My Duh Bass Moment

On 4 string bass it's simple enough, E, A, D, and G.

I always though that 5 and 6 strings would following suit, starting at E and going up two octaves to another E.

But now I find out that a lot (if not most, according to a video I saw) of 5 string basses at a low B to the bass guitar. :shock:

Drumroll please....

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eIRZl6Cv0yo/R1baI-jyveI/AAAAAAAAAss/ADfq4MlOR1s/s400/homer_doh.gif

Kind of funny, this came up in conversation last week at rehearsal. our bass player thought the same thing.

That's about the only reason I would want a 5ver. That would give me a fretted low E. Just can't seem to get the hang of muting the open E string.

I've got a six string bass, too, it's like a bass within a bass >>>the inner four strings are normal, then you've got the Low B and the High C string.

I too was surprised by all this the first time I ever picked one up. That, and the fact that the neck seems as wide as a canoe paddle up around the 12th fret...

Once you get used to it, though, it's awesome

some guys like the low B and also the narrow neck so they string it up B-E-A-D

There's a player I know of in the region who plays a 7 string bass. Don't ask, I only counted them.

Give me a 4 string Jazz bass, that's all I need.

I recall seeing a F#-B-E-A bass in some catalog or another in the not too distant past. Presumably a 35-inch scale.

But that's kinda silly, I think, though a B-E-A-D might be practical...how often do I go all the waaay...up....there...lookin' for a note. Shoot, I rarely pass the 12th fret!

Fender's original 5er had a high C string. (http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/bassV.php)

Short scale bass.

jamie

MpLoEcVULvI

On 4 string bass it's simple enough, E, A, D, and G.

I always though that 5 and 6 strings would following suit, starting at E and going up two octaves to another E.

But now I find out that a lot (if not most, according to a video I saw) of 5 string basses at a low B to the bass guitar. :shock:



Yeah, sorry, this is pretty much common knowledge.
Basses are tuned in perfect 4th's so the next lowest string would be a 'B.' *

And the extra string gives a player a whopping five more notes ... most of which can't be heard by the human ear. :wink:
Waste of steel IMHO.

* But yes there are instruments with low octave EADGBE strings.

Since a 5-string bass neck is too big for my hands, I've decided to install a Hipshot D-tuner on my E string. Drop the E string to a "D", fret the second fret, and hey, you have a fretted "E"! :cool:

Yeah, sorry, this is pretty much common knowledge.
Basses are tuned in perfect 4th's so the next lowest string would be a 'B.' *

And the extra string gives a player a whopping five more notes ... most of which can't be heard by the human ear. :wink:
Waste of steel IMHO.

* But yes there are instruments with low octave EADGBE strings.

I'm perfectly happy with four strings, myself, but it seems to me that the real utility in a 5 or 6 string bass would be having those extra notes under your hand anywhere along the fretboard...

Tim

for all those who have seen 'I love you man"

Slapa da bass mon

I'm perfectly happy with four strings, myself, but it seems to me that the real utility in a 5 or 6 string bass would be having those extra notes under your hand anywhere along the fretboard...

Yep. I didn't see the point, myself, until I had owned a 5-string for awhile.

some guys like the low B and also the narrow neck so they string it up B-E-A-D

Did that........it was cool for a little while......but not in the long term though

I missed the G

I don't care if I don't have the low B, but I do find myself wishing for the low Eb, and occasionally the D

In the last jazz thing I was doing, E through C was cool. The B I do not generally care for ... Now when I get the call for that Weezer Tribute gig ... I'll l get another B tuned 5 ...

In the last jazz thing I was doing, E through C was cool. The B I do not generally care for ... Now when I get the call for that Weezer Tribute gig ... I'll l get another B tuned 5 ...

That's exactly what Steve Swallow mounts on his 5-string bass: an extra high B string.

I don't care if I don't have the low B, but I do find myself wishing for the low Eb, and occasionally the D

Yup. I play a 5-string, but almost never go all the way down to the B. I can't, however, live without the low, low D. I've done drop-D tuning on a 4-string and it was OK. If I had a 4-string now, I'd go B-E-A-D with it.

I spent the months learning the 5, and was slightly better than proficient at it, not as good as I was on my 4, but certainly capable of getting through my gigs with it, but like many of us, I found that I never used the low B.

Installed a hipshot detuner set for D on my Rickenbacker and never looked back. Lookin' for one for my J & P now, if anyone wants to get rid of one...

As for Lerb, there was a point in my life when I thought that a 6-string bass GUITAR was just a regular guitar, an octave lower, eg the B & E strings, but there were a lot fewer of them around back then...

As for Lerb, there was a point in my life when I thought that a 6-string bass GUITAR was just a regular guitar, an octave lower, eg the B & E strings, but there were a lot fewer of them around back then...

I played cello elementary school through high school. Heard Zep 1 and thought "can't do that with a cello..." So off to the music store to find bass. 4 strings from one to the other... I pick the thing up in the store and - it's tuned all goofy - so I tune it properly - I'd heard some blues & boogie so I tried the 1-4-5 kinda thing... Sales guy comes over listens, looks and my fretting hand, frowns - does is best 'gimme that, kid...' and retunes it wrong again...hands it back. Says - 'that's how you tune a bass ...' I probably shoulda known but the people who were playing bassin the orch at school were sorta developmentally disadvantaged and I just kinda avoided back there ... 4ths ... who knew ? Now I have the same reaction to tenor guitar - a lovely instrument tuned in 5ths mando style. Every time I pick one up, I want to tune it in 4ths and my luthier buddy who makes them just rolls his eyes ...

Both of my 6-string basses are tuned E-E, that's how you did it "back then".

SLAP-A-DA-BASS

Fender's original 5er had a high C string. (http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/bassV.php)

Short scale bass.



Are you sure?

It didn't have a regular number of frets as it was meant to be played across the fretboard as opposed to up it, but I always thought it was a full-scale bass.

I love my 5ers. I rarely go down all the way to B, but, I love having the low D and a fretted E.

One think I don't care for is when bass players forget it's a "bass" and are playing way up the neck in the range of the guitars. Just my personal pet peeve.

I thought the same thing until I picked up a 5 string and started to play it. That was quite a rude awakening! I imagine it would take a good while to get used to playing the 5 string. I'll stick with the 4 that I know.