So my guitar player is always asking me about my tuning, I play a 5 string and we are tuned a whole step down I’m just banging away on the A, D, and G strings as it’s distorted music, but he is always asking be about my G string (ha) which is tuned to F. What am I missing here?
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He may be thinking it’s supposed to be tuned like a guitar on the top strings, instead of fourths like a bass.
Asking about? What are his questions?
I think that we are missing the same thing that you are missing. (You are down tuned a full step so what's your guitar player's problem?)
Tell this to you guitar player..........(compliments of Frank Zappa)
Yeah, that really doesn’t make any sense; and if he thinks about it for just a minute, it might click for him. If he plays a 7-string, your tuning should make perfect sense to him; if he plays a 6-string tuned down to A1, I might understand his confusion a bit—but only a bit.
Just as I suspected: he's thinking a guitar tuning. The B string on guitar is tuned a major 3rd above the G string to facilitate playing chords. He is assuming that the highest string on a 5 string bass should work the same. Inform your guitarist that bases are normally tuned in fourths, regardless of how many strings there are.
Just tell him ya tune that way because bass strings are harder to bend.
There are two common ways to talk about altered tunings. It's good to be fluent in both, so you can talk to either type of guitarist. Players who are stubborn about only learning one method, and ignoring the other method, tend to have the most miscommunication with their bandmates.
The first method is to learn the concert pitch or "actual" pitch of your notes. In your case, your whole bass is tuned a step down, so you call your open-string notes A D G C F.
The second method is to transpose so you call the notes what they "would be" called in standard tuning. So you call your open-string notes B E A D G irregardless of the actual pitch that sounds.
It sounds like you have found yourself in a band with a guitarist who only speaks one of these two languages, and can't wrap his head around different instruments in the band using different tunings. You are playing the concert-pitch note F but the guitarist wants to think of it conceptually as open E, because that is the 'normal' tuning from his guitar-centric perspective. From my experience playing with guitarists like this? My best advice is to write your songs out in TAB in his tuning (not your tuning) or whatever is his preferred notation style. Just accept that his tuning is important to him, and if you are trying to teach him a song, move everything on that string by 1 fret to compensate. Meet him on his level.
You might argue 'why should I bend to him?' but in my experience, it is good to be fluent in both musical languages. It clears up a lot of misunderstandings, to see things both from your perspective and the guitarist's perspective.
The first method is to learn the concert pitch or "actual" pitch of your notes. In your case, your whole bass is tuned a step down, so you call your open-string notes A D G C F.
The second method is to transpose so you call the notes what they "would be" called in standard tuning. So you call your open-string notes B E A D G irregardless of the actual pitch that sounds.
It sounds like you have found yourself in a band with a guitarist who only speaks one of these two languages, and can't wrap his head around different instruments in the band using different tunings. You are playing the concert-pitch note F but the guitarist wants to think of it conceptually as open E, because that is the 'normal' tuning from his guitar-centric perspective. From my experience playing with guitarists like this? My best advice is to write your songs out in TAB in his tuning (not your tuning) or whatever is his preferred notation style. Just accept that his tuning is important to him, and if you are trying to teach him a song, move everything on that string by 1 fret to compensate. Meet him on his level.
You might argue 'why should I bend to him?' but in my experience, it is good to be fluent in both musical languages. It clears up a lot of misunderstandings, to see things both from your perspective and the guitarist's perspective.
If you found an open “high E” (E2) convenient, there’s no reason not to tune that way. Lots of ways to get it done, and we have a lot of freedom in tuning relative to other types of instruments.
I play bass and guitar on my recordings. Mostly, I use 5-string basses tuned GCGCF and 6-string guitars tuned CGCFAD; I do have a 7-string guitar tuned GCGCFAD, but most of the parts I come up with on that one end up being 6-string parts in the end.
He seems to be muddled about the fifth string and thinking that all fifth strings, whatever the tuning, should be like that of his fifth.
Your only response should be: “Why?”
Repeat it after everything he says until he leaves you alone.
Just say ekectric bass usually tunes in ascending 4ths (or descending 5ths if he prefers) and doesn’t normally use standard guitar tuning since it’s not really a guitar despite commonly being called one because it traces its heritage to a string bass rather than a guitar. 
If he’s still puzzled suggest he for a little research on instruments and their tunings.
If he’s still puzzled suggest he for a little research on instruments and their tunings.
You could start by explaining the difference between a bass and a guitar.
edit to say
then follow up by firing the drummer.
edit to say
then follow up by firing the drummer.
As long as you're playing the right notes, why the h*ll should he care?
Wow. This seems way more complicated than it needs to be. Tell him his third highest (pitch) string is your highest string. He's counting in the wrong direction. Your second lowest (pitch) string is his lowest string.
Point and laugh at him every time he brings it up until he looks up bass tunings himself and comes to the conclusion that a bass should be tuned in 4ths.
Also tell him to use his ears to figure out what notes you're playing rather than his eyes. Shouldn't matter how you're tuned as long as you're playing within key.
Also tell him to use his ears to figure out what notes you're playing rather than his eyes. Shouldn't matter how you're tuned as long as you're playing within key.
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Maybe ask him what mode that tuning is? Although if you want to shut a guitarist up, the usual method is to hand him some sheet music.
