question about tuning and intonation and setups.

[xshawnxearthx]

ok. so i have one band that tunes to E, and one that tunes to D. i know i could just tune my nice bass to D and use it for all three of my projects, but i'd like to not have to adjust my playing that much.

so my question is. going back and forth from E to D, besides shortening the life of my strings, would there be a huge difference in the intonation between the two tunings, and would i run the risk of damaging my neck by going up and down like that?

[AlembicPlayer]

I play in an band that tunes in Eb
even in Eb there is a intonation issue if not adjusted, so you will have an issue in D
as well, you may also have action/tension issues. There is no damage you can do to the bass tuning up and down, but it may serve you best to get a second bass or transpose the music

[xshawnxearthx]

yeah that is what i figured.
i think maybe i would just do drop d for the d stuff.

[EADG mx]

Do you only have 1 bass?

I'd go with Drop-D

of course a 5 string in standard or even a 4 in BEAD would cover both as well

[xshawnxearthx]

i have two basses, one is my back up MIM p which is what i've been using for D and my mia for E. i wish i still have my pair of MIA p's for each tuning.

i think i'll switch over to drop D.

[EADG mx]

Keep in mind that with you in D drop and the guitarist in D standard, it may still be a little difficult to communicate visually. But it might be a good ear/transposition lesson.


Edit: how about in practice use one for E and one for D, and use the MIA at all shows?

[xshawnxearthx]

then i would have to re-set up and intonate for every show. something i'm looking to avoid.

not a big deal, i'm going to try the drop d thing first.