6 may be too many...

TravisMoore

TravisMoore

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Well I've had my streamer for about 2 months now and I'm still not sure it was the right decision. I'm almost used to doing slap and stuff on it but I'm really not convinced that 6 is for me. This is mainly because I haven't really used the high C that much at all and only use the B sometimes.. also just cant find any songs to learn that actually need a 6 string bass. So what do you guys think stick with the 6 or swap down to a 5? :(

I also think one of the problems may be that its the only bass I own and I don't have a 4 or 5 to play on because my brother sold his ...
 
I've owned a 5 and a 4 but sold the 5 cos I never used it. Just seemed to be able to manage all the songs that I played using 4.

I often think that bassists tend to get hung up on 5 and 6 strings - they have their place in music (some genres more so than others) but for me, many of the greatest stuck with predominantly just 4 strings throughout their careers - kind of speaks volumes!

Just my humble opine of course!
 
What kind of music do you play? If you play jazz/fusion kind of stuff then it would be great for walking and chord playing. If it's more funk/slap kind of stuff you do, then perhaps a 4 or 5 stringer might be better. Perhaps you should give it more than just two months... fretless is still a learning experience more than a year after I got mine
 
I like to play funk, ska, metal and would like to learn jazz I have had ago ad the odd bit of Jaco. I like most techniques slap, tapping, fingers, triplets, etc.
I would like to be able to play 6 well its just i have never had any lessons so my musical knowledge is non existent really and i can't afford any lessons so all i know "theory" I know is stuff I've worked out and about 3-4 scales. I would probably go for a 5 because I'm used to playing them and I'm building a 4 so no point having two 4s.
 
There are some pretty cheap books on theory around. Don't you know any other bassists that could give you some free lessons?
I'm sure you would be very happy with the 6 strings if you really got into it
 
Kris said:
There are some pretty cheap books on theory around. Don't you know any other bassists that could give you some free lessons?
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Well books might be something to look into but i only know one bassist around who is better than me and he hasn't had any lessons either so he's about the same on theory as me.

Kris said:
I'm sure you would be very happy with the 6 strings if you really got into it
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I may be but I find it really frustrating at the moment that i cant just pick up a 4 or 5 and try and play some Wooten stuff that just cant be done on 6.
 
maybe things'll be better after the 4-stringer is finished. that way you can always play the four when you feel like it
 
Yea but i don't know how long that's going to be due to my cash situation and I'm finding it really hard to play bass at all at the moment.
 
I had no choice for a 4 string but im very happy my proline is 5! Alot of great songs use B strings that arnt even bands that useally do. Also for jazz, they give you a much wider tonal range and allow you to do what is in open posistion on a 4 in 5th posistion on a 5! Its much easier n your hands this way, and makes it so you can span 2 ocataves of a scale without leaving posistion. You can also capo 5th posistion and get a tenor bass range with an e string! Im very happy with 5 strings, and as for sting spacing its made everythuing faster being so close, and made my articulation super tight!
 
Doc said:
I had no choice for a 4 string but im very happy my proline is 5! Alot of great songs use B strings that arnt even bands that useally do. Also for jazz, they give you a much wider tonal range and allow you to do what is in open posistion on a 4 in 5th posistion on a 5! Its much easier n your hands this way, and makes it so you can span 2 ocataves of a scale without leaving posistion. You can also capo 5th posistion and get a tenor bass range with an e string! Im very happy with 5 strings, and as for sting spacing its made everythuing faster being so close, and made my articulation super tight!
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+1

all you need is 4, but if it doesn't affect your technique there's no need to worry about the 6th string not being used. If you find it easier playing a 4 than a 6, then you might wanna swap - or stick with it 8)
Anyway, I haven't got a 6 but I enjoy my 5 string. Nice to be able to get that low at times. I prefer 4 strings though.
 
i dropped from 5 to 4 about 10 months ago and haven't looked back, ok i had to get some hipshots for my bass to get a drop d between some songs. ITs great being able to play stuff around the 5th fret on a 5 string but for me it felt more natural with a 4, i also preferred the subtle punch that a 4 string has over a 5.

I play ska/jazz/funk/rock mostly and i'll happily say 4 strings is more that enough.

I will however mention that i love the high c on a 6 string and thing that a fretless 6string is probably one of the most beautiful sounding things.

Might not be your thing but square pusher does some mental things on his 6 string, and Steve Bailey on a fretless 6 string.

i'd treat the 6 string as a 4 string but with the options of easier fingering, and ability to play chords.

A 6 string and a 4/5 string are very different, i'm sure some members can recommend other music for 6 strings to keep you occupied until you get the 4 string.
 
I find the C gets in the way more than anything else and I have hardly touched it so far. I haven't used it in a band situation yet so I don't know how it would do there but its unlikely I will need to because apparently where i live its impossible to find good dedicated musicians.
 
I don't know maybe i should persevere a little longer and see how it goes but at the moment I cant find anything that actually requires 6 strings and when making up stuff it doesn't help me a great deal
 
TravisMoore said:
I find the C gets in the way more than anything else and I have hardly touched it so far. I haven't used it in a band situation yet so I don't know how it would do there but its unlikely I will need to because apparently where i live its impossible to find good dedicated musicians.
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It's hard to find like minded musicians ANYWHERE! :)

Stick with the 6 matey, it will be good to have in your arsenal once you develop your playing technique.

Having said that, definitely look to add a 4 string to your collection; it's a different playing experience and important to have.
 
Lex said:
TravisMoore said:
I find the C gets in the way more than anything else and I have hardly touched it so far. I haven't used it in a band situation yet so I don't know how it would do there but its unlikely I will need to because apparently where i live its impossible to find good dedicated musicians.
Click to expand...

It's hard to find like minded musicians ANYWHERE! :)

Stick with the 6 matey, it will be good to have in your arsenal once you develop your playing technique.

Having said that, definitely look to add a 4 string to your collection; it's a different playing experience and important to have.
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What i find so crazy it a play and listen to a wide variety of music and still can't find any one good and even if i do come across a good musician they won't but the time in.
 
TravisMoore said:
Well I've had my streamer for about 2 months now and I'm still not sure it was the right decision. I'm almost used to doing slap and stuff on it but I'm really not convinced that 6 is for me. This is mainly because I haven't really used the high C that much at all and only use the B sometimes.. also just cant find any songs to learn that actually need a 6 string bass. So what do you guys think stick with the 6 or swap down to a 5? :(

I also think one of the problems may be that its the only bass I own and I don't have a 4 or 5 to play on because my brother sold his ...
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing for awhile... Until I started doing ALOT of tapping, both for fun and for a few songs my band is doing... I very rarely use the high c for anything other than tapping... Although I do a bit of strumming on it for a couple of songs.
 
I'm hoping to get a 6 some time soon and the way I see it is that even if I don't use the C string on every song, it will always be available for when i need it and I will always have a great range of being able to play what I want with being limited to the number of strings.
 
I think the same... I'm planning on getting a 6 string soon, and I'm sure I won't use the C string 95 % of the time... BUT, whenever I want to do arpeggios or nice melodies, it will be there... That's how I see it... Plus I'm not fond of slap, so it won't be a big problem... Tapping is an interesting technique that can sound great when used the right way... And tapping on a 6 string is quite easy, IMO... I mean, the more you have treble strings, the "clearer" it will sound.
 
Thats one of the reasons why I would like to have that C, for tapping.. if I didn't already use my B string for tapping I would probably just string my 5er EADGC but the B is too useful... thats where a 6er comes in.
 
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