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#21
pasta4lnch said:
maybe you're right. like I said, I used to be more pissed about it when I played my 5'r cuz it made the night a tad uncomfortable for me. still though, in my band the singer decides what songs we do (covers anyway) if it were me, I certainly would suggest a song I couldn't play and ask the whole band to do something different to compensate . . . maybe I'm being the diva?
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Nah, you're not a diva........ eat a snickers ;)


 
#25
I'll ask this: How many of you, who are against flat tuning, have ever sang lead to 30 or more songs in a night, and did backups on the rest? I have--in standard tuning. It's not easy. Now do it four nights in a row. Are you feelin' me?

I'm doing it to accommodate another singer. I've never done the drop tuning thing before now. That's why I wondered how many of us do it.
 
#27
We are lucky...our singer can sing in any key so we stay in standard tuning. The only songs we change from the original recordings are ones that use a lot of open chords and are easier to play or sound better played in a different key...for example, open G, C, and D chords sound better on an acoustic than trying to play Gb, Cb, and Db barre chords to match the original tuned down recording...
 
#28
LilRay said:
What's going on Mark!?!? :D How've you been man?

We all know singers are the whiney types if they don't get everything their way:smug:

:D

God Bless, Ray
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WhatUp, Ray? I am doing ok; been super busy with work and gigging non-stop on the weekends.

I even encounter these "change the key" people at church. Church tunes that have been written and sang in the original key since the 17th century and they want it down a half or a whole step. Easy for the keyboard to press a transpose button...Now, I welcome a challenge but I also wouldn't mind if they would "man-up" and sing what's written in the written key.

As for singing lead and back-up in standard keys, not a problem for me. With a dedicated singer (who is there to sing the tunes), they need to quit their whining and just do it.
 
#29
My current band plays a 1/2 step down all the time. We play mostly up tempo rock stuff from early VH to Seether, so it fits almost everything.

The only time it gets weird is when we do our older RHCP stuff like Jungle Man and Higher Ground. Playing slap stuff tuned down has a whole different feel to it, but we like not having any down time between tunes.

It also helps the vocals a bunch.
 
#30
I played with a blues band for a few years that tuned down 1/2 step, but it was the guitarist that wanted it that way. He liked the lower, thicker tone of his guitar when detuned. Any singers I've seen that wanted to detune was for endurance and not so they could hit a high note. The could all sing the song in the correct key, but they had trouble singing 3 or 4 sets in standard pitch. I had to put up a couple of my basses during this detune time because they were too floppy. I found out in later years that I could have adjusted the relief and improved the feel.
 
#31
Craig_S said:
I have three four strings and one five, so yes. Also, I don't like to change the sound of an open string or to lose the ability to play a riff open--if the song is written that way.
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Cool. For the record I'm not "against" any tuning, I just haven't had the need to do it since I play mainly sixes. I back a bunch of vocalists, many of whom sing whatever they want wherever they want. I just play where they're singing.
:cool:
 
#32
Craig_S said:
I'll ask this: How many of you, who are against flat tuning, have ever sang lead to 30 or more songs in a night, and did backups on the rest? I have--in standard tuning. It's not easy. Now do it four nights in a row. Are you feelin' me?

I'm doing it to accommodate another singer. I've never done the drop tuning thing before now. That's why I wondered how many of us do it.
Click to expand...

Some singers will have an issue with this while others won't. I probably deal with as many singers who want to move the key up as down. The rest just go with the original key. I can play most anything I play in any key (including songs with open strings) so it doesn't faze me. Particularly in church, where someone might start something acapella wherever they want and you have to follow them. Transposing is a good skill to have in your arsenal.
 
#33
On a bass, slide down a fret. How hard is that?
If it's too hard, loosen the strings.

Same with guitar. Keys -- just slide your butt to the left.

Voice or horns, you're kinda stuck with an instrument that has naturally good keys and naturally not.
 
#34
I started playing 1/2 step detuned years ago when I started covering Hendrix tunes on the guitar. From there I detuned the bass, and just started using heavier strings to add tension. Seems to have worked out okay so far :D
 
#35
Big John66 said:
My current band plays a 1/2 step down all the time. We play mostly up tempo rock stuff from early VH to Seether, so it fits almost everything.

The only time it gets weird is when we do our older RHCP stuff like Jungle Man and Higher Ground. Playing slap stuff tuned down has a whole different feel to it, but we like not having any down time between tunes.

It also helps the vocals a bunch.
Click to expand...

That's where we are, too. Half the stuff we play was originally recorded tuned down to Eb anyway, so we just stay downtuned and that makes things a bit easier on the singer.

I don't really care for the feel of being downtuned, and I play a 5, so I suppose I *could* play all this stuff with the bass tuned in standard, but why make things harder for yourself and your bandmates?
 
#36
My band MotorHezbollah does a Motorhead tribute, along with a bunch of other classic rock/metal covers plus some originals, we stick to Eb for everything and it works great, less breaks for tuning/switching guitars and more playing. I think it sounds better for most of the material we play too which helps.
 
#39
I used to have 3 basses for each gig. A Ric tuned EADG, a P-bass tuned 1/2 step down and a jazz tuned DGCF. I like the DGCF tuning alot. But then I got a 5 string bass and now I can play in E, Eb, and D without detuning, and I have a low C and low B and I still have a G string.
 
#40
It is never clear to me when this topic comes up whether people are discussing transposing or drop tuning.

Drop tuning is something string players usually do when they either have to cover notes beneath the normal range of the instrument or when something about the setup of the instrument requires the tuning variation. An example of the latter is the traditional Eb tuning favored by the blues guitarists using the ultra heavy strings, and the reason they do it is so they don't snap the neck off their Strat. The bass doesn't typically need this, but if the guitar de-tunes, then the bass of course needs to compensate. With a 4 string bass, you may need to de-tune to retain the voicing of the lines, but the problem is that many of the 4 string basses don't respond really well and get a little flabby around the edges, IME. To Brad's point, this is where the 5 or 6 string instrument allows the bassist to keep the instrument in proper setup and still play along with the guitar. OK, I know Tommy Shannon (and many others) de-tunes and does it very effectively - not saying it can't be done. Its just that the B string will let you compensate.

Transposing is typically done when the original key does not suit the vocalist. In this case, 5 or 6 string instruments accommodate the change without any de-tuning.

So, again, to Brad's point, you really should be able to play in transposed keys on the 5 or 6. But, if you are purposely working with a de-tuned guitar in that Chicago blues format and want to use vintage 4's then de-tuning may make sense.

YMMV.
 

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