Hey, my fellow bass players!
Whenever I'm playing a gig, people are often surprised by the fact that I play a 6-string bass.
I always respond saying that the most important notes are the ones in the middle 4 strings, which are the actual strings of the original 4 stringed bass, meaning that the number of strings on a bass doesn't make much of a difference, as the music dictates what the bassist has to play.
On a side note, I do like the depth of the notes in the B a lot, though :)
But anyway, I digress. It's common that people will ask how many strings the bass you normally play has.
Mine has six, even though I do have a four and a five. How about yours?
Agreed about the most important notes being on the E A D G strings! When playing a 5 string in a heavy metal band, I matched the guitarists' drop C tuning with my upper 4 strings, and dropped the 5th string to a G for a really gnarly low option...that pretty much got used only to play the Bb under the low C. Everyyyy now and then when working farther up the neck, I'd have cause to riff down to the low string, but the heavy lifting was done almost exclusively on the upper 4!
Definitely agree as well - EADG is the tonal sweet spot! All the notes seem to just sing more from that range, and everything else just seems like bonus optional reach for everyday situations, especially with the chordal possibilities of the 6. I've tinkered with 5 string basses of friends and at the music store, and although it's fun on the lower end, I tend to just gravitate back to my good ol' 4 string for my tastes! :-)
Tyson Farmer
www.lessonface.com/TysonFarmer