|  | | 
06-28-2007, 01:50 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Seattle, WA | | | BEAD... EADG... CGDA... A world of compromises...
Sign in to disble this ad
Last night I received an offer to join some friends of mine in a band. This band relies very heavily on the B string. Over the last couple years I've trimmed all the fat on my bass collection down to just a single 4-string jazz bass. Thus far its worked for everything I do and gets my ideal tone and has my ideal playability.
Currently I can't afford to run out and buy a 5-string to accomodate the need for a B string (I could have about a month ago but I had to go and drop $1,800 on a new mountain bike  ). My current thought is that I could do one of three things:
1. Restring my jazz bass to BEAD. My concerns here are that I would end up missing my G string as I tend to do a lot of upper register work on the G string. I'm also in several other bands/projects that do not require BEAD tuning so I have a hunch I'd be performing string changes pretty frequently if I went to BEAD for this project.
2. Leave my bass in EADG and just adjust the parts below E an octave up. The band isn't playing death metal or anything that absolutely requires the lower octave darkness. Its actually a funk band, so I don't think the octave shift would be horrible.... the parts just sound SOOOOOOOO good an octave down I'd like to keep that if at all possible.
3. Tune my bass in fifths starting from C (CGDA). That would get me one note away from a B string and would certainly cover the vast majority of the below-E tones that I want. I've never played a bass tuned like this, so I can't say if I'd like it, how quickly I'd adjust from a bass tuned in fourths (i.e. conventional/standard/traditional).
Essentially everything's a compromise. Option 1 leaves me wondering if I'd miss my G string. Option 2 makes me think that I'd like the parts less without the dark lower octave tones. Option 3 doesn't quite fill the need for a B string and would require me to become proficient very quickly as they have a lot of great gigs lined up already.
Before anyone asks, I will NOT sell my jazz bass to fund a 5-string that would cover all my needs. That jazz simply has too much mojo to get rid of it 
What do you think TB?
__________________
FS: DBX 286A Channel Strip (FS thread coming soon!)
Last edited by silky smoove : 06-28-2007 at 01:52 PM.
|
06-28-2007, 02:10 PM
| | Registered User
Endorsing Artist: John Doe Guitars | | Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Rochester, NY | | | I wouldn't try tuning in 5ths unless you want to completely relearn your fingerboard. I mean, you can probably do it if you put your mind to it, but that method also requires a completely different set of strings to make up for the different tension. Anyways, it would probably take about the amount of time that you'd spend saving up for another bass.
I'd buy a cheap 4 string bass and restring it BEAD if I were in your situation, which I almost was about a year ago. You probably won't miss your g string after a while. Also, if your other bands aren't nearly as active right now as this one is, you could restring the Jazz with a B string while saving money for the new bass. |
06-28-2007, 02:18 PM
| | uncle petey? | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: outer banks, nc | | | Aren't there companies that make octave pedals? You can hit the switch and go to BEAD, DADG, or what have you...Tim Commerford has started using those alot lately....
__________________
"I'm not yelling...In fact, I'm meditating right now."
|
06-28-2007, 02:43 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: New York, NY | | | I'd recommend trying fifths tuning. It's easier than you think.
__________________
There are no answers; only choices.
|
06-28-2007, 03:13 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Elk Grove, CA | | | Cheap-ish 4(BEAD) or 5ver until you can afford an excellent second bass...
__________________
--Ian
Stambaugh Fretless 6 -> Shuttle 6.0/12T
|
06-28-2007, 03:44 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Seattle, WA | | | Even buying a cheap bass at this point isn't an option. Shortly after I bought the mountain bike I referenced earlier I got hit with some pretty drastic unseen expenses. Without going into too much detail I'll be shelling out an additional $300 a month on top of my normal cost of living to handle this expense.
I'm practicing with them tonight, and won't have time after work to go and pick up a 5-string set of strings, so I'll be forced to try the EADG route. I'll see how it goes octaving up some of the parts....
__________________
FS: DBX 286A Channel Strip (FS thread coming soon!) |
06-28-2007, 03:51 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mass | | | dont ruin your j-bass |
06-28-2007, 04:17 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA | | | Sell the mountain bike it won't make you money. Sell the mountain bike, buy a used bike and 5-string. It's all good!
__________________
Steve Barnette
The Dojo of Cool :ninja:
------------------------------------------------------------
Practice is the best of all instructors - Publilius Syrus
|
06-28-2007, 04:36 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Seattle, WA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by DocBop  Sell the mountain bike it won't make you money. Sell the mountain bike, buy a used bike and 5-string. It's all good! | This WAS a used mountain bike that I bought 
When I said "new" I meant "new to me". How could I pass up on a bike that would cost $4,000 to build for $1,800? The answer is that I couldn't
__________________
FS: DBX 286A Channel Strip (FS thread coming soon!) |
06-28-2007, 05:29 PM
| | | | BEAD, buy a cheap 5 string when you get the chance. |
06-29-2007, 02:47 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gloucester, UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by silky smoove This WAS a used mountain bike that I bought
When I said "new" I meant "new to me". How could I pass up on a bike that would cost $4,000 to build for $1,800? The answer is that I couldn't | do you actually need it? If not then try and sell it for a profit... |
06-29-2007, 02:56 AM
|  | Ojo. | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Beaumont/Calimesa, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by manicbassman do you actually need it? If not then try and sell it for a profit... | +1, or BEAD. keep it in fourths.
__________________ ~ O V E R B R E A K E R ~ ~ β Θ И Ξ К Я Ų Ŝ Ħ Ξ Я ~ ~ The Club Club member #666 ~ ~ The Bacon Club member #5 ~ |
06-29-2007, 06:28 AM
| | uncle petey? | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: outer banks, nc | | | Sell the mountain bike on ebay. I think you'll be able to get 2500 for it. Then you can buy an octave pedal, a more used bike, and pay off some of your expenses.
__________________
"I'm not yelling...In fact, I'm meditating right now."
|
06-29-2007, 07:12 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Carolina, USA | | | I say option 2.
Play in standard tuning, and just play the right notes. |
06-29-2007, 08:07 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: Seattle, WA | | | The bike is NOT going. No chance of that at all. To me selling the bike would be like selling that one piece of your bass rig that you'd always dreamed of and finally picked up. It is THE bike for me at this point, so it is definitely staying. I ride almost as much as I play music, so its definitely a big deal for me.
Jammed with them last night and stayed in EADG. It was definitely something that would be passable in a live environment, and I could just switch it out for studio stuff as needed... we'll see how it progresses.
__________________
FS: DBX 286A Channel Strip (FS thread coming soon!) |
06-29-2007, 09:03 AM
| | | | Hipshot extender! Make that E into a D temporarily, rock out, flick it back to an E when you're done.
__________________
The bass between, the tears we cry,
Is that laugher that keeps us coming back for more.
|
06-29-2007, 03:26 PM
| | Banned | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Auburn, Washington | | | Who buys a bike for $4000? Seriously. They don't use adamantium on those things. |
07-05-2007, 02:24 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Poop-Loops Who buys a bike for $4000? Seriously. | The same people who buy obsolete tube technology amps for $2000?  |
07-07-2007, 11:40 AM
|  | Registered User
Endorsing Artist: Spector, Aguilar, EMG, Coffin Case, Maxon | | Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: las vegas/maui, nevada/hawaii | | Quote:
Originally Posted by dconrad The same people who buy obsolete tube technology amps for $2000? | oooooohsheeeeitttnohediiiiideent 
jk  im an all solid state guy haha but to eat his own |
07-07-2007, 11:49 AM
| | | | whatever you do, don't string in 5ths, you'll have to relearn the fingerboard and the stretch will be much more.
If you want to tune in 5ths, get a fretted electric mando-cello.
Just do the EADG, maybe get a heavier E for drop tuning.
If you really need a low B, sell the jazz, get a bit more money and buy a nice used 5. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
