No, this is where everyone starts criticising me and saying my opinion is invalid
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Why play a 6 string?
- Thread starter castleshade13
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No, this is where everyone starts criticising me and saying my opinion is invalid
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
They probably don't want you to have a 6 string because of the image. Or they think you'll try to steal their thunder. Those are 2 points that would, in my opinion, be a legitimate band concern. But really, what are they gonna do? Kick you out? Which is more worth it?
Really, throwing down Primus and Dreamtheater should end that argument, so if they still don't agree then its your call.
Really, throwing down Primus and Dreamtheater should end that argument, so if they still don't agree then its your call.
wow. for 19 you sure have everyone figured out.
I think it's just because of youtube.
There must be thousands of bass solo videos on youtube, and apart from someone Godly like Victor Wooten or Jaco I guess, they nearly all suck.
Wow. I can think of thousands of jazz lineups that have had it all wrong for decades!
Which roll? Jelly? Fat?
Antithesis is good, huh? Care to elaborate?
I couldn't figure out where you were coming from until I looked at your profile. It's cool, I had the whole world figured out at nineteen years old too!
Most jazz lineups completely halt all over instruments apart from the bass for the bass solos.
It's as if to say "now's a good time to get yourself another drink"
Antithesis with regards to the stark contrast between low and high notes. You know, like how integral octaves are in funk music.
And thus, the typical elitism from the talkbass community.
I'm a listener of music, age doesn't effect how something sounds to your ears.
Lol at this thread.
Buy a 6er if you want it, and if your band dosen't like it, tell them to cram it with walnuts.
Geez, no one tells me what axe to buy. :scowl:
Buy a 6er if you want it, and if your band dosen't like it, tell them to cram it with walnuts.
Geez, no one tells me what axe to buy. :scowl:
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
well, yeah. of course. most of everything on youtube sucks, though, no?
i think there's also a disconnect here in the meaning of "bass solo". the "stop the band and show boat" thing is pretty lame, yeah, but that holds true for most instruments, imo.
bass solos don't have to be that way though, right? they can be just like guitar solos - with the band playing behind them, and the bassist just ripping it.
cliff burton did a pretty good job of that. so did john entwistle and geddy lee, on occasion.
i think pulling off a good bass solo in a band context is a good thing, and difficult to do more from a conceptual point of view than from the technical. having it as part of the music of the song can be very powerful.
well, I dunno what specifically you play song wise, but this whole habit of guitar players tuning down to C, or lower?.... IF ANY of your band mates do anything under regular tuning, tell them to stop... Guitars don't sound good that low.
I am a guitarist who is learning bass after playing guitar 99% of the time for the past 20 years or so. I do mean learning, cause i have to work jard not to think of it as a guitar that is tuned an octave low. I also do tech work, INtonation suffers?!?!?!? only if you don't have your bass set up properly!
I say buy the dang thing. more options tonally is a good thing. I lean towards the BTB series for the longer scale, but to each his or her own.
Send them for a real loop and show up with a 12 string bass.....
I am a guitarist who is learning bass after playing guitar 99% of the time for the past 20 years or so. I do mean learning, cause i have to work jard not to think of it as a guitar that is tuned an octave low. I also do tech work, INtonation suffers?!?!?!? only if you don't have your bass set up properly!
I say buy the dang thing. more options tonally is a good thing. I lean towards the BTB series for the longer scale, but to each his or her own.
Send them for a real loop and show up with a 12 string bass.....
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
that's very true. i think the age issue is coming up, though, not because you don't know how to listen, but because you could not have possibly heard enough -different- songs to be able to make as informed a decision as your comment about solos requires.
it's cool, though. folks aren't slagging you (at least i know i wasn't), i think they're just trying to gently remind you that there's a lot more to hear out there, that you probably haven't been exposed to yet, and to keep your mind open to the possibilities.
i mean, shoot. i have basses with strings older than you, and they still sound good
.Glad you agree.
In theory that is true, but for me personally, I think it's a lot more powerful for bass to create an atmosphere for the other instruments. Since this subject is about 6 strings, and again like I said, 6 strings give you a very good ability to create antithesis, I'd rather make a nice atmosphere for some psychadelic guitar rock solo than have a clickity clackity slap bass solo.
Geddy Lee does a pretty good job, but even then, I'm not a fan. His basslines are so chirpy and cheeky. They're great.
I'll use this video as an example.
Victor Wooten's best solo tbh.
For me personally, I notice how it stops being exclusively, a "bass" solo and more of simply a solo. When he incorporates elements exclusive to bass guitar, that's when the solo starts to go ******. (The slap bass ruins it).
6 strings would give you (as opposed to 4)
1) the low B
2) less left hand motion: you can easily do more than 2 octaves of anything in any key in one left hand position
3) a whole lot of new natural harmonics
4) unlimited tapping opportunities
5) most importantly, the satisfaction of doing what you want to do
That Ibanez is a great bass as well, IMO. I see no issue here. Well, there are 6 stringers with wide string spacings out there (19mm and 20mm IIRC), so you might be more comfortable slapping those.
You shouldn't care about what the band thinks when it comes to these things. It's up to you to contribute to the band using the tools available to you, and tools that YOU prefer to be using.
1) the low B
2) less left hand motion: you can easily do more than 2 octaves of anything in any key in one left hand position
3) a whole lot of new natural harmonics
4) unlimited tapping opportunities
5) most importantly, the satisfaction of doing what you want to do
That Ibanez is a great bass as well, IMO. I see no issue here. Well, there are 6 stringers with wide string spacings out there (19mm and 20mm IIRC), so you might be more comfortable slapping those.
You shouldn't care about what the band thinks when it comes to these things. It's up to you to contribute to the band using the tools available to you, and tools that YOU prefer to be using.
For every comebaxk they have, you only need one - "It's my money, I'll choose what bass I want and if you don't like it you can foxtrot oscar"
Until you get older and realize your age had a whole lot to do with your opinion of things.
I maintain that tossing in a few high notes here and there creates the very opposite of antithesis. I don't think of higher or lower notes as being opposites of one another. But hey, maybe I don't understand the "roll" of the bass in music.
Clearly if you're pedantic enough to not see the ambiguity in the word "antithesis".
I played 4 string for 16 years and took a leap to a 6er. I personally found the high C to be uncomfortable on a 6er and eventually backed down to a 5 string. Thats just me but my advice is to be certain you need the high C. If you don't have a practical application for the string, in the actual context of your band, it's just extra neck width Everybody is different but those chordal and solo opportunites that sucked me into a 6 string was more a symptom of GAS than expanding my musical range.
I play in one band who has a bit of an indie fashionista as a frontman. When I mentioned a non 4 string bass he started to make the typical jokes ("Do you wear it strapped under your chin?", "When do you put in tapping solos?", "I suppose you want to slap now?"). I very calmly explained to him that bass is my department of expertise and that he'll just have to trust me. He pretty much begs me to use the low B in songs now.
Everybody is different but those chordal and solo opportunites that sucked me into a 6 string was more a symptom of GAS than expanding my musical range.I play in one band who has a bit of an indie fashionista as a frontman. When I mentioned a non 4 string bass he started to make the typical jokes ("Do you wear it strapped under your chin?", "When do you put in tapping solos?", "I suppose you want to slap now?"). I very calmly explained to him that bass is my department of expertise and that he'll just have to trust me. He pretty much begs me to use the low B in songs now.
What about Oteil Burbidge of the Allman Brothers Band? He plays a Fodera 6-string!
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