Why do so many 5 & 6 string players NEVER use their low B?

[chuck1073]

I play five strings all the time and use the B string constantly. So much so, that I feel weird when I first pick up a four string these days. The only time that doesn't happen it on the upright. Maybe because it's a whole different instrument....in my mind at least.

 

[foothilla]

I'd like to know how you're so sure these players you've seen "never" use their low B string. As I mentioned, I play numerous songs on a fiver without touching string five. That hardly means I "never" use string five.

 

[electracoyote]

Tell me about it!!!

 

[foothilla]

Tell me about it!!!

Sorry, but your exact points have been repeatedly responded to in this thread,...about a dozen time now.

 

[bassbrad]

Many players have decided to commit to owning a fine five or six string bass and choose to play that instrument on all their gigs, no harm no foul. Why does it bother you?

There are gigs or sessions where I need the Lo B & will take the Peavey DynaFive bass, but those do not come about very often, sometimes I will take that bass for the spectacular tone and playability it has anyway. OTOH my blues trio gig calls for me to cover more sonic territory and I choose to play my Gibson EB14 5 string with a Hi C so I can play bass lines, chords, melody lines and solos.

 

[foothilla]

Why does it bother you?

Also addressed a dozen times in this thread.

This is the problem when threads run this long. No one wants to read through a thread this long (understandably). But, without reading through a thread, the same horse gets beaten over and over again (also understandable). It's an internet forum conundrum that sadly signals the end of any useful discussion.

 

[bassbrad]

Also addressed a dozen times in this thread.

This is the problem when threads run this long. No one wants to read through a thread this long (understandably). But, without reading through a thread, the same horse gets beaten over and over again (also understandable). It's an internet forum conundrum that sadly signals the end of any useful discussion.

 

[matthewbrown]

Do you use your C string on every tune?

I do, constantly, when I am using my Volo. Cuz that's why I bought it.

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

I play a 5 string and carry a light fender 4 as a backup. It comes out on Sober, and goes back in either at the next break or the next song that really needs a low B-Eb. Minimizes unnecessary changes.

I definitely echo the people saying it's either their most comfortable/best sounding instrument.

 

[guitarbrent]

I play five strings all the time and use the B string constantly. So much so, that I feel weird when I first pick up a four string these days. The only time that doesn't happen it on the upright. Maybe because it's a whole different instrument....in my mind at least.

Whenever I go to 5 or 6 string, I just think of it as a new instrument. I find it super easy to switch that way.

 

[lomo]

I only play with my B when no one is looking .....

 

[Pings Bass]

I use the B string lots, but often not for the five extra notes it gives me below E. Honestly I probably use it as much or more than the high G.

 

[phillipkregg]

I used to play 5 string in a group and the guitarist kept watching my hands to try and figure out what chord to play.

He kept hitting wrong notes and finally asked me how I was playing the stuff I was playing. The realization hit him that I was playing Gs and Fs higher up the fretboard on the low B string. He hadn't even realized I was playing a 5 string until that moment.

It's entirely possible for someone to be playing on the B string quite a bit, but you just don't realize it because they are playing the same notes that are available on the 4 - just in a different spot. I do it all the time.

 

[GreyMark]

"So many"?

"Never"?

I'm not buying it.

I don't think I know a single bassist who often plays a five-string bass without using the low B.

 

[Sam Dingle]

My band does an hour long set typically on a small stage. I can play 90% of the album with a 4 string, 95% with a 4 string and a D tuner, but I need my 5 string for one song that hammers a low C. So I only use that bass live. no time to switch.

 

[Koshchei]

I think of the neck in terms of symmetrical shapes that work out to different chord qualities, so it doesn't really matter how many strings I do or don't have. It's a question of where I am intervallically, where I'm going, and where in the measure I am.

If I'm playing somebody else's arrangement, then I go where the paper tells me.

 

[friedlbug]

It’s a good thumb rest?

I’m only partially kidding. If you like resting your thumb on the next lower string, you might like to for your E too.

 

[Chad T]

I dunno. I use it plenty. E and A are my most used strings. Next B. Then D. And I use G the least. I could honestly probably play BEAD tuned 4 strings, but I’m just used to 5s.

 

[FunkHead]

I actually prefer to play every single note 5 frets higher. Then I just close my eyes and play.

The song in the clip below is 5 string Greatness IMO. It makes me want my Stingray 5 back.

 

[DrayMiles]

LOL, those are 3 very well respected bass players. If you see them as average players I can't imagine what you think of guys like Bill Wyman, or Rick Danko.

...and if you are going to call guys like Remco, Adrian and DW "average players", you better have Vic Wooten chops (or risk looking pretty silly as those cats play circles around you).

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