Bass tuned to D info needed, please.

[lungimsam]

Seems like more and more I am playing songs in keys of B and D. Need the low Eb and the low D in those cases, instead of the downward progressions having to jump up and ocave to the Eb and D on the A string in those cases. Would be cool to keep going down to the open D and 1st fret Eb on the low "E" string.

And NO I AM NOT GETTING a 5 STRING!! Ha ha!

Is there anything special to tuning your bass to D? Or can just do it with no ill effects?

Should I get one set of higher guage strings to keep up the string tension so things don't get floppy?

Thanks for the info.

 

[fronobulax]

BT2 Bass Xtender

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My Pilot came with an earlier version or something similar. It's only one string but if you want the Eb and D you can get them if you make the mental adjustment. With planning you can even raise or drop during a song.

I am also willing to play in fifth position if that is easier and sacrifice the bottom if I can't have everything.

In the days when adjusting the pitch of what is being played from a recording was hard, I had to tune down half a step to play with some recordings. I didn't like it because things were floppier than I liked/wanted.

Guild did make a five string Pilot and they are 34" scale. Just saying.

 

[Cougar]

Seems like more and more I am playing songs in keys of B and D. Need the low Eb and the low D in those cases, instead of the downward progressions having to jump up and ocave to the Eb and D on the A string in those cases. Would be cool to keep going down to the open D and 1st fret Eb on the low "E" string.

Absolutely! Commonly referred to as drop D tuning -- just drop the bass E down to D -- great for playing in the key of D. That downward progression is perfectly illustrated in the piece I've been working on -- Then You. In the key of D, it really has just two parts, the second part starts on a C in the C chord and walks all the way back down to D. (I gotta hit those notes harder and make that walkdown more prominent... and add lyrics to this piece!)

Is there anything special to tuning your bass to D? Or can just do it with no ill effects?

Sure. Shouldn't be a problem.

Should I get one set of higher guage strings to keep up the string tension so things don't get floppy?

Unless your action is really low and that open D bangs on the frets (like on my JF30-12 ), you should be OK with 12s.

 

[fronobulax]

Factory install.



Flip the handle 90 degrees to retune.

 

[Cougar]

Oh, heh, I was wondering if you were talking about playing a bass. Should have looked at the forum category! Oh well....

 

[Happy Face]

I'll he curious what Mellow has to say, but I've tuned down basses more and more often as I've played more and more reunion shows.

I've found that a whole step down is the max on a shorter scale bass when strung with TIs. A bit better with the new Pyramids.

So your question about using higher tension strings makes sense to me, though folks with more touring experience should speak up.

My Rickenbacker handles it fine. Even though I have the action really flat. Steinberger as well, but only if it stays there all night. No mid-show retunes please.

 

[lungimsam]

The drop D tuner is interesting but ideally I’d keep one bass permanently tuned to D G C F and use that one in the days the B and D keys showed up.

 

[mellowgerman]

Heavier gauge or higher tension will be helpful in this situation but not absolutely necessary. I find Thomastik flats to be too floppy in general, so I probably wouldn't tune them down to D, but somebody who plays with a light touch more consistently than I, might be fine with it.
Also, if you're planning on tuning a bass down and keeping it there, you can always set it up accordingly -- loosening truss rod and raising action a bit should be all that is needed.
The group I used to tour with played a whole step down and I found the 34" scale of the Casady bass to be perfect for that. Next band tuned down a half step and the 32" scale of the Warwick Starbass worked well then. I did own a couple of Starfires during that time but found that the short scale wasn't the best medium for this, especially in regard to tuning a whole step down.

 

[Happy Face]

It just occurred to me that I played my Alembized JS-II at a show recently. Had to tune it down a step. It was OK strung with TI rounds rather than flats.

 

[James Hart]

Try tuning a bass BEAD

 

[mavuser]

Try tuning a bass BEAD

from high to low string, or low to high?

 

[James Hart]

from high to low string, or low to high?

low to high like a 5 string missing the G

 

[mellowgerman]

I have a funky Frankenstein Stratocaster bass that's tuned BEAD. Only built it to use up some spare parts I had kicking around, including a 32" scale Ibanez neck, Stratocaster guitar body, and a Guild/Dearmond reissue harp bridge. Decided to go the BEAD route since it had the slightly longer scale than my other basses. Fun to mess around with.

 

[mavuser]

low to high like a 5 string missing the G

ahh! explains alot ha

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I have also heard of players tuning in fifths, an octave below a 'cello (CGDA). Not a common choice, probably because it tends to need some long stretches, but it does have the advantage of giving as big a range on a 5-string, but on a 4-string. Having played a mandocello, I find the stretches on that quite big enough!