drop b tune

[oathbass462]

parabola by tool is in drop b. i've never used this tuning before. i know that pressing the flat button twice on a korg tuner will get you drop d, how many flats is drop b? thanks

[Petary791]

I'm guessing you don't have a chromatic tuner?

Try pressing it 5 times.

That song is tuned BEDG right?

[chaosMK]

Tuning an E string to a B sounds like a Nasty idea to me.

What you can do is tune the "b" on 12 fret to an octave (14th fret on the A string). This is probably the easiest way to hear the pitch.

[IanStephenson]

Put it another way - it's written for a 5 string, but doesn't use the top string?

If you're going this way, you'll probably need to get a 5 string set, and put them on a 4 string, dumping the G string.

Ian

[oathbass462]

nope, the tuning is BADG. it's just drop d, but even lower. he does it in prison sex too. i'm gonna try 5 flats down. when i get my 2nd bass, i'm making my squier tuned that way permenantly for those 2 songs. thanks for the help, much appreciated.

[ebe9]

Two routes to go:

Purchase a 5 string bass

Purchase a set of strings including the "low B" and restring it with the B instead of the E (you might have to file down your nut to get the B to fit)

[FunkSlap89]

I set my 4 string to drop B when my band did "The Worm" by audioslave. It works... just drop it down so that the open 4th string is an octave below the second fret on the A string. Tension is really low though, so it's hard to get used to.

[FaithNoMan]

A five string won't work too well for "Prison Sex" by Tool.....

At the 3 minute mark, Paul plays a lone riff that goes something like a-b-b, a-a-b, a-b, a-b, a-b, and every other time he plays the a-a-b part, he strikes the dropped B-string on the upstroke whilst tapping the higher b(on the "a" string) simultaneously.....well, at least it sounds that way to me....kinda gives the riff a lower octave effect every other time....give it a listen.

[Sandman1278]

Originally Posted by FaithNoMan

A five string won't work too well for "Prison Sex" by Tool.....

At the 3 minute mark, Paul plays a lone riff that goes something like a-b-b, a-a-b, a-b, a-b, a-b, and every other time he plays the a-a-b part, he strikes the dropped B-string on the upstroke whilst tapping the higher b(on the "a" string) simultaneously.....well, at least it sounds that way to me....kinda gives the riff a lower octave effect every other time....give it a listen.

You can do that on a 5 string

[FaithNoMan]

Originally Posted by Sandman1278

You can do that on a 5 string

Yeah, but you have to keep skipping the "E" string to hit the lower octave, whereas with the four, all you have to do is move the pick down from the "a" string....pain in the @ss, IMO...then again, I play a 4 string, haha!

[perfdavid]

I drop my e to b for headstrong by trapt and it sounds just fine.

[Goregrind29]

how heavy is your E.. if its low enough i think you will be able to drop it to B.. also what is the scale of the bass?

[Tbirdbassist]

Parabol/Parabola is in BEDG tuning.

Prison Sex is in Drop B, BADG.


Go to www.tooltabs.net for the spot on tab of Parabol/Parabola (hehe, spam, spam).

The part you are talking about in Prison Sex, Sandman, isn't that, the B string is hit the first time by accident and it can sometimes be heard, but live vids have shown that he doesn't.