Tuning DEADG

lowfreq33 · #1 03-31-2010, 03:10 AM

Has anyone else tried this?

I just started playing with a band that plays in 4 different tunings. Eb tuning, Drop Db, D standard, and Drop C. Some of the songs I can just transpose, but a few really rely on the open low D, and they just don't work in standard tuning. So instead of dropping my E I raised the B, and I actually like it a lot. I still have my standard E-G, so I don't have to retrain my brain, but the open D is right there. I actually find it to work better than drop D for most songs.

Floyd Eye · #2 03-31-2010, 05:02 AM

Interesting. I'll have to try it. We do a lot of drop D stuff.

djaydjay · #3 03-31-2010, 05:09 AM

could be quite interesting, the downside is that your low string only gives you 2 more notes range :-/
and aren't you missing the low C too much?

Bigjohn · #4 04-01-2010, 06:25 PM

That's the dead G tuning.

Step · #5 04-02-2010, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigjohn

That's the dead G tuning.

hah nice catch!

jaywa · #6 04-02-2010, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djaydjay

could be quite interesting, the downside is that your low string only gives you 2 more notes range :-/

That was my first thought too... kinda seems like you're wasting that 5th string doing it that way.

Unless there was a way you could put a Hipshot D-Tuner on that B string and tune it normally to D and then have the D-Tuner drop it back down to B... I'm not sure if a D-Tuner will drop that many steps though.

tZer · #7 04-02-2010, 01:20 PM

Seems to me like a waste of a B string. It also 'mucks up' your ability to play 2-octaves in one position. Not to mention what sort of torsion/tension cranking that big old B up to D is doing to your neck.

I'd just keep the B as B - there just doesn't seem to be any value whatsoever in what you're suggesting.

Now if you are talking about a 4 string I could sort of see tuning the entire instrument down a whole step. But a 5'er? Why?

jaywa · #8 04-02-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tZer

Not to mention what sort of torsion/tension cranking that big old B up to D is doing to your neck.

I didn't even think about that. If you're determined to go that direction I would advise you just use whatever gauge string you're using for your E as that 5th string... or no more than .010 fatter i.e. .100 E string and .110 for the 5th dropped D or whatever. But then you can't buy standard 5-string sets (you'll have to buy 4-string sets and one-offs for the 5th string), plus if the nut is cut for a standard .130 B string that lighter string is probably gonna flop around in the wider groove.

It's gonna be a little messy no matter how you cut it.

tZer · #9 04-02-2010, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

I didn't even think about that. If you're determined to go that direction I would advise you just use whatever gauge string you're using for your E as that 5th string... or no more than .010 fatter i.e. .100 E string and .110 for the 5th dropped D or whatever. But then you can't buy standard 5-string sets (you'll have to buy 4-string sets and one-offs for the 5th string), plus if the nut is cut for a standard .130 B string that lighter string is probably gonna flop around in the wider groove.

It's gonna be a little messy no matter how you cut it.

I'd strongly advise against that tuning scheme no matter what gauge strings you choose. You're essentially tuning two strings - the two most massive strings on the same side of the instrument - to virtually the same pitch. Not only is it a waste of a B string, no matter what size B you put on, twisting it up a to D is going to put a lot more strain on the neck.

Don't do it, man. Just learn to use the B as it was intended and these inane tuning schemes will all suddenly seem as ridiculous as they are.

bassalone619 · #10 04-03-2010, 12:26 AM

i have been doing that for years and havent had any problems with my neck or anything. i use a heavier gauge for the low d (not as thick as a normal b but thicker than a normal e) i love it. and sometimes (depending on the band/situation il do EDADG

DrSmaggs · #11 04-03-2010, 12:37 AM

Sounds cool! What gauge is your B string?

bongomania · #12 04-03-2010, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

Some of the songs I can just transpose, but a few really rely on the open low D, and they just don't work in standard tuning.

I doubt that. There is no way that the tone of an open low D is so much more critical to your band's sound than the same note fretted. In a typical band that does drop tunings, i.e. hard rock, goth rock, etc., the bass is just a low noise anyway--all "tone" is lost in the mix, or covered by SVT distortion.

tZer · #13 04-05-2010, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassalone619

i have been doing that for years and havent had any problems with my neck or anything. i use a heavier gauge for the low d (not as thick as a normal b but thicker than a normal e) i love it. and sometimes (depending on the band/situation il do EDADG

Out of curiosity - why? I understand guitars using wild alternate tunings to get cool chord voicing possibilities - but what's the value in tuning a bass like that?

sirpug · #14 04-05-2010, 08:10 AM

My band has a couple of drop D songs and both of the songs are dependent on my low D. Since I play a fiver, I just play the D on the B string. Like others have said, I keep the 3 extra notes ( which I do use regularly) and I'm not stressing my neck any.

tZer · #15 04-05-2010, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirpug

My band has a couple of drop D songs and both of the songs are dependent on my low D. Since I play a fiver, I just play the D on the B string. Like others have said, I keep the 3 extra notes ( which I do use regularly) and I'm not stressing my neck any.

Weren't you reading? Tuning up a .125/.130/.135 B string 3 semitones won't torque your neck any...

I think playing some genres of music allows you to defy the laws of physics...

chump stain · #16 04-05-2010, 08:20 AM

How about a 4 string tuned DGCF? You could drop to CGCF for drop C. I would like that better. For dropped D on the 5, just drop the whole thing ADGCF. You could still ride on the open D, and have your low A. It's done a lot, and heavy gauge strings will handle the dropped tuning no problem. I think you're going to need a couple basses to pull off 4 tunings live.

eyvindwa · #17 04-06-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

I doubt that. There is no way that the tone of an open low D is so much more critical to your band's sound than the same note fretted. In a typical band that does drop tunings, i.e. hard rock, goth rock, etc., the bass is just a low noise anyway--all "tone" is lost in the mix, or covered by SVT distortion.

I guess what he is trying to say is not that it is the sound of an open D per se, but rather that some of the riffs/lines would be borderline impossible to play without an open "pedal" note. I sure can think of quite a few riffs (in standard tuning) that I would have a *very* hard time playing without open strings.

edpal · #18 04-06-2010, 07:36 PM

I think the original poster is fighting burning the fifth string into his memory banks, and instead viewing it as a "spare low D". I am not trying to be derisive, I just think they should consider biting the bullet and getting used to all 5 notes available with that fifth string. I forced myself to do that after playing 4 string for about 3 decades, then after being sidelines with a broken right hand, I decided I would try a 5 and not give myself a 4 stringer to fall back on. Now I am almost at a loss with a 4, wondering where my other notes are.

I would disagree with the poster that opined that a fretted versus open low D is basically in such a mushy zone tonally, that nobody could appreciate the difference. The extra sonic rumble and sustain of an open notes over a fretted one is appreciated in some genres. Myself, I frequently rock my volume control or pedal to "pump" the feedback induced sustain of a singular open note at the end of a song - a fretted note just wouldn't have the same effect.