pros and cons of a 6-string bass?

[hayabusa]

hi,

what are the considerations i should take before getting a 6 stringer?

i tried a few at the shops. found them very hard to play. but it's just a matter of getting used to. some artists stick to 4 stings and there should be some reason for that.

so what are the advantage and disadvantages of a 6 string compared to 4 string? any concrete reason to upgrade, besides mindless GAS?

 

[prophecy6972]

Most importantly, what kind of music do you want to play? Different types of music requires certain kinds of basses. A 6 string bass is basically used for the extended range where you don't really want to do a lot of finger aerobics on the fretboard. At the same time, a 6 string neck is rather broad and your hand needs time to get used to it...takes a lot of training too. I used to own a 6 string to play dream theater and some other prog stuff, but after a while, it was too much for my hands...was suffering from some pain in my arm. So I decided to stick to 5 string. It had the range needed to play most music and is not too much for my hands to handle.

Besides, if you wanna buy new strings, the options available are much less than say a set of 5 strings. Maintenance of the bass also requires more attention, especially the dual truss rods. It all boils down to how you want to play, type of music, and your own abilities. Just my 2 cents.

 

[hayabusa]

yeah, you're right. i had a hard time locating the stings when i tried it out at the shop. couldn't hit the strings properly. i didn't know prolonged exposure will cause finger pain. so to play the 6 sting, you need a real strecth the left fingers. my fingers were stretched nearly flat when i tested the 6 string. but the fat fretboard looks really cool.

do you mean there's 2 truss rods in the neck?

 

[YSR]

Pros, more notes to play with, u look more pro.

Cons, neck mite be too big for your hands. More strings to maintain/change.

 

[hayabusa]

i think 6 string is great for tapping..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNnyEpK2jMY

his fingers are f***ing long!!

tapping is a good excuse for GASing a 6 string

 

[prophecy6972]

Yes. For 6 string basses there are usually 2 truss rods. Even my 5 string has 2 graphite enforced truss rods. Adjusting 2 truss rods does take some getting used to. You need to adjust each rod half a turn at a time (meaning when you turn say clockwise on one, you gotta do the same for the other..if not the neck will start twisting, and that will be a nightmare to fix). Everytime you adjust the truss rods, you gotta check the neck relief from the top and bottom of the neck.

Here's a site where you can read up about tips on adjusting the truss rods.

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/trussrods.htm

Hope you have fun with a 6 string.

 

[Z3r0_G]

i think 6 string is great for tapping..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNnyEpK2jMY

his fingers are f***ing long!!

tapping is a good excuse for GASing a 6 string

Thanks for showing me that link! i lost it! and he's playing a WARWICK!! sweetness! If only Warwicks werent that hard to upkeep n spore...

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

You can't go wrong with an ironing board... There are NO cons when you fix frets onto an ironing board! =D

 

[warwickw]

Pros
1. Extended range of notes
2. Easier to play running notes
3. Easier for Chord work
4. Cover more ground if there is no guitarist

Cons
1. Heavy
2. Harder to set up

 

[slapwalkpop]

one major downside of a 6 string(for me), is that its mother heavy, my shoulders cant tahan 2 hour jam sessions, gigs and what nots

 

[slapwalkpop]

i think points 2,3,4 are only applicable if you have the skill to do that. if not, you need to practice a shitload before you get comfy with your monster. either that or stick to a 4 string

 

[exin]

agreed!

i'm currently a 5-string player, mainly one. after all these years of playing i still think a 4-string suffices for most styles of music. am thinking of stocking up on a P-bass soon too.

but for me, nothing beats the rumble of a low B!

6-strings are nice if you are doing alot of tapping, chording/voicing and soloing ... either than that ... if there's no need for a 6-string .. don't kill your fingers, and shoulders ... =)

 

[DarkRed]

i agree with warwickw's post. i play mostly 6 stringers and that wld be my take too.. extended range, good for chords, double stops, having high notes within easy reach, tapping. heh, ill stay neutral on the guitar bit

bad stuff is that truss rods are a hassle, and weight is an issue.

anyways, 3-4-5-6-7-10-12-15-18-or whatever strings is all good, whatever you want to use to make that sweet soul music

 

[bassics]

what doug said is true but with a 6 string u really only get 10 new notes.

LOw B C C# D D#

and

High G# A A# B C

really the main issue u should be asking ur self is how much improvisation you do and what style of music u play? If you play alot of jazz songs and u want that extended range or you wanna skip around octaves of ur scales easier then a 6 would be nice cause you would have 3 octaves under you hands at one time starting from the low B.

If your into funk and everything else a 4 or a 5 would be sweet enough. another thing is if your buying a 5 string please choose one with a decent low b if not u would have some sloppy sounding low notes which would make you feel wierd on stage.

 

[crazyguy106]

Many issues

Pros are pretty much the same. Extended range, chords, greater versatility, tapping would be insane on it, more impressive. I moved on from a 5-stringer to a 6-stringer and I -never- used a 4-string. I always wanted to challenge myself, that's part of the reason. Not that 4-string is easier to play, just that I started out with jazz and I'm sticking to it, and the range and versatility it gives me to play from fusion to funk to jazz to pop has always been right on. As usual your choice of genre that you play is very important.

A lot of issues to deal with with a 6-string when you're talking about starting to use the 6-string to its full strength.

If you're using a 5-string and find your B string virtually redundant, don't even think of a 6-string. If you're already finding trouble slapping on a 4-string or 5-string, nail it on a 4 or 5 before even thinking about a 6. If you're finding problems carrying a 5 or 4 stringer (unless you're like me and bought the ULTRA HEAVY squier special V) don't even think about moving to a 6-string.

If your fingers can't stretch out enough on a 5-string or 4-string to reach the bottom notes with finger per fret without curving your finger the wrong way, 6-string would -destroy- your fingers. If you want to do double thumb technique on a 6-string, you -have- to buy one which has either bigger spacing (means heavier and worse for your left hand) or work very hard on your return. Popping D and G just seems so much harder on a 6-string as well. And personal issue with 6-string (I'm not sure whether anyone else has this) is that uneven tone and volume between your lower strings and higher almost naturally.

And floating thumb technique would actually make six string bass a lot more comfortable but comes the other issue of inaccuracy of string comes into play. And adjustment of fingers on the fretboard and your right hard positioning is really a hassle.

If, and only if, you're willing to get past all these issues, and work on it, would you get the fruit of your labour on a six-string. That's what I'm working on. =)

Still a long way to go to reach Adam Nitti's standard... Lol

 

[shinobi]

how do you tune to drop d on a 5 or 6 string? do you drop the low b by 2 semitones instead?

 

[Slash04]

If you wanna drop d a 5string, wouldn't it cancel out the intention of getting that low b to begin with..? :/

 

[shinobi]

yeah but some lines require you to play the open d and also to fret it. think 'stockholm syndrome' by muse, only faster. or 'schism' by tool only on drop d. those kind of lines

 

[crazyguy106]

I try to find ways out of it meaning using the B string.

But if I can't I only drop D. Really depends on preference. Because if you're playing lines that are already set for a four-string... You don't have to switch your lower other strings

yeah but some lines require you to play the open d and also to fret it. think 'stockholm syndrome' by muse, only faster. or 'schism' by tool only on drop d. those kind of lines

 

[Slash04]

Ah, i get it. Never considered changing my tuning to drop d cos i really try to utilize my b so i don't feel like i should have just settled for a 4 string bass. Haha!