I use a set of D'Addario EXL160BT strings, 50-120. When you tune them down to D standard, they have roughly the same tension as a conventional set of 45's at standard tuning, so the bass might need a truss rod or intonation tweak, but they would be minor and no stress on the neck. The inherent drop in the upper bass response of D'Addario XL strings keeps clarity for the drop tuning.
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Any different things you do for a drop D bass set up?
- Thread starter dirtychinchilla
- Start date
A little fret buzz will gradually turn into a lot of fret buzz, as the fret is worn away and the next fret will start to buzz...
Just tried this. No tweak needed, but it's a definite improvement. Hopefully they sound good. Thanks for the tip
Before you disappear down the rabbit hole, know one thing. Our mentor JC from Tool is one of the grandfathers of bi-amping. Meaning he puts out a channel that's mainly clean sub sonic with a bit of high pass filtering and another channel that's got grit and chorus. Once you enter into this realm you can easily tune down to low C and even B and blend out that pesky buzz. I do it, and if it ain't happening then ain't happening at all.
You can do it with an ABY pedal and two amps, you can do it with a pedal that has dry and wet preamps plus a blend or you can do it with most modern pedals that have a single blend.
Its a mixture of filtering out the buzz at the bass (pull the tone back) and then adding it back in with the preamp. Its a really complicated, but audiophiles way, of adding compression/sustain.
Once you get the tone you're after, headphones are the key here, turn off the amp and check for buzz. When playing with a high level of attack its impossible to avoid but clever articulation and said, "compression", will make it disappear at the speaker. I live in the land of Dropped D and its very satisfying.
You can do it with an ABY pedal and two amps, you can do it with a pedal that has dry and wet preamps plus a blend or you can do it with most modern pedals that have a single blend.
Its a mixture of filtering out the buzz at the bass (pull the tone back) and then adding it back in with the preamp. Its a really complicated, but audiophiles way, of adding compression/sustain.
Once you get the tone you're after, headphones are the key here, turn off the amp and check for buzz. When playing with a high level of attack its impossible to avoid but clever articulation and said, "compression", will make it disappear at the speaker. I live in the land of Dropped D and its very satisfying.
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Thanks very much for that. Can't recall whether I said it in the OP, but I am doing this to play Tool songs. I'll give what you've said a go on the Helix. But I'm also playing a couple of Korn and Drowning Pool songs which sound a bit ropey at the low end. It might be that I can do the same for them. I keep thinking a 5 string with fanned frets (I have a non-fanned fret 5 string) would be better for the low end, but definitely can't afford one.
