Which String is the "First" String?

[LBS-bass]

If you’re describing how to play something do you say “go up” if you’re starting at the E string then to the D? I know directionally you’re going down but from a pitch standpoint it’s “up” lol this confuses people sometimes

That does make it confusing. I never use numbers to refer to my strings. I use their standard-tuned pitches (BEADG). On the neck, the "higher" frets produce the "higher" notes as far as I'm concerned, so the frets go from low to high as I move toward the body; it has zero to do with the floor. Pickups are neck and bridge. Never heard of a "front" pickup but I suppose a case could be made that it's the neck pickup.

 

[Dan Pomykalski]

I was following a Fender article on setting up basses (Invalid Link Removed) and they reference the "first" string. Being a computer guy I have trouble with undefined variables - can somebody tell me what the "first" string is on a four string bass? I can make the case for the E or the G string since the E is the first string I see when I look down, but the G string could be the first string because it's the highest pitch, but I am not sure what is meant here. Who knows? I googled to see if "first" was defined anywhere else and found that some people referenced E and others referenced G as the "first" string.

If I knew more about the topic, I could possibly figure it out from context . The closest clue I think I have is that they reference a second string at .060 "...For example, if the second string is .060" (1.5 mm), you would move the second-string saddle back...", which I am guessing could be a D string in which case the "first" string would likely be the G string. I feel like I am over-complicating this somehow or just completely missing something in which case I will stand in the corner for 5 minutes and practice C Major scales at 40 bpm.

I always refer to the "E" string as the "first string," even though I've known for almost two decades the "G" string is the "first string."

 

[Marcus Willett]

However, there's no standard to this.

There is actually, first string is highest. Open any set of strings for any stringed instrument, and if they are numbered (sometimes they just have note names and not numbers) they will start with highest string first.

Same thing happens when people talk about "higher" frets or strings. Are they talking about pitch

Higher means pitch. If you were to flip a bass upside down (like Jimmy Haslip) going “higher” doesn’t suddenly reverse direction, it refers to pitch.

People can call things whatever they want but standards exist and these are they.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

As others have said your 1st string is the G..E the 4th

 

[edencab]

except if you swing the neck upwards/outwards to look at the fret board, and on chord charts the string order is EADG (left to right so it should be 1234)..similar to when you are "looking at" the frets, 12345…..IMHO...but I just learn/teach them as EADG

 

[Tony In Philly]

In the Fender article, the first string must be G because later on, it says "For five-string basses, cut the fifth string[...]". Five string basses have a G string like fours, they add a B string. Since fours always have Gs and assuming they order the strings in either ascending or descending fashion (diameter), it would follow that the fifth string (B) must be next in order to the second-biggest diameter, thus E, which is #4.

So:
1 G
2 D
3 A
4 E
(5 B)

What you'll notice is that it looks like the beginning of a TAB transcription.

However, there's no standard to this. Around here most call the E string the first, but whenever possible I would call the string by its pitch and not some undefined number. As you see, it already gets messy if you go beyond 4. Around here, you'll also find 6 or 7 string basses, that'd be pretty hard to fit into.

I thought basses had only four strings?

 

[Leo Thunder]

I was following a Fender article on setting up basses (Invalid Link Removed) and they reference the "first" string. Being a computer guy …

Ok, this is going to be a bit weird but… you need a 6-string bass if you want to start properly at 0 for the C string.

 

[_Some Dude]

And while we're on the subject, which is the "front" pickup, and why?

Most people play the guitar with it angled across their body, and if you play that way the front pickup is the one that’s in front and the back pickup is the one that’s further back.

If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the pickup selector on a Les Paul to a metalhead...

 

[Ric5]

I like to think of the first string on my basses is the fat low B … that may not be correct, but that's the way my mind works

 

[Lobster11]

Here's another confusing one: Which string is "above" the A string and which is "below" it?

 

[pablop]

My first string is long gone...I had it on my first bass back in 1987.
I lost count on how many strings since then but its s fair to say that I am playing upwards of 300 by now but below 1000

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I’ve been playing 22 years and I still don’t know which is the first string. I know there is the big one and the little one, and the big one is closest to your face.

 

[Mushroo]

1 = G
2 = D
3 = A
4 = E

 

[interp]

It’s right next to the second string.

 

[mrcbass]

If I hadn't read the article, I would have assumed the E string. But because it tells you to move the next string "back" from the previous one it has to be working from the bottom G) up.
"....Adjust the first-string bridge saddle to this scale length, measuring from the inside of the nut to the center of the bridge saddle. Now adjust the distance of the second saddle back from the first saddle, using the gauge of the second string as a measurement. For example, if the second string is .060" (1.5 mm), you would move the second-string saddle back .060" (1.5 mm) from the first saddle. ..."

This is the second time I've seen this type of intonation process mentioned. I've always intonated comparing the 12th fret tuning to the open tuning. No need to deal with measuring those tiny distances. The saddle swill fall where the intonation tells them to - it's typically pretty close to what their method would result in (the saddles tend to move forward as you work down the strings (E-G), but I wouldn't say they always measure out like as described by this direction.

And there is no math involved!

 

[micguy]

There's no completely foolproof way to designate strings. I have a bass tuned in D standard. It has a G string, but it's the 2nd - or maybe the 3rd string. But I agree that using numbers is less confusing (in general) than saying G, D, A, and E

 

[Kukulkan61]

I like G-strings.

 

[southpaw723]

read music and no one will be confused

Naw lol

 

[Schemaman]

Heck - it wold have been much simpler if they had written music that we would have then read. Based on all the answers in this thread, a note to self and anybody else when writing music articles: use the string names to eliminate ambiguity!

 

[Passinwind]

And while we're on the subject, which is the "front" pickup, and why?

They both are, unless one is nowhere near the strings and the audience can't see it while you're playing. But my favorite is "top jacks" on EFX boxes. They're actually on the back side, the way I see it. Pedal Parts Plus specs it as the "north side" IIRC.