Always in D - need to adjust?

[chaotick]

My guitar-buddy always plays in D.

I have tuned my electric (SR905) down to D but I am ordering an acoustic bass and I had a question.

I am going to be playing in D all the time; Do I need to make some kind of set-up adjustment so that the tension and everything stays satisfactory / playable ?

I'm very noob when it comes to set-up and everything so I thought I would ask here. Also, if it does need to be adjusted, I will take it to a local guitar shop and see if they will do it--I don't anything about it but I should know what to ask them.

[Magneto]

You probably will need to make special adjustments. This will depend alot on the bass, its scale length, and the gauge (thickness) of the strings you use.

If you're playing a 34" scale (or lower) the strings tend to get mushy and hard to play when downtuned. A regular medium set (45-105) might feel too soft.
Since you've downtuned, the strings are pulling less tension on the neck, the truss rod will probably need to be loosened a bit to compensate for this.
35" scale (or higher) basses seem to have more tension on the strings for the same gauge and tune, and downtune easier, but adjustments might still be needed.

If it were me playing a 34" scale electric, I'd probably go with the next heavier gauge of strings, adjust the truss rod (relief) for that particular tune, and get the feel of the way the bass plays.

Mag...

[Foamy]

Yes.
Even if you didn't use an alternate tuning, you would need to readjust intonation, maybe string height, and neck relief if you changed to different strings. Maybe even just a new set of the same old strings.
And almost certainly you have to check and adjust neck relief when seasons change and maybe even more often if your neck is susceptible to moving around on you.
However, the good news is that these things are realtively easy to do. Search around and you'll find great information on how to do these things.
It's just turning screws. Read carefully, go slowly, and you should be OK.
Biggest warning would be on the neck. Make sure you know where it is and where you want it to be, and make changes only veeery slowly. Like 1/8 to 1/4 turn per day at the most.

To give you and idea.... I bought a new Jaguar bass a couple weeks ago. It was warm and we hadn't yet turned the AC on for the Summer. I had it set up and it played like a dream.
Last night, I went to play it (after the AC has been on for a week) and it sounded like crap! Buzzing and strings rattling all over. So tonight I'm going to loosen up that truss rod oh just about an eighth of a turn and it'll probably be good to go as long as it is in the house.
Now, if I play outdoor gigs with it in the Summer, I need to keep my eye on it and get a feel for it - see how it reacts. Once I get to know my bass, I'll be able to make such adjustments almost on the fly.

Make sense?

Cheers!

[mandrlane]

One option also is to buy a 5 string. You get to keep all that great string tension. I experimented with tuning down a half step to make vocals a little easier and hated it.