Quick ? on drop tuning

rapturebass · #1 04-22-2009, 07:13 PM

Yo. I had gotten into this fight with my lead guitard. He wanted to drop tune to B, but since i only have a 4-string i told him lets stay D and Standard. He ranted about how it wasn't "metal." Skip to Tuesday (yesterday). I'm bored in Science class, so i write out the full tab to A7x's Scream on the back of a paper. I show it to my lead guitard at the end of class as a joke, and i guess that got a thought in his head. I came over today to get some stuff written, and he siad it was in C# (Like Scream). So we played it, and i liked it. The thing was, my sound SUCKED! It probably had to do with the fact i has running through a 20-watt 8" amp, and the general crapiness of Austin Instruments, but it didn't sound very good. Would i want to get a B string for the tuning, or should i get a heavier gauge E string, or is it all in the general crapiness of Austin. Thankyou for your help, Talkbass.

lemur821 · #2 04-22-2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rapturebass

The thing was, my sound SUCKED! It probably had to do with the fact i has running through a 20-watt 8" amp

Yeah, it did.

But the important thing is that you're letting him beat you. The bass player can't look like he's afraid of low notes. He says tune to B: you turn up the heat and drop it to A.

If you're writing the basslines, you tune however you want, even if you prefer tuning to E. Some will say tuning down makes you heavier, and some will say what you play is more important, but you'll have to decide for yourself which kind of person you are. Try it your way for a while, and then drop it if it turns out you're not happy.

If you do spend most of your time in D, you'll probably be happier with a thicker E string, and if you tune lower, you'll want something yet thicker.

Foamy · #3 04-22-2009, 11:21 PM

Can I suggest maybe an inexpensive, but very decent SX 5-string? That would not set you back much, would look very nice, is a great platform as-is and can be upgraded over the months if you ever want to.

anon65884001 · #4 04-22-2009, 11:53 PM

I don't drop tune (usually...)
But if i were you,
Instead of buying a new 5er, i would rather tune it in DAEB (high to low)
And get a set up for the neck...
A suggestion from a noob

fivestringgecko · #5 04-23-2009, 12:09 AM

I will forever be puzzled as to why people would want to tune down that far. I don't think your lack of good tone has so much to do with the instrument as it does with tuning down 3 1/2 steps. It takes all the tension out of the string so you're not playing a bass string, you're playing spaghetti. lol All you really get is a lot of flop and fret noise like Fieldy.

lol

If you don't want to go the 5-string route, I'd echo Salty and suggest tuning B-E-A-D (with the proper gauges and setup of course). If you can do the 5-string route, that's a better recommendation, IMO. Then you shouldn't have to mess with (re)tuning... ever. Leave that to the guitards. hehehe

I jammed with a guitard once who tuned to drop D and he asked if I needed to retune... I looked down at the Fender Jazz V I was playing and probably didn't do the best job of trying not to smile as I very politely said, "No, I'm okay. I'm playing a 5-string, I've got a low B." He still didn't get it. lol

5sg.

Psychotic_Hell · #6 04-23-2009, 12:25 AM

Man your lucky with it only being B.

My band has just started to tune to A! Thats right A!!!

I bought my 5er thinking that i would never have to down tune again BUT the guitard went out and bought a 7 string and tuned it down

I must admit that it sounds sick :P

IMO i would get a 5 string. Jeff Berlin wont be happy but it would be the best thing to do

fivestringgecko · #7 04-23-2009, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychotic_Hell

...BUT the guitard went out and bought a 7 string and tuned it down

To each their own I guess. lol

5sg.

Double Agent · #8 04-23-2009, 09:16 AM

I've been tuning my 5er to A# for several months now. The prog metal band I am in has a song that is in Drop-A#, a half-step below drop-B. The biggest problem is your setup. If you don't want to get a 5-string bass, at least get strings for 5er if you're going to tune that low. If you're tuning to drop-C#, I recommend at least a .115 low "E" string to avoid floppiness.

But a better amp will definitely be needed to get better tone, maybe a better bass too. I would get the amp first though. Something with about 100 watts and a 12" speaker shouldn't be too expensive and will make even your cheap bass sound a LOT better.