Bass tuning? Please help..!

Demon · #1 04-13-2006, 11:00 AM

Guys, i got my bass, but its really frustrating, icant tune it, i have no clue why, so thing is, ive downloaded 5differennt programs, and used the free trials, but problem is, they dont register the frequency, ive tried plugging the bass to both the MIC and LIne In, but none seems to work, ive already checke that Line in and MIC are turned on, please help me:/

Hollow Man · #2 04-13-2006, 11:35 AM

Why not just buy a tuner?

bannedwit · #3 04-13-2006, 11:37 AM

You need to go to a music store and buy a tuning fork or a tuner... They go for as little as $10 - $20 and all you have to do is plug a 1/4" instrument cable into it and then tune...

Or you can download a sample of an open E string and ply it over and over again until you have tuned your lowest string to the E... From there, tune the next one down and so forth by using the 5th fret of the string above it as your guide... Make sense?

The strings are E,A,D,G from low to high...
You get the E string to the right pitch... The 5th fret of the E string is an A... So you play the A note and use that as a reference for the A string....
Then the 5th fret of the A string is a D and the 5th fret of a D string is G...

Sound like a plan?

Demon · #4 04-13-2006, 11:40 AM

Tuning fork? How i plug a bass in a tuning fork;P?Thing is i might get tuner, but then icant get an AMP:/ and ill have to play thru computer..

nicoli · #5 04-13-2006, 11:50 AM

Stupid question, but you do have a) the volume on your bass up and b) the input volume on your mic/line in up right?

What does getting a tuner have to do with getting an amp?

ddnidd1 · #6 04-13-2006, 12:17 PM

If you get sound from the bass plugged into the PC but not through the tuner then its probably an issue with the configuration of the tuner programs. If the bass doesn't play at all through the PC then you're looking at the configuration of your sound card and/or media player.

Demon · #7 04-13-2006, 12:20 PM

It does play throught the computer "well". And Nicoli, im VERY low on cash and i can only afford one.

Bob Clayton · #8 04-13-2006, 08:08 PM

i don't know how prices are in sweden, but i don't think a tuner will break the bank, preventing you from getting a cheap used amp.

if all else fails... pick up a land line phone... the dial tone is an "A"

Demon · #9 04-14-2006, 03:34 AM

Lol, anyways, ok this site http://www.tunemybass.com/how_to_tun..._guitar_1.html
seems to explain what im listening for but, it says when two notes are in tune the vibration pattern matches, but i dont understand, does that mean i should fret the string also? Can anyone explain how exactly i should tune by listening to the wah wah wah? It says like i should lay the bass tuning note and ths string at the same time, whats that mean?:/?And clay, its not like that, im 14 year old, my dad aint gonna give me 40 bucks just like taht

kserg · #10 04-14-2006, 04:10 AM

I somewhat recommend kogg tm40.

Not just a tuner but also metronome, those things can come in handy especially when you have evil teachers.

Those things are a bit more then 10$ (i bought my and it was whole two times more!) but i thought it was worth it. Especially for practice.

My bass is in repairs... i can't stand it

i am about to go crazy!

Demon · #11 04-14-2006, 04:39 AM

Ok but i cant get one now anyway, so can anyone answer my last question ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon

Lol, anyways, ok this site http://www.tunemybass.com/how_to_tun..._guitar_1.html
seems to explain what im listening for but, it says when two notes are in tune the vibration pattern matches, but i dont understand, does that mean i should fret the string also? Can anyone explain how exactly i should tune by listening to the wah wah wah? It says like i should lay the bass tuning note and ths string at the same time, whats that mean?:/?And clay, its not like that, im 14 year old, my dad aint gonna give me 40 bucks just like taht

Id really be able to tune it atleast decent so ican begin play

kserg · #12 04-14-2006, 04:51 AM

Not sure if I can be of help here but I’ll try. If you get your E string in tune you can use harmonics on the bass to match it up.

Basically tune the E string to E as close as you can then on 7 and 5 I believe (I don’t have my bass with me here, its being repaired so you have to play around to find harmonics there as I don’t remember it I only know by fingers) you will find harmonics by pressing lightly on the string above the metal peace of the fret. Once you find them the lower string harmonics on lower fret should match up to higher string harmonics of the higher fret

So basically say this are the strings and frets

Head--body
|--1--|--|
|--2--|--1
|--3--|--2
|--|--|--3

Those harmonics should match on fully tuned bass. 1 with 1 2 with 2 3 with 3

If you have hard time finding E on E string you can probably find a sound file of just a note E somewhere and try matching it up by ear.

Here is a E note sound:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/f/...w/media/6e.mp3

You can also try matching them all up by ear, here is the list:

E
A
D
G

Not sure if this makes sense, sorry. With my idiotic explanation I think your best bet is to match them up by ear with those mp3s. Maybe then if you actually find harmonics see if the match up

Good luck
Cheers