Why do a lot of bands tune to E flat? - Page 2

Hawaii Islander · #21 09-13-2007, 02:25 AM

It also make bendies easier!

73jbass · #22 09-13-2007, 03:05 AM

It's easier on the vocals,just a bit.It makes your tone "deeper",if you want to call it that, only by a half step,but darker,nope.It's a waste.

Baird6869 · #23 09-13-2007, 02:46 PM

It is a pain in the a$$ for me as I have been learning lots of new songs. I need to have 2 basses ready just to practice. 1 tuned normally and 1 tuned down to Eb.

There are lots of bands that tune down (not on every song, but on a few...

Metallica
Green Day
Our Lady Peace (Naveed)
SRV
Stone Temple Pilots
The Headstones (Canadian band)
.... etc. There are quite a few.

My band tunes about a quarter step down just to suit the singer's voice.

agreatheight · #24 09-13-2007, 03:08 PM

I play in lots of different tunings. For my personal music I generally tune to either Eb (Eb, Ab, Db, Gb) or drop Db (Db, Ab, Db, Gb). These keys are easier for me to sing in, and I dig the timbre of the instruments detuned. For covers (which I don't often sing), I prefer to play them in the original tuning and key, but I am flexible to accomodate singers - if they sound better than I'll do it. I won't swtich basses live, I usually just retune between songs. Mute, tune, no big deal.

Joe Gress · #25 09-13-2007, 03:09 PM

Well, its not what every body else has been saying, but I find that it could be easier to tune down to Eb on many songs with horns in them. Why? I'm playing in an all winds concert band (on the DB), and 95% of the songs have been in a flat key with two or more flats. So it's either play an octave up or tune down for many of the notes.

RD · #26 09-13-2007, 06:56 PM

Family Man Barrett says in the new issue of Bass Player that the whole planet is tuned to Eb.
RD

Liko · #27 09-14-2007, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XtraLongScale

In flat tuning, it would be A335HZ (Ab), or so my tuner would indicate

.

No, A is still 440Hz, it's just one fret higher on the board than in standard. Usually the only time A is different is when tuning to a piano, which are traditionally tuned to A442, sometimes to A445. Drives me crazy because A440 against A442 results in two "beats" per second, very noticeable, so when I'm playing with a piano I usually end up frantically retuning because I either forget or didn't know I'd be playing with a piano. Then it's different again with keyboards, which are generally A440 so guitarists/bassists don't HAVE to retune.

Liko · #28 09-14-2007, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeinsprings

Well, its not what every body else has been saying, but I find that it could be easier to tune down to Eb on many songs with horns in them. Why? I'm playing in an all winds concert band (on the DB), and 95% of the songs have been in a flat key with two or more flats. So it's either play an octave up or tune down for many of the notes.

Good point. Most brass and many winds have a "concert pitch" where their C is really something else, because such instruments used to be made in every key before the invention of the tempered scale. The most popular ones survived; A and Bb on clarinet, Bb and C trumpets, Bb, Eb and Ab saxophones, and French horns in F. Trombones, baritones and tubas read the actual note, but the most popular partial tuning (the equivalent of open strings; no valves required) is still the key of Bb (though there are baritones and tubas in C). If you're playing with these instruments, their most comfortable key is their C, which will be two, three or even four flats for the rest of the world.

Darkstrike · #29 09-14-2007, 04:45 PM

Gunz n Rosez were always in Eb, makes bends easier, everything sounds slightly darker, jazz and blues for playin with horn players and of course for saying, "Man, I play in Eb," seriously, you'll sound cool!

A.CLAYTON · #30 09-14-2007, 05:05 PM

My band alway's tunes to E but i have a bass at E and 1 at D# to make it so i can use open strings if i want.I do prefer the sound of D# tuning though and i also like the fact that the strings arn't as tight.

Smallmouth_Bass · #31 09-14-2007, 05:06 PM

Easier for singers.
Easier to bend and solo for guitarists.
Looser feeling strings.
Darker heavier sound.

We play about 20 - 30% in Eb. The guitarist has a second guitar tuned down. I just play it all on 5-string and adjust for the flatted ones.

Infernal Affair · #32 09-14-2007, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baird6869

My band tunes about a quarter step down just to suit the singer's voice.

A quarter step? Seems kind of pointless. Does your band play Eastern scales or something?

Mike Money · #33 09-14-2007, 09:18 PM

singers tend to sing a little flat....

my band tunes to a 438

they don't know it, though.

they all use my rack tuner.... and i notice it helps the singer.

they'd flip if they knew.

432hz · #34 06-26-2012, 08:29 PM

The simplest answer is that it really isn't tuned down, but in a different frequency rather. Concert A, standardized by the AFM (Rockerfeller), is 440 Hz; although, natural resonant frequency is actually A=432 Hz.

Resource:
http://www.echad.se/echad-science-tu...ral-a432-scale

Other research:
Fibonacci Golden Ratio
Solfeggio scale

4001 · #35 06-26-2012, 08:42 PM

KISS
Check out Alive...I wanted to learn a few old KISS songs and had no idea that they tuned down a half step.
100,000 Years....badass bass intro BTW...

**rollyolly** · #36 06-26-2012, 09:06 PM

Doesn't Stevie Wonder love E flat?

Clef_de_fa · #37 06-26-2012, 09:24 PM

I find it really pointless to tune down or up, unless it is for obtaining notes that aren't in your normal range.

You don't need to down tune to accomodate singer, only change keys ... but I get that if you down tune it is because you want to keep the same pattern where you learned them, which is really lazy and you don't learn anything.

Making the music darker ??? seriously ... next time you comme up with a riff, play it in different key it will do the same effect. Unless you wanted lower note because it sound darker since it is played on low notes ...

Making bending easier ??? come on ...

Making easier to play with horns in Eb, Bb ... I get that but still, you do really need your lowest note to be your root ? To me it sounds like you don't want to work with creativity with the limitation of your instrument.

But I guess it is how it is in rock music

kr0n · #38 06-27-2012, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XtraLongScale

In flat tuning, it would be A335HZ (Ab), or so my tuner would indicate

.

That is not how it works.

Floyd Eye · #39 06-27-2012, 06:50 AM

In my band we were doing a lot of AIC and it became a PITA to keep changing guitars/basses or tunings. Plus we do some Chevelle and Godsmack songs that are actually in C or some **** and tuning a half step flat then drop D gets you close to that without introducing yet another tuning dilemma.

Rune Bivrin · #40 06-27-2012, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 432hz

The simplest answer is that it really isn't tuned down, but in a different frequency rather. Concert A, standardized by the AFM (Rockerfeller), is 440 Hz; although, natural resonant frequency is actually A=432 Hz.

Resource:
http://www.echad.se/echad-science-tu...ral-a432-scale

Other research:
Fibonacci Golden Ratio
Solfeggio scale

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mumbo jumbo site

Bruce Cathie describes 144 as a perfect harmonic of the speed of light, which is 144,000 nautical miles (144,000 minutes of arc per Earth grid second) in the vacuum of space. Each of these harmonics are literally a mirror, or a cascade of mirrors within mirrors, that 8 hz can look into. For example 144 is 18 x 8 hz, and 72 is 9 x 8 hz. The way that light travels in space is thus a 144 decimal harmonic (144:144,000).

Just beautiful. Now, if he'd just go into detail as to how the nautical mile and second (particularly the "grid second") are defined in nature without any human interpretation or selection...