HELP ME!!

[the-philosopher]

im getting my 5 string bass set up for the first time(the action is ridiculously low), and i emailed the person doing the repair.
he said that he needs to know "what you tune to, A440, or Eb, or Drop "C"," and said
I do a standard set-up for what ever tuning you use.
i have no clue what he's talking about. does anyone?

[CapnSev]

He's trying to sound like a know-it-all and boggle your mind with his "expertise".

A440 is the correct answer if you tune to standard tuning. Eb would be asking if you tune a half step down. I don't know where the crap he pulled drop C out of.

More than likely it's A440.

[Slowgypsy]

Originally Posted by CapnSev

He's trying to sound like a know-it-all and boggle your mind with his "expertise".

A440 is the correct answer if you tune to standard tuning. Eb would be asking if you tune a half step down. I don't know where the crap he pulled drop C out of.

More than likely it's A440.

A+ to all that!

A very standard answer would be "I use standard 440 tuning. The strings should be B, E, A, D, G"

[Solarmist]

Drop C on a 5 string??? Drop C applies to a 4 string bass usually tuned to C G C F which is how my 4 bangers are setup. You're repairman is correct in asking if you're going to be tuning to something other than the standard B E A D G as the neck relief, intonation, and saddle height, may differ slightly.

[Blues Cat]

Actually it's a very good question that most techs wouldn't ask.

The reason he asked is because if you tune 1/2 step flat (Eb) the neck will have slightly less tension. So if you play tuned flat and he sets the bass up for standard 440 your action will be slightly higher than he set it up for originally AND your intonation could be off if the neck has more forward bow.

If he is this contientious up front then perhaps he is a good tech.

[the-philosopher]

well i tune alot....
for example, the show im playing with this bass is drop d on a 4 string...so ill be tuned lower. i hate all this complicated talk..
does that mean i have to tell him something different than A400 if im going to be doing alot of weird tunings or drop d?

[krrt]

There are actually two separate, but related issues here.

The first is the reference pitch used to tune your bass. Typically, the reference pitch is A440, meaning that the note A above middle C is exactly 440Hz. This simply means that when you play this note on your bass, regardless of which string you happen to use, it will sound at 440Hz. This ensures that the notes on your instrument will match the same notes played on other instruments tuned to A440.

In certain situations, a slightly different reference pitch may be desirable. For example, if you are accompanying a piano with A tuned to 400Hz, it's a lot easier to tune a bass than tune a piano, so you tune your bass down to match the piano. You should ask the musicians you play with what reference pitch they use for tuning to be sure you pick the right one. However, the vast majority of the time (in my experience playing rock), A440 is what you want.

The actual tuning of each of your strings is a separate question, and is the primary factor in determining how your bass should be setup. As others have mentioned, for a given set of strings, lower tuning mean less tension, and the neck and the bridge need to be set up accordingly. If you tune the lowest string on a 5 string to A, there will be less tension than if the same string is tuned to B. The setup will take this into account.

You should make sure the setup is done using the same gauge/brand strings you plan to use, as different strings may have different tensions with the same tuning.

I suggest you decide which tuning you play most often, and have the bass set up for that tuning. You can try other tunings with this setup and see how they work for you. If you need to use two or more very different tunings, you may want to have separate instruments, each set up for a particular tuning.