What is the benefit if a 5-string bass? 6-string?

[StuartV]

In 35 years of owning 4, 5, 6 and 7 string basses I can finally report my findings regarding the benefits of a five string bass over that of a four:


1) Sets of strings are much more expensive (by at least 20%).

2) You now get the option / choice of playing a low E up to an A in a new 'wobbly' / 'wolftone' / 'weird overtone' register (anywhere above the 5th fret).

3) You get a wider neck to help bring on the onslaught of tendonitis that much faster (and generally 'slow you down' when playing).

4) You get an extra string to mute each time you play any note.

5) As 5 string basses generally benefit from active electronics, you get the added task of checking batteries before gigs and carrying spares.

6) You get to become neurotic over the string spacing. Will 16.5mm be too tight? Would 17mm be bearable?, or maybe 18, 19 or even a full 20mm is better?

7) All things being equal, 5 strings are usually heavier than 4 strings.


....oh, and you also get 5 lower notes (that may or may not be usable in any particular song -depending on its key signature) to terrorise your speakers and overuse at every opportunity.


IMHO - of course!

My favorite 6 string has dual P (split coil) pickups and I play it most often in passive mode.

The neck is wider, but the strings are a little closer together than 4s and 5s (generally speaking). Having the strings be a little closer together seems to me to make it faster, not slower.

Regarding some other posters' comments, I think the high F (just for an example) on my C string sounds just as good as the same note played on the G string. Maybe y'all haven't heard a C string that sounded good because the ones you've heard simply didn't have a good string for that? I'm using a Kalium balanced tension stainless set and I think all the strings sound good. Especially the .142 gauge B string.

 

[maturanesa]

Because low notes are so common these days. From beyonce to Korn and all genres in the middle...
Years ago a low B was for adding something extra, but today dont having it is a limitation...

 

[markjazzbassist]

same benefit as driving the biggest truck/suv and owning the biggest house/boat/etc. you can says yours is biggest. all down to **** size really, has nothing to do with ability.

 

[Amplified]

I have yet to find a high C that sounds like it belongs on the same instrument as the other strings.

Try fan-fretted basses, e.g. Dingwall.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

same benefit as driving the biggest truck/suv and owning the biggest house/boat/etc. you can says yours is biggest. all down to **** size really, has nothing to do with ability.

Yes, clearly Anthony Jackson only plays six-strings because he has something to prove. Please tell me your post is a joke.

 

[markjazzbassist]

Yes, clearly Anthony Jackson only plays six-strings because he has something to prove. Please tell me your post is a joke.

his ability was the same on the 4 string jazz he tore down every session in LA and NY in the 70's. dude is on a vanity project talking about the "origins" of the bass is 6 six string guitar just lower tuning. no thank you.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

his ability was the same on the 4 string jazz he tore down every session in LA and NY in the 70's. dude is on a vanity project talking about the "origins" of the bass is 6 six string guitar just lower tuning. no thank you.

No. His ability is greater as he's had 30+ years of playing since he put down the 4-string. Ability has nothing to do with the instrument though. He uses a 6 as it's the instrument that he can express himself best on. There's also a lot of stuff he plays that simply can't be played on a 4-string.

The electric bass is also very directly the bass member of the guitar family. It is vastly more related to the electric guitar than the upright, which is at best a distant cousin.

The only vanity happening here is yours for thinking you know the "right" way and that other people must just be compensating for something.

 

[bearfoot]

Anybody, with a 6 string bass who tunes standard, tried tuning the top string to a B, instead of a C?
Wondering whether this helps voicing some chords.

I did that when I first got my 6 (a few eeks ago) since I'm familiar with guitar.
My experience of it was - certainly some voicings are helped, but mostly up the neck. The "Spanish" tuning is really to accomodate first position chording, and those are tough on a 6'er. I also found that the overall chord voicing sounded too familiar, too guitarish. We've heard those intervals millions of times.
With the high string tuned back up to C, I find it a more natural flow on leads, and I can get low C and F chordal voicings much more easily. I have not had an urge to tune that string back down to B.
However I do notice that just about all 6-string sets have a much higher tension C string than the other strings, which I hate, so a detune could alleviate some of that. I solved it by getting D'Addarios with a 0.28 C string which perfectly matches the tension of a .130 B.

 

[tfer]

My 6-string is tuned normally, and right in the middle of the B and C strings, is a regular, old, 4-string bass.

Can 4-string players say the reverse?

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I mainly play a 6-string bass, but I also use my 5-string quite a bit. For me, I enjoy having the five notes lower than E, but what I like the most is I can keep my fretting hand in a single position more, which helps me focus more on my singing.

I played 4-string basses for 20 plus years before I bought my first 5-string. But I just couldn't get used to the B-string, so I sold it. A few years later, I bought another 5-string, kept it a few years, couldn't get used to it, and sold it. A few years later I bought my first 6-string and dove into it. I played it exclusively on gigs. I played a million wrong notes for the first few weeks, then it all started to click.

I really like playing a 6-string because even after all these years playing one, I still have to think at times instead of going to "Auto Pilot". I also like to experiment with chords, but not much during gigs. I'd say on gigs I play my 6-string very much like I'd play a 4-string, other than having the lower notes, which I try to play sparingly.

 

[Phillip B]

I think the high F (just for an example) on my C string sounds just as good as the same note played on the G string. Maybe y'all haven't heard a C string that sounded good because the ones you've heard simply didn't have a good string for that?

I'm hoping that is indeed the case. My latest thought (which I haven't got a chance to really test) is to put a flatwound C on with 5 roundwounds in an attempt to fatten up the C (and make it sound less guitar-like)

That said, I have not tried the Kalium balanced tension stainless set...

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

No. His ability is greater as he's had 30+ years of playing since he put down the 4-string. Ability has nothing to do with the instrument though. He uses a 6 as it's the instrument that he can express himself best on. There's also a lot of stuff he plays that simply can't be played on a 4-string.

The electric bass is also very directly the bass member of the guitar family. It is vastly more related to the electric guitar than the upright, which is at best a distant cousin.

The only vanity happening here is yours for thinking you know the "right" way and that other people must just be compensating for something.

Great post!

My Freshman year of college in 1981-82 I took beginner lessons on String Bass. My Instructor had 2 or 3 Uprights, and one was a 5-string, which was the first bass I'd seen with more than 4-strings. I asked about how it was strung, but never for one instant did I ever think "A bass should only have 4-strings" or "Jaco only needed a 4-string", rather I thought, "Wow, Cool!!!"

To the folks who are happy with 4-strings and don't see a néed for added strings, that's great, play what makes you happy. I'm happier playing a bass with a low-B-string.

 

[SteveC]

My 6-string is tuned normally, and right in the middle of the B and C strings, is a regular, old, 4-string bass.

Well, kind of. I mean, the strings are a regular old 4 string, but that 4 string is on a neck wide enough for 6 strings.
I wanted to think my 6 was a 5 string with just an extra string but....

 

[tfer]

Well, kind of. I mean, the strings are a regular old 4 string, but that 4 string is on a neck wide enough for 6 strings.
I wanted to think my 6 was a 5 string with just an extra string but....

If you keep your thumb running down the center of the neck with good technique, the width isn't really an issue.

 

[SteveC]

Yeah, my left hand probably needs some attention.

 

[tfer]

Yeah, my left hand probably needs some attention.

When I started playing, my teacher was manic about technique. I didn't understand what big deal was, when I studied my heroes, but I get it now, and if I could find him, I'd buy him a beer for forcing me into good habits!

 

[bassbenj]

Well, kind of. I mean, the strings are a regular old 4 string, but that 4 string is on a neck wide enough for 6 strings.
I wanted to think my 6 was a 5 string with just an extra string but....

Well, a 6 string is much closer to a 5 string with an extra string, but if you've been paying attention to the remarks here, you'll see that a 5 string is not just a 4 string with an extra few notes. Point is that while there indeed is a 4 string bass running down the center of a 6 string bass, one plays that 4 string in quite a different manner than the 6 string. So sure one CAN play 4 string down the center of your 6 string, but when you start playing it as a 6 string you suddenly start going across the neck with a handful of notes and not going up and down the neck. So the logic seem plausible but it really doesn't work.

 

[el murdoque]

IF you can not afford a 1964 Fender, then get a five string. Because there were no five string Fenders in 1964 you can tell everyone that you heavily rely on that fifth string so you did not bring yout 1964 P bass.
And 6 strings are for pros only, so if you want to look like a pro there is no way easier than to show up with a 6 string. Take the biggest string spacing you can get so the neck looks insanely wide.

 

[chris_b]

This is whole subject is only ever a discussion (and too often argument) between week-end warriors, part time players and hobby players.

A pro bass player wouldn't understand what the issue was, wouldn't even think about it.

He'd know the point of and need for 4, 5 and 6 string basses (and an upright) and, if he was on top of his game, he'd use which ever was appropriate.

 

[MikeOnBass73]

No. His ability is greater as he's had 30+ years of playing since he put down the 4-string. Ability has nothing to do with the instrument though. He uses a 6 as it's the instrument that he can express himself best on. There's also a lot of stuff he plays that simply can't be played on a 4-string.

The electric bass is also very directly the bass member of the guitar family. It is vastly more related to the electric guitar than the upright, which is at best a distant cousin.

The only vanity happening here is yours for thinking you know the "right" way and that other people must just be compensating for something.

I agree with your comments in regards to Anthony Jackson. The 6 string bass is what works for him and for me as well. I read a very recent article of his lately where Anthony said "Play whatever Bass you want, as long as your BASS and YOU sound great (or something in that spirit)." I almost always (99% of the time) use 6 string fretted and 6 string fretless basses ... tuned in fourths of course ... when I am not on upright bass. Occasionally, I will play a 5 string when playing certain slap bass parts as well. However, I have never thought of myself as a guitarist. I see the electric bass and the upright bass as extensions of one another. It does not matter whether I am playing upright or electric bass, my role in the band and in the music is the same either way. Electric or Upright ... I am a Bassist.