6 string basses- tell me why

[David Houck]

 
 
(Message edited by davehouck on January 25, 2006)

[jazzyvee]

Hmm, i read that with interest. I have both a 4 string ( 30 short scale) and 5 string (34)long scale Alembic basses.
 
I haven't gigged with the 5 string yet but I have done many gigs with the 4 and before I had the 5 string I used to detune the E string down to D if I needed that extra low note.  
 
Now....., dependent upon the gig, I would probably take both basses and use the 4 primarily and only the 5 if I was playing a song that needed that extra low note.
 
That said I personally find that the notes on the bottom end of the De-tuned E string down to D sounds much and more balanced than the same notes on the B string of my Europa 5.
 
Also the debate on whether you need a 6 string is obviously a practical one and in part, personal preference, hand size, type of music and don't forget the power of ego. :-)
 
I really went looking for a 6 string alembic but after a year of not finding one in the UK I settled on a 5 string alembic. Thus far I have not found the lack of a high C string to be a problem.
 
 
I couple of years ago I started teaching bass to a friend of mine, she wanted to learn bass and bought herself a 4 string bass because thats what she had been told she should start on.  
 
After a few months she started asking about playing a 5 string but the guys in her band had told her that she should stay with the 4 until she got used to that.
 
I said Rubbish if you have never played a bass before or are very inexperienced, you are not gonna be any less experienced with a 4,5 or 6 string bass. You are just gonna learn it.
 
So when she saved up the money we went to the music shop, tried both 5 and 6 string basses. In the end the choice of 5 string was based on
 
 a) The physics of playing it... They are significantly heavier and the neck was less comfortable for her finger span.
 
b) she is playing exclusively Reggae and the higher register is not really that much called for.
 
c) Financial reasons.
 
 
Less than a year later she was on tour in the UK with the English Beat ( Rankin Rogers band). Now she has joined a Bob Marley Tribute band as bass player and never touches her 4.
 
Horses for courses I think.
Somewhere I read an interview about the whole multi-string bass debate by Anthony Jackson and found it very interesting.
 
Ok found it: http://www.gregmorey.com/aj/articles/aj90.htm
 
Jazzyvee
 
(Message edited by jazzyvee on January 29, 2006)

[applejuice]

I like playing four string basses because that is what I own. The only five string that I have played was an Ibanez. I didn't like it because of the extra wide neck. I found it very uncomfortable. I am very intrigued by the possibilities of a six string, like chords. Does anyone know of a six string that goes E to e?

[bigredbass]

Juice, you could 'frankenstein' any six that felt right to you, IF you're willing to shell out for a new nut, and do a little homework with GHS, D'Addario, etc., to find what the suggested guages would be.  Or there's the 'baritone' guitars that double standard tuning an octave lower with a shorter-than-a-bass scale length. Fender Bass VI's are like this if memory serves correctly (is that right guys?). I've often thought of doing this the other way around:  Have a six and then re-do a guitar and tune BEADGC to match the bass.
 
J o e y

[darkstar01]

personally, i dont find much use for a low B string, so i tune all of my 5's with a high C.  the whole playing notes too low to decipher thing never really attracted me. i definitely feel like the range of an acoustic bass is enough, although i do occaisionally play a six with a low B.   a bass tuned E to E seems kind of pointless, though.. why not just play guitar? i mean.. at least E to F is still fourths...

[adriaan]

Joey, bog-standard guitar tuning, starting from a low B, would have Gb and B for the top two strings, otherwise barre chords turn into bizarre chords.