Please help with Peavey "setup"

[seracis]

Long story short, I have to retune every string if I drop the E to D and vice-versa. I never had to do that on my Spector or Fender jazz. Do I have bogus strings? I was thinking about getting a Hipshot detuner but what's the point if I have to retune every string? It's only off by a little (nowhere near a half-step).

For the record, I have setup each and every one of my basses.

Any recommendations? Strings?

Oh yeah, it's a USA Cirrus Bolt-On Mahogany.

[electracoyote]

My experience is, anytime you alter the tuning on one string, it affects neck tension, which will affect the other strings. Now, depending on the resilience of the neck, this will vary from bass to bass. Some necks are more stable and will not alter much, other necks will have a marked variation creating a more noticeable affect on tuning. I have a D-Tuner on a Jazz bass with a rock hard maple neck, and when I drop from E to D, it does very little to the other strings. However, I also have basses that throw the other strings off noticeably when one string was altered.

You might also check the bolts to be sure they are nice and tight. If the neck is wiggling in the pocket, even slightly, it can influence neck/string tension.

[seracis]

I wondered about the neck material making the difference. Both of my other basses have maple necks, the Cirrus has the walnut neck. The neck bolts are tight. I may lower the relief a little and make the neck a little straighter.

[bassmanrocke]

Because Cirrus necks are so thin for the entire length they are very easy/fast players. However, the lack of mass also makes them more suceptible to changes in string tension. I doubt there is much you can do to make it stay in tune when detuning the E. The fact that it is playable after retuning says alot for your bass' integrity. I would suggest having another bass set in drop-D tuning if retuning is a real issue.

[JTE]

I would add that the Cirrus basses have 35" scales, and that extra length is going to make them more likely to move when the tension is changed on one string.

John

[electracoyote]

Doesn't the Cirrus neck have support rods in addition to truss rod? If so, despite the contour, they should be pretty stable.

Another thing about dropped tunings on the fly, your bass has to be set up impeccably, especially intonation. If that's off, it will be exaggerated when you de-tune one string.

[Meatrus]

How new are the strings? This happens with new strings before they have stretched properly. Or maybe it could be very old strings?

Just two stabs in the dark, (which will probaly hit myself).

[seracis]

Strings are D'Addario Chromes from my Spector Q5 that are about 3-4 months old. I think I'll just get one of those clip-on tuners so I can retune quickly. I'm not playing gigs right now, so speed is not an issue.