EADGBE tuning, 35", Flats... what do I need to know?

[Seekheater]

I'm reluctantly moving from guitar to bass for a variety of reasons, including my wrist can't take strumming any more

WHICH IS NOT TO SAY I'M ANTI-BASS - far from it! I'm just clueless about bass strings.

Here's what I'm after:

35" scale (I'm a big guy),
flatwound set of strings (I slide a lot), and
tunable to EADGBE without snapping the neck (or the strings).

I want the EADGBE tuning for 2 reasons:
- it's what I'm used to on guitar, making for the easiest transition, and
- my ears are old and can't reliably differentiate pitches below 40 Hz, and I don't want to find myself cluelessly wandering off-key.

So, I don't know what I don't know here...

Seems all the 6-string sets are gauged for BEADG... can I crank them all up a fourth? What will break? What stupid things am I about to do that I have no clue of?

Any guidance appreciated!

[funkybassinator]

Uhhhh... good luck.

But in all seriousness, bass and guitar are completely different instruments, with different roles, playing styles, and purposes. If you can't strum a guitar, I don't see how you're going to play a bass. Also, scale length has nothing to do with how big you are. It's one inch. It mostly has to do with the builder's philosophy on tone and b-string playability (which isn't to say that 34" Bs are bad, the stringray 5 has an awesome B). I'd just go with a 4 or 5-stringer if you really want to learn bass. It seems at this point you have the wrong motivation to pick up the instrument.

EDIT: that sounds harsh, what I mean is we need clarification as for your drive for picking it up.

[Nashrakh]

Sounds like a Fender VI or something of the sort should be right up your alley.

Guitar tuning, one octave lower. Also flats available.

None of them have 35" as far as I know though, but it's not my field of knowledge.

[Bigjohn]

Oh, what the heck ... give it a go and see what happens.
Get a 35 in scale 6 string bass,
Throw away the low B string,
shift the E A D G C strings up to the B E A D G position (now you have E A D G C),
Tune the C string down one half step to B,
Slap on an even lighter gauge string for the high E.
No string tension problems at all, you'll actually have less ...
Of course, you'll probably want to fit it with a new nut (no big deal there) and you might want to re-tension the trussrod if there's not enought neck relief (again, not a big deal).
Make a recording and post on TB

[Seekheater]

Thanks, Nashrakh & Bigjohn... that seems a reasonable path forward.

FB, I'm glad to go into more detail about why I'm picking up bass, but I think this is a side issue. My question was intended to help me understand viable string configurations for what I want to do. But here's more detail:

As far as 35" scale, I specifically picked that so that, should I decide in the future I really want the low B, retuning's an option. I haven't liked the looseness of the two 34" low B's I've tried over the last year, and felt that 35" seemed like a more versatile configuration.

My comment that it's because "I'm a big guy" was somewhat jesting, although I appreciate the heck out of my 28.5" scale custom guitar neck (with a full 2" nut), and a 35" bass feels very comfortable to me. Yes, it's only an inch, but it's an inch in the right direction.

As far as the wrist thing, I'm a Townshend-style rhythm player. Grab a YouTube video of the Who playing live, and watch what Pete's wrist does in something like Pinball Wizard. Compare it to Entwhistle's hand position and motion and I think it will demonstrate the difference.

Sunday, after playing 30 minutes with my band, I had to stop because the wrist pain and swelling were too severe. During a break, I traded instruments with our bassist (who's a very good guitar player), and we continued for several hours without an issue.

As far as me wanting a 6-string bass tuned like a standard guitar (but lower), it means all the scales and transitions I know without thinking will not be tripping me up because the strings are at different pitches, locations, and/or intervals. That doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Unless/until I get to the point where I can reliably hear the pitches on a low B string, I don't really see any reason to have one.

Finally, yes, I actually do understand and appreciate the bassist's role in classic rock, metal, country, and blues band, having subbed successfully on request over the years when a band's bassist was unavailable.

[ixlramp]

Don't crank a BEADGC up a fourth, that'll almost double the tension

Use the highest 5 strings and add a plain steel .020 or .018 until you find a bass flatwound .022. You probably won't need a new nut.