detuning and drop D

[lukas86]

I normally have my bass in standard tuning EADG. But Im learning a song that states;
Drop D tuning, Down 1/2 step:
So E becomes D flat
A becomes A flat
D becomes D flat
G becomes G flat

How would I do this by ear? From what I understand with drop D, you octaves on E sting become directly underneath on the D string.
I also have a boss pedal tuner which has flat and double flat modes.
Can anybody give me some pointers?
Forgive my amateur questions.

Lukas

[theunknowndude]

Originally Posted by lukas86

I normally have my bass in standard tuning EADG. But Im learning a song that states;
Drop D tuning, Down 1/2 step:
So E becomes D flat
A becomes A flat
D becomes D flat
G becomes G flat

How would I do this by ear? From what I understand with drop D, you octaves on E sting become directly underneath on the D string.
I also have a boss pedal tuner which has flat and double flat modes.
Can anybody give me some pointers?
Forgive my amateur questions.

Lukas

edit: sorry re read your post,... all good about tuning!

I have a 5 string bass so if I ever tune my E down by ear I use the frets on the B string, im slightly deaf so not very good at tuning by ear,... for the most part I rely on my trusty boss tuner and the fact that my bass rarely seems to get out of tune

hope that helps a bit

[XylemBassGuitar]

lukas,

First, I need some clarification. If you're only tuning down a 1/2 step, the E will actually become D#, not Db.

If you wanted to tune the E down to Db, you'd need to tune it down by a one-and-a-half steps, not just a half step.

Assuming that you are tuning to:

Db
Ab
Db
Gb

Here is one way to tune down from standard tuning (there are many ways though):

1) Fret the A string at the fourth fret (this is Db) and tune your E-string to one octave below that note (also a Db).

2) Fret the E-string (now the Db-string) at the seventh fret (Ab) and tune the A-string down to that note.

3) Fret the A-string (now the Ab string) at the fifth fret (Db) and tune the D-string to that note.

4) Fret the D-string (now the Db string) at the fifth fret and tune the G-string to that note.

Now your bass will be tuned (from low to high) Db, Ab, Db, Gb.

[jgroh]

Originally Posted by XylemBassGuitar

lukas,

First, I need some clarification. If you're only tuning down a 1/2 step, the E will actually become D#, not Db.

If you wanted to tune the E down to Db, you'd need to tune it down by a one-and-a-half steps, not just a half step.

Assuming that you are tuning to:

Db
Ab
Db
Gb

Here is one way to tune down from standard tuning (there are many ways though):

1) Fret the A string at the fourth fret (this is Db) and tune your E-string to one octave below that note (also a Db).

2) Fret the E-string (now the Db-string) at the seventh fret (Ab) and tune the A-string down to that note.

3) Fret the A-string (now the Ab string) at the fifth fret (Db) and tune the D-string to that note.

4) Fret the D-string (now the Db string) at the fifth fret and tune the G-string to that note.

Now your bass will be tuned (from low to high) Db, Ab, Db, Gb.

+1 and how I do it when I want to tune to D

[Cernael]

and how I do it when I want to tune to D

Assuming you're in EADG:

Tune town the E string until its 7th fret harmonic is in tune with the A string's 12th fret harmonic. (Or until its 7th fret, fretted, matches the open A string.) Then check it against the tuner.

[sevenyearsdown]

Get a chromatic tuner, hit an open string, tune to desired note.