of the neck, and the 6 made the notes more comfortable, IT didn't make more notes.

I did find 7 was too much for me to have any real use for, but there is some guy on here who has a bundle of em and he seems to need the whole shootin match. Whats his name again..;)
 
#29
lousybassplayer said:
That is a good point. I hear dingwall and other novak fannedfret designs cure this, but it seems tough to find a c that doesn't sound thin and peircing unless you have a B thats muddy and not well defined. This is IME, and I have not had the fortune to play any really top notch 6ers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's the Dingwall that won me back over to 6-strings.

IME fanned frets aren't absolutely necessary to make a good ER bass. But they sure don't hurt!:bassist:

For a long time, my opinion was that the high C was thin-sounding, unecessary and mostly just a hinderance. Now I enjoy having it - IME it opens that upper register way, way up & makes certain patterns a lot easier. (Slowly working on my chord voicings, too...)

A good neck profile (thin & asymmetric) makes it a lot less intrusive to me, to the point where I have no urge to cut back.

But, hey, nothing's for everyone.
 
#30
YEah, I am sure that some of hte really well built and engineered basses without the fanned frets can pull it off, but I think its one of those things that requires more than a wider neck and the requisite extra hardware to make it work right.

Edit: and someone needs to sticky tha jaco pic.
 
#31
They come and go with genres, in the late 90s when the nu-metal kids were selling out arenas, a lot more players wanted 5- and 6-string basses. Now the hip thing is indie and so Fender-style fours are back in fashion. Who knows what will be trendy next though?
 
#32
DanGouge said:
They come and go with genres, in the late 90s when the nu-metal kids were selling out arenas, a lot more players wanted 5- and 6-string basses. Now the hip thing is indie and so Fender-style fours are back in fashion. Who knows what will be trendy next though?
Click to expand...

LOL, I remember that. So much effort and so many strings for bands that were using 1-2 strings at the most.
 
#35
For me, I want one. But I couldn't find one that I feel comfortable playing with. The ones I've tried, the necks are either too narrow or too broad for me.

Once, i borrowed my friend's TRB JP2 for a week to see if I can handle one. Apparently, I can't. It looks cool as hell, and I really like the it's sound. but the necks are way to broad for me. I can't play jack on that bass.

So, I still stick with my 5s and 4s, for now, until I meet my match.
 
#38
It's been 4 years since I only play 6 strings basses. In those 4 years I pass from ;" I don't understand bass player who don't use one" to " well I don't use all of it ". The more I play it the more I feel like it is too much. It is easier for me to come up with something on a 4 strings and I feel more original on 4.

I may come up with a 4 fretted and a 5 fretless, it seems to be the best for me.
 
#39
Luv my 6 string basses. I also love my 4 string basses. The music I'm playing currently requires the low b String and I like the high C mainly for chording when I solo (I"m lucky to be in a band where I get to solo!)
I really never payed attention to any trends regarding 6 string bass, I just tried one about 20 years ago and discovered I really like it. I do think the type of music you play dictates to an extent the type of bass you want to use if you want to have the right look or image, depending on what level of the business you are involved in. I know that's dumb, but I think that's just the way it is. I mean some people could never get over my Steinberger, even though it's a truly great 4-string bass.
 
#40
Been playing a Carvin BB76P for about 3 years after making the slow crawl up from a 5 string diet. I must say im much healthier now with my 6. It has a Claro Walnut top and Walnut body, Maple Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, Active/Passive Pickups, Piezo Bridge, and a Hipshot Detuner on my B-String. Its alot more features than I may need @ the time. But its never a bad idea to future proof ;)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back