Simultaneous Alternate Tunings?

[Silver Blues]

I've been reading a lot lately and have gotten very interested in alternate tunings.

You know me , I'm always on the look out for new gear... but after a while it would be pointless to have a stable of basses all tuned to the same pitch. I won't buy an ERB because I don't like the feel, I much prefer my fours. In my master bass plan, I have five standard-tuned basses. More are always welcome It won't be for now though, I'm nowhere near good enough to expand beyond E standard. (Or like drop D.)

Wow anyway /rant, my actual question is how many different alternate tunings for four-bangers do you think are practical to have going at once? (As in, if one had a bunch of basses perma-tuned to alternates, what could they be?) I have BEAD, ADGC and DGCF so far. Opinions?

--Silvie

[fmoore200]

Not trying to derail your thread, but I always get into this debate with a guitarist/singer I know. Besides using alternate tunings for a deeper/darker sound, what is the point?

My view is the notes remain the same on the written page, only the proximity of the notes on the instrument changes. A piano, saxophone, trumpet, etc can't alter their tunings but can play the same notes as a bass in drop d (transposed of course).

On topic I believe I did problems like this in math class in high school, but instead of strings and notes the combination was of colored marbles in a jar picked at random..I think it's called permutation..

[Silver Blues]

IDK, I mean it opens some interesting options. For one, the BEAD and DGCF make sense because well, you don't get a B on a standard-tuned four, and the DGCF gives you another step's worth of range across the board. You don't get the C on a standard 4 either, although I suppose if you just play >5 on the G you'd get the same thing but then you don't get all the high range.

I was just wondering, might be something cool to try, you know.

--Silvie

[fmoore200]

It def would be something cool to do

[bassgod0dmw]

As many as you'd want. I know that's kind of a cop out answer, but it's true.

[Oneirogenic]

Tune to fifths instead of fourths. CGDA or GDAE to start with. There is piccolo and and tenor tunings which tune UP to ADGC and EADG respectively. DADA and DGDG are practical tunings to experiment with that don't require different string gauges.