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Why more than four strings?

#121
On my dance club gigs in the 80’s, I wound up playing synth-keyboard bass about half the night .
(Curse you, Human League, Madonna, Morris Day!!)
It was the way to get those low notes.
When the 5vers came along, I could spend more time off the keys and on the strings.

I now have 6ers and 7s.
I happily admit the high register strings serve more as an artistic luxury than a gig-time utility.
Nothing wrong with enjoying a little luxury, is there?:smug:
 
#122
spade2you said:
Depending on the genre, they might be there or not. It would seem that a lot of the indie/folk style rock is obsessed with vintage gear, thus there aren't going to be any real vintage 5-6 string basses (discounting the bass vi and Leo's first 5ers.

Pop, adult contemporary, and modern country seems to be able to sneak in the low B string fairly routinely, but not overdone.

Also, keep in mind that just because you're not hearing the low B or high C string being used, doesn't mean it isn't there. ;) Sometimes it's a bit entertaining with the notion that you can't play 4 string stuff on a 5 or 6 stringer.
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That's got to be key right there. The circles I run in are classic rock and blues guys mostly. They pay big bucks for vintage gear and laugh me out of the room when I show up with a 5'er. It's not that I don't like playing classic basses, I love my Fender reissues and Rickenbackers. But I don't see what's so "unconventional" about an extra string on a jazz bass.
 
#124
I'm lazy, so not moving around on the neck as much is a +. String spacing is closer which is good for me. My Carvin is 46mm at the nut and the rest are 47, so it is not much wider. But mostly because of the two octave thingy.
 
#125
You know, I see these threads all the time, and I always ask myself, 'why do so many people care about how many strings I use?' I mean, the proof is in the pudding, man. Alot of people want the guy who pulls out the 6 or 7 string bass to play badly. I don't know why. To me, I don't care. If someone can play, then they can play.
 
#127
landry.bass said:
I use one of those in my death metal band. Using a pick is damn hard on that thing.
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There's a real art to making those... Many years ago I was playing with a web-ring and found a site dedicated purely to getting good tone out of those things - materials and string material...

It was funny to see - the site's long gone now...

"Nashville cats, play clean a country waterrrr...."
 
#129
NickyBass said:
Alot of people want the guy who pulls out the 6 or 7 string bass to play badly.
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This is an entirely too common mindset among many musicians. I tend to get a little annoyed with it because everyone thinks they know exactly how you'll sound and how you play before you even plug the damn thing in. Even when you play like a normal bassist and with a tone that's not too distant from most Fenders, lots of guys still won't acknowledge it.
 
#130
spade2you said:
This is an entirely too common mindset among many musicians. I tend to get a little annoyed with it because everyone thinks they know exactly how you'll sound and how you play before you even plug the damn thing in. Even when you play like a normal bassist and with a tone that's not too distant from most Fenders, lots of guys still won't acknowledge it.
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People are getting better. The other night I played with a bunch of people who were just happy to have someone who could start the songs. Last night one of the rhythm guitar players actually thanked me for showing him how to start a few songs and for not being a bass-wanker because the other 6 string bass players he'd played with were difficult to calm down...

Strangely, the worst people with this are the ones always b#tching about not being able to get gigs or getting "the call"... I wonder why... ? :hiding:
 
#131
spade2you said:
This is an entirely too common mindset among many musicians. I tend to get a little annoyed with it because everyone thinks they know exactly how you'll sound and how you play before you even plug the damn thing in. Even when you play like a normal bassist and with a tone that's not too distant from most Fenders, lots of guys still won't acknowledge it.
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It's unfortunate, because the thing is- most people play the way they play. I play the way I play whether I'm holding a four-string or a six-string- the six (or a five with a high C) just makes it easier to play that way. Most people that I"ve seen are like that. My guitarist friend had only one bass for a long time- a fretless Yamaha cheapo- and the guy is a better bassist than most. He used my old seven-string fretted to cut a bassline for a track, and it still sounded like him- he just had more room to cut loose.

People worry so much about instruments as if they define the player. The instrument is just a tool to get what the player wants done.
 
#132
You know, a noodler will always stay a noodler... If there are noodler on 6 string i think theres alot on 4 string too.

So people don't care when you are in a band, they just want to get the job done without all these people that noodle and show off and this apply with guitarist and drummer too.
 
#134
unclejane said:
I think I'm going to go with the goes-up-to-11 analysis myself - 5 and 6 holers go up to 11 (and Derek Smalls, you'll notice, plays a 5 string a fair bit too).


LS
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Yeah, funny, b/c as a kid playing East Coast clubs, I played four-strings exclusively and that was my period of going to 11 and, in general, overplaying quite a bit. Now I play 5-strings exclusively b/c I find the low B string useful. That's all. Even as a cocky kid, funk-rock was my big love, and although that love continues, it's tempered with an "often, less is more" take. It just so happens that I greatly benefit from having an additional, really low string to slap. It adds to my sound.

The "goes to 11" bassists that irritate me the most are the ones with egos of that magnitude, the ones who ridicule others' choices of instruments, string-count, style, etc. That type of narrow-mindedness has no place in art.:scowl:
 
#135
Bryan R. Tyler said:
It's unfortunate, because the thing is- most people play the way they play. I play the way I play whether I'm holding a four-string or a six-string- the six (or a five with a high C) just makes it easier to play that way. Most people that I"ve seen are like that. My guitarist friend had only one bass for a long time- a fretless Yamaha cheapo- and the guy is a better bassist than most. He used my old seven-string fretted to cut a bassline for a track, and it still sounded like him- he just had more room to cut loose.

People worry so much about instruments as if they define the player. The instrument is just a tool to get what the player wants done.
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Believe it or not, the ones most worried about which bass we use is us. In actual fact, many other musicians - and for sure the audience - ultimately can't tell the difference between the various instruments we play. Accordingly, turns out they don't really give a $$$$......

A coworker of mine is an active sax player, he hardly recognizes my 4 string from my 5 when I bring it into the office. Much less does he tell the difference in their sounds, even when I point it out to him on some of my recordings. He couldn't even tell when I was playing my tobias, which to me has a very different sound from my G&L's.

Back when I was gigging with my rickenbacker, my band mates couldn't get enough of it. They thought it sounded great and my playing was great too.
Poor slobs: to me it sounded absolutely awful and my playing was worse - weak, flubby and my left wrist injured over and over.....

Other bass players, tho, can generally hear the difference between say my tobias and my G&L's, tho most can't distinguish my L2500 from my L2000.

String players can usually figure out right away how many strings are on my bass, but wind players like my friend usually don't notice until I point it out to them.

So generally it's other musicians and recording dudes that really care. I havn't found anyone that does.

Just bring the bass you're comfy with and get over yourself - most who care are really only going to care if you can play the part and play it right.....:bassist:

LS
 
#136
unclejane said:
A coworker of mine is an active sax player, he hardly recognizes my 4 string from my 5 when I bring it into the office. Much less does he tell the difference in their sounds, even when I point it out to him on some of my recordings. He couldn't even tell when I was playing my tobias, which to me has a very different sound from my G&L's.
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But I think what you've described has more to do with what notes you play. I find that some horn players do expect to hear certain pedal parts played wrote, rather than comped or improvised when it comes to the bass parts.

Horn players tend to balk at other musicians who play notes that may interfere with horn parts... It's pretty easy for a bass player to wank around a horn part... Your note selection does get noticed and is seen as tasteful...

I've had a few horn players ask me if I was using a different setting a couple of times because they could feel a slight "beating" on some music passages - turns out I had slightly cranked the bass and the bass I was using had its bump frequency relatively high in the spectrum...

On the other hand, can you tell when the sax player is playing a new reed? After asking and listening to examples, I can now tell if our sax player is using his busted or misshapen reed... but I still can't tell if someone is playing a 'bone with a bent cup...
 
#137
frankie5string said:
But I think what you've described has more to do with what notes you play. I find that some horn players do expect to hear certain pedal parts played wrote, rather than comped or improvised when it comes to the bass parts.

Horn players tend to balk at other musicians who play notes that may interfere with horn parts... It's pretty easy for a bass player to wank around a horn part... Your note selection does get noticed and is seen as tasteful...

I've had a few horn players ask me if I was using a different setting a couple of times because they could feel a slight "beating" on some music passages - turns out I had slightly cranked the bass and the bass I was using had its bump frequency relatively high in the spectrum...
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Well that's exactly my point. Note choice, playing style and skill are far far FAR and away more important than the type of bass used. Tone adjustment, yeah, if it's really out of line, can get you the "look" from the folks you may be playing with.

But most of the time and for most of the people involved, it won't matter whether you show up with a '62 jazz bass or some 4 kilobuck boutique thing with 25 strings on it.

Sorry guys, but it just won't matter in all but the pickiest situations.

This is why I just can't justify spending a mint on a boutique bass. My G&L's for example are FAR more capable instruments than I am a player. That's still true no matter how much I practice and improve. I'm just not that good (I consider myself an average player with one or two ok licks). So for most situations where my playing is going to be adequate, I could show up with even my rickenbacker and the results would be quite acceptable to them. I'd far prefer one of my G&L's but none of the others would really care much.

They'd boot me out because of poor playing long before they'd scowl at my bass......

Even if you listen to the tops in our field, the bass they use is way down in the noise of their abilities as players. Jeff Berlin uses this little Dean bass that I think may cost 1000 bucks. It might be less than that. Billy Sheehan uses a mass-produced yamaha last I heard, which I think you can go to a store and buy for 1000 or 1500 bucks, something like that. Bunny Brunel plays a carvin which you can order for 1200 bucks. And then, of course, there was Jaco......

And these guys all sound great.

On the other hand, can you tell when the sax player is playing a new reed? After asking and listening to examples, I can now tell if our sax player is using his busted or misshapen reed... but I still can't tell if someone is playing a 'bone with a bent cup...
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There you go - same with my friend. He has to point out to me when he's got a bad reed (tho I might be able to tell now). And for sure I can't tell if he's playing his Selmer vs. any other brand of sax.....

Now as for the extra string issue - I agree with the other guys. There's nothing mystical about 5, 6 and more strings. They're just extensions to the instrument that make certain things easier and a few other things possible.

But still, far and away, the instrument doesn't make the player......

LS
 
#139
unclejane said:
This is why I just can't justify spending a mint on a boutique bass. My G&L's for example are FAR more capable instruments than I am a player. That's still true no matter how much I practice and improve. I'm just not that good (I consider myself an average player with one or two ok licks). So for most situations where my playing is going to be adequate, I could show up with even my rickenbacker and the results would be quite acceptable to them. I'd far prefer one of my G&L's but none of the others would really care much.
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All these companys like MTD, Lakland and others are producing excellent basses for good prices so you can own a boutique name (if that stokes your ego) for a small price... I could never justify dropping $3000 - $5000 on any bass...

I've always wondered about it. There was a situation back in the summer, in Toronto - now Toronto is a big metropolitan city and some poor guy was gigging at a major club with his $5000 Dingwall (I think it was a Dingwall) bass... It got stolen after the gig... Somehow this made the front page of the Entertainment Section of the Toronto Star (one of the major newspapers)... it included a long story about how he went to a prestigious music school in Toronto (Humber) and somehow convinced his fiance's family to buy him this thing... Paragraph after paragraph it went on and on lamenting the loss of the bass and that he was a stellar player... Kind of like one giant ego-trip article.

A number of us just shook our heads wondering "What the heck happened?" - what could you possibly be doing that requires you to take a $5000 bass to a typical city club and then leave it sitting around unattended?

I wonder whatever happened to that guy.
 

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