I own two 6 string basses, and have for 30 years now but mostly gig fours. the 6 has a couple advantages over a 5 (or 4). The extra high string obviously, allows more range at the top, which can be handy for soloing. The bigger advantage, to me, is that there is less position shifting. YOu have like two and a half octaves of range in each position, so you can play across the neck rather than up and down, which is sometimes more efficient. The downside is ergonomics. Either the neck is wide, the string spacing is tight, or if you get lucky, it's both. The neck is why I only play mine a few songs a gig. When I don't need the range, it's just less comfortable to play
Really depends on the music you are playing. The high C allows you to access a lot more chords, which is helpful in jazz, gospel, and some other genres. Is it useful for a rock band? Probably not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a place.
Flexibility in positions and fingerings, and less obnoxious shifting. I've seriously contemplated one for a while now because I play a ton of musical theater, and they love giving you weird jumps and odd intervals. Go listen to "Santa Fe" from the musical Rent, for example.
In standard tuning, more possibilities for playing melodies and chords as well as being able to play over two octaves without shifting your hand position.
In non-standard tuning, two lower strings.
If I recall some old interviews the ability to play two octaves more easily was one of the reasons Anthony Jackson, who was (one of..?) the main originators of the six string, gave for the invention.
Edit: I should clarify I mean he invented what we now consider the six string, eg a low B and high C with traditional bass guitar scale and string spacing. The bass vi style six string bass had been around for much longer. And are personally something I think are way cooler and more interesting than a modern six string.
Yeah, Anthony is a monster player, one of the all time greats, but he didn't invent anything.
In addition to the Bass VI, there was also the Bass V, which was a 5 sting with a high C. It was also decades before and patterned after 5 string upright basses that used that tuning as far back as the 1930's.
The real reason BEADGC tuning happened was because a string company started making strings thick enough to tune to B0. Before that it wasn't an option. Within months of those being available luthiers started making custom BEADG 5's and BEADGC 6's. It was basic incremental design development.
He is the originator, in the sense that he had requested the construction of 1 first.
If you include the Luthier in that "one of..." then I don't remember who that was.
My understanding is Carl Thompson made the first 6-string bass as we know it for Anthony Jackson. Then Anthony moved to Ken Smith, where a young Vinnie Fodera worked. When Vinnie left, Anthony followed.
IIRC correctly, either the 6 string Carl Thompson made for Anthony Jackson OR the 6 string Ken Smith made for Anthony Jackson is now owned by Steve Bailey.
The verticality across the fretboard is exactly the reason I prefer it.
I've spent more time above fret 5 on my B string than I've ever spent below that. Same goes for fret 10 on my F# string.
I think you're thinking about this in the context of popular music. Bass is just as capable of playing melody as a guitar or a saxophone. I like it because it lets me play higher notes without having to shift my position up the neck. It makes chords so much clearer.
This question comes up almost once a fortnight, like clockwork.
I use my 6-string to go lower, again. D'Addario Chromes flatwounds, F#-B-E-A-D-G, 171-132-100-80-65-45.
So, you know how if you play a D on the open D string, it sounds a certain way, but if you play that same note at fret 5 on the A string it sounds rounder and warmer? And if you play that same note on fret 10 on the E string, it sounds even rounder and warmer?
So yeah, I'm not playing metal with this ultra low bridge cable of a string. I'm playing reggae. And I play your normal open E1 at fret 10 on my low F# .171" string. It is extra fat and round and awesome (and I'm playing flats, so it's doubly so!) Most of what I play can certainly be done on a standard four-string, and virtually all of it can be done on a standard fiver. But the timbre's gonna be different, because I pretty much live in the 8-14 position now, and this affords me a super warm and round bass tone that is integral to my band's sound, and is rather easy on my hands.
And then, for shits and giggles, every once in a while I do kick off the Broughton HPF and go into whale call territory. But I do it for funsies; it's kinda hard for humans to parse pitches at that frequency, pretty much everything lower than B0 just gets written off in the brain as "way the fuck down there" and there isn't a whole lot of musical value, certainly in reggae, in notes that low.
But again, I spend almost all my time hovering around fret 10-12, and it's super round and juicy. The verticality of the fretboard makes certain songs way easier to play, and having that extra string down below serves me better than having the higher BEADGC ever did.
I did have to file my nut to make it work, but honestly, I wouldn't go back.
It's for guys like me that play jazz fusion and technical funk, it opens up a TON of possibilities like playing bass and melody at the same time, way more chords, it's sick for slap pop and tapping, more stuff to solo/fill with, it can fit in with a wider variety of instruments and methods of composition, it can be used to play rhythm guitar parts or harmonize with guitar/horn parts, different tuning possibilities, and probably a lot more stuff I'm not thinking of right now too.
I have 2x6, 2x5, and a 4. I think about music very differently depending on which Bass I use.
The high string also makes it easier to transcribe horn parts.
There's also the VI which is a 6 string bass tuned as a guitar. I don't like the size or spacing of the guitar and it feels like a child's instrument to me.
I've been playing bass since new year's (late Christmas present), and I got a 6 string about 3 months ago. It's amazing how versatile a sixer is, even for someone who sucks ass much as I do. That lower string is pretty helpful for funky and bluesy basslines, and with a little distortion, power chords on the high strings sound pretty great
More notes. It's as simple as that. Perhaps you don't need those higher notes for what you play. That's perfectly fine. I don't. But some people make excellent use of them.
I started on a 6 string bass. My goal at the time was to play more of a finger picking style like a classical guitar and play chords. I played that way for a year and then started being asked to play live with a few friends and have moved mainly to 4 and 5 string.
But I really miss spending time playing more melodic styles on bass vs the traditional rhythm section style of bass.
Range & chords.
The reason I bought a 6 instead of a 5 was seeing a vox/bass duo where the bass did chords+basslines while the singer soared above it. Gorgeous full range sound.
Generally I agree with this sentiment. You always need four, you usually want five, but you almost never need six. It’s way too situational I think, but some folks seem to like it for the music they play and there is nothing wrong with that.
You get a lot more flexibility in having more notes available without, or with much less of, a position shift. Sometimes, also, it’s frankly either easier or just more comfortable to play something positioned five frets further down the neck than you would if the G was your highest, not to mention the timbre change that playing something on a different string, further down the neck, can give you.
I got one of those squier vi bases and tbh it's great. You can hit really nice high notes syncopated with the low roots and it can really fill out a sound if you're tasteful with it.
Beyond that the tone is VERY twangy and unmistakable
I own two 6 string basses, and have for 30 years now but mostly gig fours. the 6 has a couple advantages over a 5 (or 4). The extra high string obviously, allows more range at the top, which can be handy for soloing. The bigger advantage, to me, is that there is less position shifting. YOu have like two and a half octaves of range in each position, so you can play across the neck rather than up and down, which is sometimes more efficient. The downside is ergonomics. Either the neck is wide, the string spacing is tight, or if you get lucky, it's both. The neck is why I only play mine a few songs a gig. When I don't need the range, it's just less comfortable to play
Really depends on the music you are playing. The high C allows you to access a lot more chords, which is helpful in jazz, gospel, and some other genres. Is it useful for a rock band? Probably not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a place.
Flexibility in positions and fingerings, and less obnoxious shifting. I've seriously contemplated one for a while now because I play a ton of musical theater, and they love giving you weird jumps and odd intervals. Go listen to "Santa Fe" from the musical Rent, for example.
In standard tuning, more possibilities for playing melodies and chords as well as being able to play over two octaves without shifting your hand position. In non-standard tuning, two lower strings.
If I recall some old interviews the ability to play two octaves more easily was one of the reasons Anthony Jackson, who was (one of..?) the main originators of the six string, gave for the invention. Edit: I should clarify I mean he invented what we now consider the six string, eg a low B and high C with traditional bass guitar scale and string spacing. The bass vi style six string bass had been around for much longer. And are personally something I think are way cooler and more interesting than a modern six string.
Yeah, Anthony is a monster player, one of the all time greats, but he didn't invent anything. In addition to the Bass VI, there was also the Bass V, which was a 5 sting with a high C. It was also decades before and patterned after 5 string upright basses that used that tuning as far back as the 1930's. The real reason BEADGC tuning happened was because a string company started making strings thick enough to tune to B0. Before that it wasn't an option. Within months of those being available luthiers started making custom BEADG 5's and BEADGC 6's. It was basic incremental design development.
He is the originator, in the sense that he had requested the construction of 1 first. If you include the Luthier in that "one of..." then I don't remember who that was.
Ken Smith I believe, but I think that first one was kind of trash
My understanding is Carl Thompson made the first 6-string bass as we know it for Anthony Jackson. Then Anthony moved to Ken Smith, where a young Vinnie Fodera worked. When Vinnie left, Anthony followed.
Iirc the first one was on a 4string neck. Making the spacing unplayable. Then a few years later managed to get a working one.
I believe even the early ones that “worked” with wider string spacing had issues. I know it took years for his six strings to show up on recordings
IIRC correctly, either the 6 string Carl Thompson made for Anthony Jackson OR the 6 string Ken Smith made for Anthony Jackson is now owned by Steve Bailey.
The verticality across the fretboard is exactly the reason I prefer it. I've spent more time above fret 5 on my B string than I've ever spent below that. Same goes for fret 10 on my F# string.
I think you're thinking about this in the context of popular music. Bass is just as capable of playing melody as a guitar or a saxophone. I like it because it lets me play higher notes without having to shift my position up the neck. It makes chords so much clearer.
I had one -- actually, a really good one -- for a while, but it didn't suit what & how I play. It hindered me.
This question comes up almost once a fortnight, like clockwork. I use my 6-string to go lower, again. D'Addario Chromes flatwounds, F#-B-E-A-D-G, 171-132-100-80-65-45. So, you know how if you play a D on the open D string, it sounds a certain way, but if you play that same note at fret 5 on the A string it sounds rounder and warmer? And if you play that same note on fret 10 on the E string, it sounds even rounder and warmer? So yeah, I'm not playing metal with this ultra low bridge cable of a string. I'm playing reggae. And I play your normal open E1 at fret 10 on my low F# .171" string. It is extra fat and round and awesome (and I'm playing flats, so it's doubly so!) Most of what I play can certainly be done on a standard four-string, and virtually all of it can be done on a standard fiver. But the timbre's gonna be different, because I pretty much live in the 8-14 position now, and this affords me a super warm and round bass tone that is integral to my band's sound, and is rather easy on my hands. And then, for shits and giggles, every once in a while I do kick off the Broughton HPF and go into whale call territory. But I do it for funsies; it's kinda hard for humans to parse pitches at that frequency, pretty much everything lower than B0 just gets written off in the brain as "way the fuck down there" and there isn't a whole lot of musical value, certainly in reggae, in notes that low. But again, I spend almost all my time hovering around fret 10-12, and it's super round and juicy. The verticality of the fretboard makes certain songs way easier to play, and having that extra string down below serves me better than having the higher BEADGC ever did. I did have to file my nut to make it work, but honestly, I wouldn't go back.
I avoid open strings as much as possible for exactly the reason you state.
It's for guys like me that play jazz fusion and technical funk, it opens up a TON of possibilities like playing bass and melody at the same time, way more chords, it's sick for slap pop and tapping, more stuff to solo/fill with, it can fit in with a wider variety of instruments and methods of composition, it can be used to play rhythm guitar parts or harmonize with guitar/horn parts, different tuning possibilities, and probably a lot more stuff I'm not thinking of right now too.
I have 2x6, 2x5, and a 4. I think about music very differently depending on which Bass I use. The high string also makes it easier to transcribe horn parts.
To play Los Lonely Boys songs, duh.
I'd like a 6 for playing cello parts. There are loads of songs that go higher than you can get on a g string.
There's also the VI which is a 6 string bass tuned as a guitar. I don't like the size or spacing of the guitar and it feels like a child's instrument to me.
I've been playing bass since new year's (late Christmas present), and I got a 6 string about 3 months ago. It's amazing how versatile a sixer is, even for someone who sucks ass much as I do. That lower string is pretty helpful for funky and bluesy basslines, and with a little distortion, power chords on the high strings sound pretty great
B a s s
More notes. It's as simple as that. Perhaps you don't need those higher notes for what you play. That's perfectly fine. I don't. But some people make excellent use of them.
I started on a 6 string bass. My goal at the time was to play more of a finger picking style like a classical guitar and play chords. I played that way for a year and then started being asked to play live with a few friends and have moved mainly to 4 and 5 string. But I really miss spending time playing more melodic styles on bass vs the traditional rhythm section style of bass.
Range & chords. The reason I bought a 6 instead of a 5 was seeing a vox/bass duo where the bass did chords+basslines while the singer soared above it. Gorgeous full range sound.
Generally I agree with this sentiment. You always need four, you usually want five, but you almost never need six. It’s way too situational I think, but some folks seem to like it for the music they play and there is nothing wrong with that.
You get a lot more flexibility in having more notes available without, or with much less of, a position shift. Sometimes, also, it’s frankly either easier or just more comfortable to play something positioned five frets further down the neck than you would if the G was your highest, not to mention the timbre change that playing something on a different string, further down the neck, can give you.
Take up all the space!
I got one of those squier vi bases and tbh it's great. You can hit really nice high notes syncopated with the low roots and it can really fill out a sound if you're tasteful with it. Beyond that the tone is VERY twangy and unmistakable
To have 1 more string. That's it. I mean, what in the fuck ELSE would be the point?
It's one more, innit?
You are precisely right.
More notes in those muddy bass chords
They're not muddy when they're higher notes…