6 String question - alternate tunings?

[BrassedOn]

I say someone should go for it, research the string tensions and compare to current set up so they don’t go overboard on gauges, and report back. One may need to adjust the nut, and the intonation. That’s an octave below a common baritone tuning.

I play 4 and 5 string basses, upright (mediocrely), and six string guitar in E standard. I used to have an6 in fourths. And I have a Bass6ish in E standard down the octave. With little practice, I don’t get confused either way by the change in tuning. So for what I play, I don’t see an 8vb B standard benefit.

My question is what one wants to transfer from guitar to bass? At that low pitch, a lot of guitar chording like bars and any cluster of 3 adjacent strings doesn’t work because the intervals are too tight, particularly the lowest 5 frets. I tend to use kernel chords on bass, which is consistent fingering for the fill range when all tuning in 4ths, and are reasonably open even at the low end when the second lowest string in the chord is not sounded, like root 7 3. And same on Bass6 using the guitar fingering for kernals much of the time.

I suppose for more advanced technique than mine, maybe playing harmonics or wanting those open tones on those pitches, there be a benefit.

I would think some kind of drop tuning or open tuning to have open octaves and fifths would be more generally useful on bass, because of the bass function and lower range. I think people might more often choose a specialized tuning for a specific song, to make certain chords and harmonics possible. Most things were expected to play work in standard fourths.

Anyone who plays fifths tuning NOT start on ‘cello? Because I tried it and had fun, but a lot more shifting on my standard basslines. So for me, not immediately useful. What’s your gain other than extended range on 4 strings?

 

[groooooove]

I am not a 6 string player but I can't help but wonder if any 6 string players use alternative tuning. It strikes me that one could tune a 6'er to B-E-A-D-F#-B and be able just transfer guitar skills over to it.

Anything like this occur in the 6 string world or any other interesting tuning used?

i primarily play 6 string basses.

i've experimented with it but never anything more than just an exploration. it may be personal, but for me B E A D G C is just too logical and works for everything.

that being said, the viol da gamba's of the 17th and 18th centuries often would have 4th tuning but a major third in the middle, just like a guitar.

i bring this up just to say it's not a weird one-off thing that guitars work well this way. it's certainly a logical system and to my knowledge 6 string basses are the only 6 string instrument just about always tuned in perfect 4ths.

hell, even the Viennese tuned basses of Mozart's era would have had 4 or 5 strings and they would have had the top three strings tuned to a (D) major triad.

so, explore it if you are interested. you may have better luck than I did!

 

[micahwc]

My VI is tuned to D standard with Kalium .106s

 

[CJC6]

I predominately play six string bass and to answer the OP question, yes playing around with different tunings seems to be made for six string bass.

I have a couple set up like an 8 string guitar with F#, my band plays 1/2 step down in low F and I prefer a .160 string for that.
High B or C is great to have for chords.
Andrew Gouche plays in A standard all the time, even with his 5s.
String gauge matters to hone in the desired tension but I even have 33” scale six string bass guitars dropped 1.5 steps to G# and it sounds great! Different flavor for different string gauge and down tuning though.
**Every bass player should own at least one six string bass.**

 

[Paul New]

Not only are my 6 string basses tuned BEADGC, my guitars are tuned EADGCF. Symmetrical tuning in 4ths on both, because I'm not playing cowboy chords.

 

[Standalone]

Instruments are for being creative. If you’re not in a strict music school or orchestral type environment — try anything you like and see how it goes!

I can imagine a cellist or violinist coming to bass and wanting fifths. Guitarists? Sure, go for Spanish tuning.

I can imagine a cool ambient six string track played in open tunings — like guitar open G but like Open A for six string bass.

 

[Jefenator]

When I dabble on guitar, I get how that tuning facilitates a lot of chord voicings. (It also trips me up a lot when I'm trying to play melodies - nothing a bunch more shedding wouldn't fix...)
I think of bass as being a whole different instrument and role, and the even 4ths approach makes more sense for that for me. My middle aged brain can usually figure out where to land on the high C string. It might be too late for me to get used to an F# where the G used to be.
But that's just me. Is there even such a thing as an orthodox approach to 6-string bass?
If you want to dial in the string tension on an alternate tuning, you can order singles in very specific gauges from D'Addario.

 

[RLK]

On my Sixes, I've been tuning up the low B to C lately. I don't play metal, so a lot more material allows for an open low C than B. Also allows for different pleasing artificial harmonics combinations.
Also, it seems work for "Barring" the CEA strings; The tonic- M3rd-M6th work as a great spring board for bass lines that don't require right hand palm muting.
Another benefit is In general the string seems to have more clarity with the extra tension.
Ive also toyed with CFADGC - similar benefits as mentioned above, but a harder mental hurdle for me to go without the open E.

 

[sethlow3]

26981099[/URL], member: 1284"]I don't know how "interesting" it is, but I tune my 6s BEADGB and always have, for nearly 30 years now. For me, that actually allows a better transfer of what I knew from guitar, because there's no F# string in standard guitar tuning. I know what lives on a G string and a B string; I'd be less comfortable with dealing with an F# string, or a C string for that matter, and have never seen any need to deal with them.

This is the way to go IMHO. Also, if you really need something alternate with open strings, use a capo. There’s no rules against that either.

 

[dbmike]

The late Tim Bogert tuned BEADGB. I have played a 6 for the past 25 years in "standard" 4ths tuning -- I'm not smart enough to manage anything asymmetrical!

 

[Richard Lindsey]

The late Tim Bogert tuned BEADGB.

So he did, though I didn't hear about that until I'd already been doing it for a while. Apparently, he also said something on this subject to the effect of "Ten million guitar players [I forget the exact number he used] can't be wrong." Well, we know THAT isn't true.... (j/k; I'm a guitar player too).

 

[logdrum]

There are guitar players that tune all in 4ths EADGCF. My strat is.

I see no advantage in tuning like a guitar and I play guitar

 

[BarfanyShart]

I am not a 6 string player but I can't help but wonder if any 6 string players use alternative tuning. It strikes me that one could tune a 6'er to B-E-A-D-F#-B and be able just transfer guitar skills over to it.

Anything like this occur in the 6 string world or any other interesting tuning used?

My bass professor in college did this (or something like it) because he taught himself bass guitar from classical guitar method books. I guess he just treated it as a transposing instrument for the purposes of reading classical guitar music.

He also mentioned to me that he regularly excludes some interior notes from the chords in the books in order for them to sound good on bass. Turns out, that was a really good piece of advice that I am only putting into practice now.

 

[Richard Lindsey]

There are guitar players that tune all in 4ths EADGCF.

Stanley Jordan is one I can think of. It's still very much a minority choice, though no less valid or worthwhile for being so. Whatever works.

 

[sethlow3]

There are guitar players that tune all in 4ths EADGCF. My strat is.

I see no advantage in tuning like a guitar and I play guitar

So does relying on open strings less for chords actually give any unique ergonomic shapes or advantages?

I’ve always heard it the other way. I’ve only been doubling on guitar a handful of years so haven’t exactly experimented with that yet.

 

[BarfanyShart]

So does relying on open strings less for chords actually give any unique ergonomic shapes or advantages?

I’ve always heard it the other way. I’ve only been doubling on guitar a handful of years so haven’t exactly experimented with that yet.

I messed around with fourths tuned guitar for a little while. The main advantage would be that you learn one shape for a 4-note chord voicing, and it works all over the guitar. Some jazz guys do it, and it makes the most sense in that context where you want to learn lots of different chords and voicings, and you aren't really ever going to strum all six strings. That way you don't have to learn 3 different ways to play the same fancy chord voicing, and you get more mileage out of your time spent doing guitar math.

 

[sethlow3]

I messed around with fourths tuned guitar for a little while. The main advantage would be that you learn one shape for a 4-note chord voicing, and it works all over the guitar. Some jazz guys do it, and it makes the most sense in that context where you want to learn lots of different chords and voicings, and you aren't really ever going to strum all six strings. That way you don't have to learn 3 different ways to play the same fancy chord voicing, and you get more mileage out of your time spent doing guitar math.

Ahhh! Very interesting because I have preferred full 6 string chords on an acoustic and tend to play more four or five note chords on electric anyways. I could see how power chords could line up a bit differently too. You could just slam the R58 interval pattern onto the highest strings to add emphasis to a rock part quite easily.

 

[Kael]

BEADGB is the tuning I used on 6's for about 15 years till I walked away from regularly using 6 string basses.

 

[HaphAsSard]

As was mentioned above, lutes and viols have had that odd major third in their tuning for centuries, actually longer than all-string strumming accompaniment have been en vogue, and I can't see it going away even within styles that don't rely on said style of guitar playing. The third interval makes close-voicing (semitone clusters) easier, and keeps your mind sharp. JMO, YMMV and all that.

 

[ole Jason]

I primarily play sixers and always in standard B-c tuning. Tuning the high string to B does make some chord voicing a little easier to grab at the expense of making others more difficult. Same deal when tuning E-e or E-f. I play guitar at a fairly high level so I can see some merit to tuning with the same intervals on the bass if you're doing chord melody type stuff and don't want to relearn chord voicings.

I think for conventional bass playing alternate tunings don't really serve much of a purpose. They really only make sense if you're doing polyphonic stuff or using the open strings for drones/effects.