for people who downtune

[uethanian]

is it bad for the neck to leave a bass downtuned? im currently tuning DGDG, and i'm worried that one side of the neck is getting a lot more tension that the other.

[fullrangebass]

you may use a touch heavier gauges on the low D and G strings to compensate, but I don't think that there is any major effect except if the neck is wafer thin

[fenderhutz]

I leave my Jazz tuned to dropped C quite a bit for home studio use. No issues.

[Nicka]

You might have the neck and bridge adjusted to accomodate those dropped tunings but other than that I've been down a half step for a long while now on my Warwick.

[SuperSnake2012]

If you tune more than a half step you might need to turn the truss rod a little, but your neck won't get twisted up like a pretzel if you don't.

[knuckle_head]

Leaving it tuned that way is far better for your bass than tuning it back and forth.

[Etbass]

I've got my whole bass detuned a fourth with regular strings... BEAD. I leave it that way, and adjust the saddles and truss to keep it funkin'. Awesomely low string tension... wish I could get that tension in regular tuning.

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by Etbass

I've got my whole bass detuned a fourth with regular strings... BEAD. I leave it that way, and adjust the saddles and truss to keep it funkin'. Awesomely low string tension... wish I could get that tension in regular tuning.

You can;

E-.080 A-.055 D-.045 G-.032

[kvbs]

anyone downtune a newer stingray with the plastic nut? any problems?

[kyral210]

As long as your truss rod is set correctly then there should be no problems. There isn't a major difference between the tension because if your down tuning you should use thicker gauge strings anyway.