|  | | 
03-31-2007, 07:37 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | Can I do this? String type/guage question
Sign in to disble this ad
The band I'm in tunes to dropped b and I was wonder if since I can't afford a 5 string if I could buy some 5 string strings and just use the b, e, a, d since that's what I'm tuned to anyway(it's a little sloppy) would this be possible. I know I'd have to get my bass setup to do it but is ther any reason not to? Thanks |
04-01-2007, 03:39 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | Anyone? |
04-01-2007, 08:14 PM
| | Registered User
Bass Technician, Club Bass - Toronto | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Toronto Canada | | | Not a problem. But for three items that WILL require attention.
1. The strings aren't going to fit in the nut properly - the nut slots are going to be a bit narrow for the fatter strings. You are going to have to file the nut slots a bit wider.
2. You probably will have to deal with an adjustment to the neck relief. The fatter strings are going to apply a bit more tension to the neck, causing it to up-bow a bit. A simple truss rod adjustment will correct for this.
3. Your intonation is likely to be sharp on all strings on the upper frets. It's not a big deal to adjust. There's a sticky at the top of this section that will tell you all the how-to's if you don't know. Or ask Josh. |
04-02-2007, 11:40 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | Thanks man. I figured the neck and intonation would be off a little, didn't know about the nut filing. As far as knowing how to do any of this stuff I don't. I'll probably pay the local music store to do it. Then I have someone to blame if something goes wrong. Thanks again. |
04-02-2007, 01:08 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Anaheim, Ca. | | | too much..
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHILDISHGAMBINO  The band I'm in tunes to dropped b and I was wonder if since I can't afford a 5 string if I could buy some 5 string strings and just use the b, e, a, d since that's what I'm tuned to anyway(it's a little sloppy) would this be possible. I know I'd have to get my bass setup to do it but is ther any reason not to? Thanks | I dunno.. you sure you wanna go thru with this just to accommodate the 'dropped' tuning issue and not having a 5-stringer? Think about it what you will have to do to make this transistion work: replace the nut (or file it out..a PERM change) tweak-retune-tweak the truss rod, and then finally fooling around with the bridge until the intonation 'comes in'.
Positively there is no way to get a 5-string? You sure are going around the long way to get where you are going. Well at least you won't have to modify the PUP's. |
04-02-2007, 06:24 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | I can't afford a 5 string and I don't want to buy a 250 dollar(I'm sure there are some good ones in this price range but I like the bass I have and If I was to get a new bass I would like to at least get on that's as good or better) one either which I could possibly save up for. I think maybe I'll just put heavy guage strings on it and see how that goes. It's not an issue of staying in tune it's the issue of sloppy feeling and sounding, if I'm not careful about my attack, strings. I do need to get this bass setup either way it hasn't been done in years and I don't think it would hurt to have my intonation check out etc. The filing the nut down kind of freaks me out a bit but I guess I could just buy a new one.
Last edited by CHILDISHGAMBINO : 04-02-2007 at 06:27 PM.
|
04-02-2007, 06:56 PM
| | Registered User
Bass Technician, Club Bass - Toronto | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Toronto Canada | | | Don't get freaked out about this. It's really not a big deal. From what you describe, putting heavier gauge strings on is the right thing to do in your circumstance. You can choose a B to D set or just a heavier E to G set - you will still have to deal with the intonation, nut slot and neck relief adjustments.
I did this years ago to my Precision. After about 5 years I bought a 5-string and decided to move the Precision back to E to G tuning. I had to replace the nut, adjust the relief and re-intonate. Goes and comes the same way. And no harm done. |
04-02-2007, 08:53 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | Sweet. I guess I could always replace the nut if/when I go back to standard. I don't know very much about this type of thing so it freaks me out but I have talked to a few others about this too and I'm going have it done at the shop so it should work out. I do plan on buying a fiver some day but I have a bass right now and still need a few other things like another cab, a pedalboard or case or something to organize them, new cables etc, etc. Having this setup done is only going to cost me the price of the strings and between 25 and 30 bucks for the setup. A new five sting would cost me at least 600(Canadian) bucks for something decent. I could buy another Peavey cab a pedalboard and some cables and probably have money left over.
Last edited by CHILDISHGAMBINO : 04-02-2007 at 09:09 PM.
|
04-03-2007, 06:17 PM
| | | | FWIW, going to BEAD tuning usually means a little less tension on the neck, not more. Take a look at the published tension amounts for any of the D'addario 5-string sets and you'll see what I mean. The B is almost always a little lower tension that the G you're replacing.
This is no big deal. A lot of people have done this. It's usually cheaper to buy a 5-string set and discard the G than to special order a BEAD set. |
04-03-2007, 07:33 PM
| | Registered User
Bass Technician, Club Bass - Toronto | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Toronto Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by CHILDISHGAMBINO A new five sting would cost me at least 600(Canadian) bucks for something decent. I could buy another Peavey cab a pedalboard and some cables and probably have money left over. | Oh-Oh. You should have said "Canadian" earlier. You can't convert a 4-banger to BEAD tuning in Canada. Steven Harper won't allow it. |
04-04-2007, 08:00 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | I don't think Steven Harper would be too keen on the lyrical content of the music I play either. But I don't think he'd make it that far into the songs before turning it off and calling George to see if they couldn't form some sort alliance to rid the "free" world of that terrible rock and or roll music. |
04-04-2007, 08:08 PM
|  | is, against all odds, still a scuba viking. | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alta Loma, California | | | is downtuning really necessary? I used to think the same thing. I bought a very nice 5 string about a year ago, and came to realize that I really didn't use the low b all that much (even with the metal band I play in). You can barely hear it with the rest of the band playing. Try to recreate your bass lines to accomadate a higher register.
as I said, I found the low B unnecessary. I restrung my bass eadgc. I love it!!!
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese It is never the duty of the oppressed to make a bigot feel comfortable. | |
04-04-2007, 09:56 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by IconBasser is downtuning really necessary? I used to think the same thing. I bought a very nice 5 string about a year ago, and came to realize that I really didn't use the low b all that much (even with the metal band I play in). You can barely hear it with the rest of the band playing. Try to recreate your bass lines to accomadate a higher register.
as I said, I found the low B unnecessary. I restrung my bass eadgc. I love it!!! | It is necessary for me we're trying to go for a wall of sound kind of thing, you know. We want people to fell their internal organs vibrating. I do play some lines in higher registers and try to play octaves and harmonies etc but when the 2 guitars are chugging the open b it sounds a lot fatter for me to do the same. I've tried other methods but it sounds thin to me. Thanks for the advice though this band has only been together for about a month so I'm still trying to figure out my approach to the sound. I've played in quite a few bands but nothing even close to this heavy. I'm used to doing a lot of runs and walking lines not hammering roots but I'm finding the less is more approach to be a little more complimentry to the music although sometimes I'm thinking I'm keeping it a little too simple though. |
04-04-2007, 10:46 PM
|  | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | | I have one bass strung BEAD. Since I already had an almost new EADG set, I just bought the B string. But if you need new strings, then buying a 5 string set is cheaper.
The tension on the neck is less. |
04-04-2007, 10:53 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Francisco Bay Area | | | I've actually done this to my P-Bass. I was playing in a metal band, and didn't have access to a 5-String at the time. It's really no big deal.
Ibanez is actually making new 4-string basses strung B-E-A-D.
And yes, DOWNTUNING IS NECCESSARY! If you can't hear the low B in a band setting, then you're not playing out of the right rig. |
04-04-2007, 11:40 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Gladstone, QLD, Australia | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Rattman I dunno.. you sure you wanna go thru with this just to accommodate the 'dropped' tuning issue and not having a 5-stringer? Think about it what you will have to do to make this transistion work: replace the nut (or file it out..a PERM change) tweak-retune-tweak the truss rod, and then finally fooling around with the bridge until the intonation 'comes in'.
Positively there is no way to get a 5-string? You sure are going around the long way to get where you are going. Well at least you won't have to modify the PUP's. | changing nuts are really easy...and they're cheap...and NOT a permanent change...tweek a trussy, SIMPLE...intonation?...SIMPLE...
I converted an EADG bass recently to BEAD...
took me all of 25 minutes... |
04-05-2007, 08:21 AM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by PilbaraBass changing nuts are really easy...and they're cheap...and NOT a permanent change...tweek a trussy, SIMPLE...intonation?...SIMPLE...
I converted an EADG bass recently to BEAD...
took me all of 25 minutes... | +1. It is a simple modification if you are handy with tools. If not, a luthier/tech will be able to take care of it for the price of a nut and set-up. If you elect to take your bass to a pro make sure to tell them you want the original nut. |
05-20-2007, 04:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada | | | I just finally got this done. It looked fairly easy and it was cheap the strings were 42 bucks plus 10 bucks for the setup. He just filed the bridge and the nut a little to make room for the 130 b and some minor intonation/truss rod adjustments. It sounds and plays so much better now. Thanks to all for the advice. |
05-20-2007, 04:53 PM
| | I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada | | | Glad to hear it worked out for you! |
05-21-2007, 09:19 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Loughborough, UK | | FWIW:
I have two basses tuned BEAD - an Ibanez Roadstar II RS620 and a Westone Thunder III Fretless which has flats on it.
I'm over 60 and my hands suffer a bit from arthritis, so the narrower neck of a 4 suits. Also, we play a LOT of stuff in D & G, so the lower register helps 
Geoff | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is On | | | |
