Will learning to play on a 6 string make me worse at 4?

[jim_dragons]

From personal experience it will take you some time (couple days/week) to get used to a 4 string again.

 

[Fabio_MIJ]

You may have to adapt your right-hand plucking technique (from fixed to moving ancor point), but this change will perfectly suit the 4 string. So no worries, go ahead with the 6 string and let us know the results.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

No, not at all. It's a completely different instrument. I mean, yeah it's still a bass, but maximizing a 6's potential requires a different approach than a 4, and a different way of looking at the instrument.

I've gone back to 4 strings exclusively now, but do not regret the 6's I've owned in the slightest. In some ways, it's made me a better 4-string player, or perhaps even a better player all around. (And truth be told, I'll probably own a 6 again someday. One thing I've learned on Talkbass is "never say never".)

I never understood that, how is the 6 strings so different to the point it feels like you play a completely different instrument ?

The chords I play on the 6, I use tapping on the 4 ... otherwise it is the same thing, both are basses. My technique is the same, what I play is the same.

 

[jwr]

No if anything I think it will improve you overall skills. Do it. DO IT!!!

Also, 6's are extremely wide in my experience, but you get over it after you adjust.

 

[jamro217]

It depends on your approach. If you view the 6 the same way you do the 4 you may have a bit of trouble adjusting. If, on the other hand, you think of the 6 as a different instrument entirely (like a tuba or xylophone) you're free to learn on it from a clean slate standpoint. The same musical rules apply, of course, regardless of what type of bass you play. Physically speaking, the neck size and overall weight may be a challenge, but the real problem is the mental one. Every time you look down there are 50% more strings than you're used to. Many guitarists who play bass suffer from the idea that the bass is just a big guitar with 1/3 of the strings missing. Other guitarists put down the pick and use their fingers as they attempt to play the bass as traditional bassists do. This isn't knocking bassists who do use picks, just an observation that completely removing any connection between what you know about one instrument enables you to learn a new one from scratch without integrating techniques that may not be helpful in your education. Once you understand the new instrument, feel free to incorporate existing knowledge from previous experiences into your playing, including using a plectrum. Hope this helps.

 

[red_rhino]

I never understood that, how is the 6 strings so different to the point it feels like you play a completely different instrument ?

The chords I play on the 6, I use tapping on the 4 ... otherwise it is the same thing, both are basses. My technique is the same, what I play is the same.

I play chords on my 4 all the time. I can play different chords on a 6 due to the extended range and positioning options available. Those same positioning options change how I might play a pattern on a 6 as opposed to a 4. It's not that the 6 "feels" so much like a different instrument, but it is different. There are some things that are made more difficult due to neck size and string grouping. There are some things that are made easier. In general, I play a 6 differently than I play a 4.