[Fajah]

Hi,

I've been toying with the possibility of playing a 6-string bass. I've never played one, and before I venture into a guitar store, can someone provide me with a basic overview. Here's a few questions that pop into mind;

1) What motivates someone to go with a 6 string to begin with?
2) Should I be looking at a 5 string as well?
3) How are they generally strung?
4) Is it hard to find strings and do they come in sets/singles?
5) Active/Passive?
6) Are there P and J setups?
7) General experience playing one and what type of music.

Lastly, I've been happy with my SX bass and Rondo's service. I noticed that Rondo has some 6-stringers. Anyone have any experience with them? If not, what would you recommend? I haven't set a budget as of yet and really don't know the typical price range for them.

Thanks in advance,

Lawrie

 

[noobcake]

1) More range
2) Sure, if you don't need the the high C
3) They're usually strung B E A D G C
4) There's packs of strings for 6 string basses
5) your choice
6) not sure, usually it's 2 big humbucker looking pups
7) my friend plays one and it rocks for jazz

 

[james on bass]

One of the most favorite basses I've owned was a 6 string. I love the feel of a big wide neck. Also, less moving up and down the neck is nice.

I was going to pick up one of the Douglas 6 strings in the new year, but Rondo is currently sold out of the sunburst. I'm still debating between getting a 6 string or and 8 string in the new year. Right now, 8 string is in the lead.

 

[Xanadu]

1) I was in a jazz band and needed the high C string, and the something lower than the low E... It made sense. Plus nobody plays a 6-string, it's different.
2) If you don't need the C, you could look at a 5 string, but the C is kinda handy.. and fun..
3) BEADGC
4) They come in sets, most major music stores have them, and if they dont have them in stock, they can order them. 6-string bass strings are really expensive tho. Like $75+.
5) They come in both, but I'd say get active, a passive pickup just doesn't pick up the low B very well.
6) I dunno about J or P, the one's ive seen are humbuckers.
7) I play one, and i love it. It's kinda difficult at first, and the slap and stuff is hard because the strings are closer together, but once you get it worked out It's pretty amazing. I use it for every type of music. I've got an Ibanez SR506 and it's very versatile.

 

[Fajah]

Excellent. Great info and advice guys. I have a gift certificate to spend at Steve's this weekend, so I'm going to see what they have and try them out.

Thanks,

Lawrie

 

[hush]

Hi Lawrie,

I was looking to go with a six string a few years ago as I was sight reading a lot of piano charts for the project I was involved in at the time - a six string would have made things a lot smoother as I would not have had to worry about both sight reading unfamiliar music and switching position on the fretboard much.

I tried a number of 6'es but I found them to be quite uncomfortable due to the width of the neck, but then again I have fairly short fingers so this may not apply to you. I ended up settling on a 5 which for me has been a great compromise - comfortable to play, I can hit a low B and as an added bonus I have found that the rumble of that 5th string can work great when gigging some songs.

As Xanadu mentioned - slapping with a 5 or a 6 will take a some getting used to because of the string spacing (at least it did for me).

Good luck and have fun playing a lot of guitars this weekend. Wish I had a gift cert for Steve's !

 

[Fajah]

Hi Lawrie,

I tried a number of 6'es but I found them to be quite uncomfortable due to the width of the neck, but then again I have fairly short fingers so this may not apply to you. I ended up settling on a 5 which for me has been a great compromise - comfortable to play, I can hit a low B and as an added bonus I have found that the rumble of that 5th string can work great when gigging some songs.

As Xanadu mentioned - slapping with a 5 or a 6 will take a some getting used to because of the string spacing (at least it did for me).

Good luck and have fun playing a lot of guitars this weekend. Wish I had a gift cert for Steve's !

I wouldn't say I have big hands, but they're definitely not small. From that standpoint, I don't foresee any issues except that it will be very strange at first. If I do decide on one, it most likely will be used for jazz/blues, so if I'm playing a tune that requires slapping, I'll still use my trusty 4 stringer.

The Steve's gift certificate happens to be quite small, so I'm using it to get a better gig bag for my current bass as well as an electronic tuner. I find that my Intellitouch tuner is great for for my guitars, but lousy for basses.

Should be interesting trying the 6-stringers out while I'm there.

Lawrie

 

[Xanadu]

I wouldn't say I have big hands, but they're definitely not small. From that standpoint, I don't foresee any issues except that it will be very strange at first. If I do decide on one, it most likely will be used for jazz/blues, so if I'm playing a tune that requires slapping, I'll still use my trusty 4 stringer.

The Steve's gift certificate happens to be quite small, so I'm using it to get a better gig bag for my current bass as well as an electronic tuner. I find that my Intellitouch tuner is great for for my guitars, but lousy for basses.

Should be interesting trying the 6-stringers out while I'm there.

Lawrie

Don't expect there to be much at steves. When I was buying a 6, i didnt find any in ottawa. I got Fleet to order one for me. Check out the ibanez 6-string basses, I'm very happy with mine.

 

[devil6]

Don't expect there to be much at steves. When I was buying a 6, i didnt find any in ottawa. I got Fleet to order one for me. Check out the ibanez 6-string basses, I'm very happy with mine.

yea you probably wont find much in the way of 6 strings in stores, you might have to order it online.

As well if possible i would recommend trying to rent or borrow one for a week or two to see if your hands will be comfortable playing with it. You dont want to mess around with it for awhile in the stores only to come home and find out that your hand cramps up after playing with it, it'll also be helpful to see if you are actually going to have a use for all 6 strings.

 

[Fajah]

yea you probably wont find much in the way of 6 strings in stores, you might have to order it online.

As well if possible i would recommend trying to rent or borrow one for a week or two to see if your hands will be comfortable playing with it. You dont want to mess around with it for awhile in the stores only to come home and find out that your hand cramps up after playing with it, it'll also be helpful to see if you are actually going to have a use for all 6 strings.

Thanks for the advice. As I mentioned, I have to go to Steve's anyway, so that's my starting point. It's not something I'm going to jump into right away unless I'm sure a 6 string is for me. It will be interesting though.

Lawrie

 

[noobcake]

1) I was in a jazz band and needed the high C string, and the something lower than the low E... It made sense. Plus nobody plays a 6-string, it's different.
2) If you don't need the C, you could look at a 5 string, but the C is kinda handy.. and fun..
3) BEADGC
4) They come in sets, most major music stores have them, and if they dont have them in stock, they can order them. 6-string bass strings are really expensive tho. Like $75+.
5) They come in both, but I'd say get active, a passive pickup just doesn't pick up the low B very well.
6) I dunno about J or P, the one's ive seen are humbuckers.
7) I play one, and i love it. It's kinda difficult at first, and the slap and stuff is hard because the strings are closer together, but once you get it worked out It's pretty amazing. I use it for every type of music. I've got an Ibanez SR506 and it's very versatile.

Oh sweet! You have the SR506, that's the bass that I'm planning on getting. How do you like her? What mainly attracted me to this one was the Bartolinis, the sleek look and the thinner, faster neck. Do you think the SR506 is a good deal at 770$?

 

[Xanadu]

Oh sweet! You have the SR506, that's the bass that I'm planning on getting. How do you like her? What mainly attracted me to this one was the Bartolinis, the sleek look and the thinner, faster neck. Do you think the SR506 is a good deal at 770$?

I love this bass, It's really versatile. It can go from great attack for slapping/popping to a deep low end rumble. If you haven't played a 6-string before, it's kinda hard to get used to at first, but definately worth it.
I read great reviews about the bartolinis, and i liked the look. It's also a great bass for the price. I think Steves quoted me $810, Long and McWade had them for $950 and they list for $1100~. I got mine for about $750 i think..but the guy at the store gave me a bit of a discout. $770 is a good price.

You also might want to have a look at the BTB456QM. It's got a monorail bridge, and apparently its a better sounding wood... in '05 they had a BTB406 with DXP-MN6 pups in them, but i wanted the barts. In '06, they replaced the 406 with the 456QM, and they put the barts in them. So you might want to have a look at that bass too. I dont know what the price is, i think the 406 was about $50 more than the sr506.

 

[noobcake]

Hmm well I hear that the SR series basses are light with superfast necks while the BTBs are more traditional so I'm also guessing that they have a pretty different feel. Guess I'll just have to try em out. Thanks for the info kind sir.:food-smiley-004:

 

[Stratocaster]

^
Can I eat you?Drool

 

[Xanadu]

^
Can I eat you?Drool

:/

 

[Stratocaster]

:/

How about you? Drool



















Incase you hadn't realized, his name is n00bcake...and I've tried n00bcake before and loved it .

 

[Xanadu]

How about you? Drool



















Incase you hadn't realized, his name is n00bcake...and I've tried n00bcake before and loved it .

lol i understand now.:rockon:
and no. u cannot eat me.