alternate tunings

[genocide roach]

i'm probably blind, but i didnt see a thread for alternate tunings.

anyways, i'm thinking about trying some new tunings, primarily tuning atleast on of them in 5ths. what are the advantages of that tuning? and what strings do you reccomend?

lastly, what alternate tunings do you people use and why?
~gR~

[chicagodoubler]

Michael Manring has a series of old columns on this in BP.

The only alternate tuning I'd seriously recomend is tuning down a 4 to match the guitars in a metal band. (drop d or c#, still in fourths.)

The issue with retuning is that then you have to relearn EVERYTHING.

Try one of the oddball tunings and then see how hard it is to figure out a major scale, or to play a bass line you know by heart.

PS if you're aching to play in 5ths, go buy a cello or mandolin. Or check out the great upright player Red Mitchel.

[Deacon_Blues]

I'm pretty much with chicagodoubler on this one. I use drop D sometimes, and might tune down a half or a whole step if it fits the song. (There's too many funk songs in Eb and D... ) That's about it.

It's more of a guitar thing to tune to different tunings. It's more understandable there as they're used to create chord voicings that are practically impossible to play in standard tuning. And you play mostly one note at a time, don't you?


EDIT: Oh, a few years ago I had my bass downtuned a whole step for perhaps half a year and played all gigs with that tuning. There wasn't too many disadvantages with that, but for some reason I switched back. Think it was because when reading chord charts of new songs, I had to re-think where to put my fingers all the time. Once I knew the song, there was no problem anymore.

[Roland777]

G0-C1-G1-C2-G2!

Yeeeehaw!

I'll be buying myself singles in .145-.105-.070-.055-.035 to check that tuning out. I've got absolutely no idea how it'll turn out.

[oldfretless]

I would advise using a 4 & 5 string when you are young. I switched to a 5 three years ago. I also play a 4 DB, 4 & 5 FL and a 4 tuned A-D-G-C (rather than buy a 6 string). Iv'e made more mistakes in the last 3 years than in the 30 before. C is never where you think it is.

[genocide roach]

Originally Posted by oldfretless

I would advise using a 4 & 5 string when you are young.

huh?
~gR~

[BassFTW]

The most I usually do is dropped-D, but if I have new strings on I drop all of them one step after a day or so for a day or two just to break them in some when I stretch them back up, and to play around in the lower registers even if I really have no idea what I'm doing theory-wise.

[JimmyM]

I tried cello tuning for a couple months about 15 years ago (C-G-D-A), and it wasn't all that hard, but it got annoying not being able to reach everything in a 4 fret stretch. Then I got a 5-string, then instead of being annoyed with the stretches, I got annoyed with the extra string.

[fryBASS]

Sometimes I mess around with tunings for harmonics stuff.

Today I was experimenting (from high to low) G, D, F, C.

[chicagodoubler]

Yeah Jimmy. My low B sure is a nice thumb rest, though...