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09-26-2008, 11:20 AM
| | | | What do you do when your guitarist tune his guitar down?
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What do you do when your guitarist tune his guitar down?
Do you tune down also o just with the same standard tuning you play the notes? How does it affect tuning down the bass? |
09-26-2008, 11:25 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | When you tune your bass down, you slacken the strings, which results in the neck flattening out a bit. You'll get more fret noise if you do this, but with a little finesse in technique you should be okay.
If it were me, I'd tune down with him. You'll enjoy the lower notes you couldn't get before. If possible, I'd have a separate bass dedicated to the lower tuning, so I could set the truss rod and action just how I wanted it for the different tension (or put a heavier set of strings on the bass in question).
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09-26-2008, 11:34 AM
|  | Regal User | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orange County, CA | | get a 5 string and never worry about it ever again!  |
09-26-2008, 11:40 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Aylesford NS Canada | | | what it you need a low A?
ex. guitarist has a 7 string and he tunes down
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09-26-2008, 12:25 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toronto, Ontario | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Murder_Worship  what it you need a low A?
ex. guitarist has a 7 string and he tunes down | That's when you tell the guitarist to give it up and make the switch already - he's got bass envy. |
09-26-2008, 12:30 PM
| | Registered User
Brownchicken Browncow | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ | | | i don't tune down when this happens.
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09-26-2008, 12:33 PM
| | a bongo cured my gas. | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: masury, OH | | | depends on what is being tuned down to, i guess. usually folks tune down because the lower tuning fits the genre. even good old drop D- an open detuned D sounds better than playing a D on your A string if heavy is what you're going for. |
09-26-2008, 12:35 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2008 Location: Panama City, Florida | | | Get a five string, worse case scenario is you only detune the low b to an a. My band that plays in drop a requires me to play in a-e-a-d-g which just follows the guitars. And I only have to detune the low b. |
09-26-2008, 12:37 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | +1. I have a Hipshot Xtender Key on my B tuner for just this purpose.
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09-26-2008, 12:39 PM
| | | I'll grab the bass that will work...depending on what he's going down to.
Thumb 4-string for standard or drop D
SR400 4 string set-up and tuned for drop C
SR405 5 string for anything that needs that low B or has fills that would get confusing on a dropped tuning. 
That said, the guys I jam with are good about making as few changes as we can.
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09-26-2008, 12:45 PM
|  | Working on successful. Got the first syllable... | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Huddinge, Sweden | | Hand him the TU-2 
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09-26-2008, 01:17 PM
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Endorsing Artist: Spector Basses | | Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreal | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Murder_Worship what it you need a low A?
ex. guitarist has a 7 string and he tunes down |
I play my 5 string in Drop A haha, in the exact situation you just described.
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09-26-2008, 02:19 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Parker, CO | | | I move position. I don't have alot of basses and like to keep the same tuning. But then my main bass is a 5 string so it's not an issue for me. |
09-26-2008, 02:24 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: NYC | | | Usually I correct him if he's calling out changes. |
09-26-2008, 02:25 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Charleston SC | | | The guitarist will usually tune down to get easier fingering for whatever you are playing. From that point of view I would say its not necessary to do anything with your bass as it is much easier to move around and transpose when you are playing single notes. Unless you need a low root lower then the E of course..
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09-26-2008, 03:55 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Haddon Heights, NJ | | | OK, with all due respect, I have to ask. What difference does it make if the bassist tunes down or not? Is it purely for appearances? I understand needing to get a low A or low D (for 4 string), but unless that's the case, why is this an issue? Just wondering.
Do your band mates request that you tune down? What is their reasoning?
Chebass88 |
09-26-2008, 04:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | There's a tonal difference between an E string tuned down to D vs. a D played at the 3rd fret on the B string. Also, lots of guitarists write songs in what "feels like" E and A to them, no matter how they're tuned, and if that's the only tuning they use it makes sense (to me) to dedicate a bass to that dropped tuning.
Black Sabbath tuned down THREE FRETS for several albums in a row - Tony Iommi gets a very distinct sound because of that. A little brighter and somewhat rubbery. Geezer tunes down right along with him for at least one song; that low C# can be very clearly heard on the intro to "Into The Void".
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09-26-2008, 04:38 PM
|  | that video LIES | | Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Northern California | | | What do I do?
I use all those 'extra' notes on my 5 or 6. Or go high, for contrast. And as always, I look at him like he's an idiot. 
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09-26-2008, 04:43 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Coeur d'Alene | | Quote:
Originally Posted by paganjack get a 5 string and never worry about it ever again! | Amen. Smartest thing I ever did.
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09-26-2008, 04:46 PM
| | Banned | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Coast of Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Kay That's when you tell the guitarist to give it up and make the switch already - he's got bass envy. | Hehe. Sounds like what happend to me. When you're lowest note is the same as the second lowest on a standard tuned bass, just make the switch 
That said, my 5er is tuned ADGCF | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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