Possible to set up a 4 string D A E B?

[78grabber]

The guitar players in my band are starting to write some songs in b/b flat standard, and I'm not a five string fan. Is it possible/would it hurt to set up my corvette standard 4 string D A E B? Then I could buy a set of strings for a 5 and toss the G

[ugly_bassplayer]

Yes it is possible to tune a 4 string BEAD.
No I won't damage the bass in anyway, you might have to do a little truss rod tweaking since the tension is not the same.
Some 4 string bridges don't have big enough holes for B strings, you can enlarge them with a drill if you are competent enough, if not, get a tech to do it.

[Rick Auricchio]

You will most likely have to enlarge the nut slots too.

[IbanezBass69]

+1 to the set up. Make sure you know what you are doing. Also, might be a good idea to run 2 basses, one for the BEAD tuning, one for whatever other tuning you use. It really shouldn't be terribly hard to do though, Paul Gray of SlipKnot, among other bass players I am sure, used that same tuning on a 4-banger. I am lucky enough to enjoy 5-string more then 4 at this point in my bass playing life, may be something to re-consider if you don't want to mod the crap out of one of your basses.

[Chrisk-K]

Warwick sold the Tarantis or something like that a couple years ago. It was tuned BEAD at the factory and had a nut and saddles designed for the tuning. You could buy the parts from Warwick, I believe.

[Turock]

Originally Posted by ugly_bassplayer

Yes it is possible to tune a 4 string BEAD.
No I won't damage the bass in anyway, you might have to do a little truss rod tweaking because of the added string tension.

There should be less tension on that neck.

[ugly_bassplayer]

Originally Posted by Turock

There should be less tension on that neck.

I stand corrected.
Edited

[walterw]

Originally Posted by Turock

There should be less tension on that neck.

not really.

think about it, 3 of the 4 strings are the same, only moved over; you're just trading a high G for a low B.

the main issue is widening the nut slots so the bigger strings fit; it won't stay in tune and risks breaking the end of the nut off otherwise.

[knucklehead G]

Do you even have to widen the slots on a Warwick nut? I thought the Just-A-Nut was built so you adjust everything with screws instead of files. And with their two-piece bridge, fitting a B through it isn't an issue.

[Jazz Ad]

Originally Posted by walterw

not really.

think about it, 3 of the 4 strings are the same, only moved over; you're just trading a high G for a low B.

And since a high G has more tension than a low B...

[IbanezBass69]

Also, the Warwick Vampyre is set up for F# tuning, so that one would work for BEAD, also the Ibanez Paul Gray signature is tuned that way from the factory. Just in case that is an option.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by knucklehead G

Do you even have to widen the slots on a Warwick nut? I thought the Just-A-Nut was built so you adjust everything with screws instead of files.

the brass one would be fine, the plastic one would need to be widened.