"B" and "A" tuning for Bass

[Seiki]

Could you explain this in more detail, or link me to somewhere I can learn more about this? I'm a new bass player (only a month) and I'd like to know exactly what makes certain patterns nearly impossible to play without the use of open strings.

G
D
A.....9...11..... 9...11
E 4............4


Keep repeating that at a fast pace.

Then switch to:

Gb
Db
Ab 0 10 12 0 10 12
Eb

Tell me which one hurts your hand more

lol

 

[Sid the Kid]

5 string solves that. That's all I play.

Transposing songs to a 5 written on a drop tuned 4 can be near impossible in certain styles of music. Good luck playing some Tool tunes without an open low D to drone.

I know where you think you are coming from. I used to think exactly like you. Now I drop my low E on my 5's when I need the open low D. When I do this I also drop my B to an A so I have 2 sets of open octaves. It really opens the bass up to do some heavy rythmic slapping and makes some tapping patterns way easier.

Of course if you want to stay in standard tuning and just "groove" feel free. Don't let stubbornness to expirament hinder your musical development!

 

[Jrussblues]

Awww...aren't you adorable. You even tell us the role a bass is supposed to take. I'm sure Anthony Jackson and Michael Manring will be sending you apology letters soon.



Lots of music relies on repeatedly playing an open string under a pattern that is nearly impossible to play without the use of open strings. This is what alternate turnings can help with. Having a 5-string doesn't solve that.

Umm, a 5 string has an open A in standard tuning and an open B in standard tuning, which I think is what the op asked about.
Dropping a low b to an a sounds to muddy to my ear so I would probably just play in standard and use the a string for droning, but to each his own.
Also, chords are super useful and 3rds and 4ths can sound nice in a chord. Playing just a root and a 5th is an interval not a chord. And on and on.
A 5 string is typically tuned b e a d g, from low to high, there are plenty of notes there to use. If you wish you can tune the b string down a whole step to a, which is nearly impossible for human ears to hear, you would simply feel the bass and hear some of the harmonic overtones. There are some options.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Down-Tuning is for playing the Devil's chord.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Could you explain this in more detail, or link me to somewhere I can learn more about this? I'm a new bass player (only a month) and I'd like to know exactly what makes certain patterns nearly impossible to play without the use of open strings.

There's multiple uses. There's the need of open strings for droning tones, as maintaining a fretted note while playing a different pattern won't work. Easily seen in Michael Manring 's masterpiece "The Enormous Room"


Then there's the other end where your playing a very fast part that has a jump to a low note that would be extremely difficult to play and get back to the higher register in time. This is very common in math/djent/etc metal music, where these alternate turnings are very common. A Meshuggah bass cover:

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Umm, a 5 string has an open A in standard tuning and an open B in standard tuning, which I think is what the op asked about.
Dropping a low b to an a sounds to muddy to my ear so I would probably just play in standard and use the a string for droning, but to each his own.
Also, chords are super useful and 3rds and 4ths can sound nice in a chord. Playing just a root and a 5th is an interval not a chord. And on and on.
A 5 string is typically tuned b e a d g, from low to high, there are plenty of notes there to use. If you wish you can tune the b string down a whole step to a, which is nearly impossible for human ears to hear, you would simply feel the bass and hear some of the harmonic overtones. There are some options.

I've been playing 5 and 6 strings for 19 years- I think I know the standard tuning If you look to the left you can even see my two basses in my avatar are both 5-strings with extended fingerboards

My response was not to the OP but to the user who didn't understand that using a 5-string does not make alternate turnings obsolete.

Also, A0, the A below a low B, is well within the range of human hearing. Reproducing the fundamental however takes some excellent low range speakers that most folks don't have.

 

[jlepre]

Some people play power chords, or even full triads, throughout a song.

Sorry...I guess I don't FEEL the power. I get off on actually playing the groove. I don't see what use this would have in paying a song in a band.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I would suggest that you could learn to appreciate how other people enjoy playing, and we're not all the same.
We're not all geared to play Motown.

 

[Coop DS]

Because it hasn't been clearly stated, I would ask them if they are in standard or drop tuning first. Drop A tuning from bottom string to top would be A E A D G, A standard is A D G C F, Drop B is B F# B E A and B standard is, well B E A D G which is considered the standard tuning for most 5 string basses hope that helps!

oh yes thank you so much dude! i will make sure to get the distinction about it being standard or drop. very helpful!

 

[socialleper]

Hey my name is Cooper and i'm filling in for a band that has a song in "A" tuning and a song in "B" tuning i was hoping someone could help me figure out the tuning cus i am kinda lost, my band mostly does Drop D but i have a 5 string and a 4 string so if anyone has any recommendations on which bass to use as well that would be neat. thanks!

If I understand your question right a "b tuning" would just be the standard BEADG of your 5-string.
An "A tuning" would be a whole step down on the 5 string to ADGCF. If you can find a heavier gauge 5 string set for that, it would be a good idea.

 

[Antisyzygy]

I've never understood these special tuning for bass. I mean I can understand with guitar as you need to play chords, but bass?

It's to lower the range of the bass. You can hit lower notes, the intervals would be the same.

B standard would be B E A D so you have four strings of a five string bass. Youre missing the G unless you have a fiver.

Drop A is like drop D but when tuned to B standard.

I do play chords on bass. My first bass teacher taught me to play rythym parts, that is to fill in for a rythym player and be a bass player at the same time.

 

[QweziRider]

I don't see what use this would have in paying a song in a band.

Lots of use here and there. You have to be open to creativity to find the places it might work.

 

[Coop DS]

t

If I understand your question right a "b tuning" would just be the standard BEADG of your 5-string.
An "A tuning" would be a whole step down on the 5 string to ADGCF. If you can find a heavier gauge 5 string set for that, it would be a good idea.

thank you thats a wonderful suggestion!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I get off on actually playing the groove.

Is your name Jeff Bebe?

 

[Coop DS]

It's to lower the range of the bass. You can hit lower notes, the intervals would be the same.

B standard would be B E A D so you have four strings of a five string bass. Youre missing the G unless you have a fiver.

Drop A is like drop D but when tuned to B standard.

I do play chords on bass. My first bass teacher taught me to play rythym parts, that is to fill in for a rythym player and be a bass player at the same time.

awesome thanks dude!

 

[socialleper]

t

thank you thats a wonderful suggestion!

For what it is worth, you can put a BEAD set on a 4 string bass, but usually not without filing out the nut a little and adjusting the neck. An ADGC tuning on a four string is a dicey proposition. Even with a 35" scale and a truss rod adjustment, you'd need at least a .135 low string, which means really widening the nut slot a bunch.
If you drop a Heavy Core or DDT .115 set to B you might be able to get away with it if you crank up your action and put some bow in the neck. If this is a one time deal, that WAY too much work.

 

[Antisyzygy]

For what it is worth, you can put a BEAD set on a 4 string bass, but usually not without filing out the nut a little and adjusting the neck. An ADGC tuning on a four string is a dicey proposition. Even with a 35" scale and a truss rod adjustment, you'd need at least a .135 low string, which means really widening the nut slot a bunch.
If you drop a Heavy Core or DDT .115 set to B you might be able to get away with it if you crank up your action and put some bow in the neck. If this is a one time deal, that WAY too much work.

I tuned my 4-string P to BEAD using a .120 low B taperwound. It worked well, no need to file the nut slots.

It's weird, though a .120 has lower tension than a .130 or higher it also has lower mass so it feels tighter. Less transverse movement or something.

I think there's a sweet spot, as if you down-tune a lower gauge string too much it gets really floppy, but I found a .120 taper was perfect. I know some boutique builders stick with .125 tapers for their low B for similar reasons (feels tighter even though it isn't).

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

G
D
A.....9...11..... 9...11
E 4............4


Keep repeating that at a fast pace.

Then switch to:

Gb
Db
Ab 0 10 12 0 10 12
Eb

Tell me which one hurts your hand more

lol

But why not play this?

G
D.....4...6..... 4...6
A
E 4............4

Though I understand, the other way is just easier and the notes wouldn't sound the same on the D string. I play on tapewounds though so my fretting hand never hurts

 

[Ewo]

I've played 5th, but anything closer than that sound like a horrible mistake.

I still remember the first time I heard Chuck Rainey play 10ths, on a Steely Dan recording... Or maybe it was Alphonso Johnson, on Weather Report's _Cucumber Slumber_. Just sayin'...

Tritones (3rd and 7th) and tenths (root and 3rd an octave up) are pretty common for funk and RnB. They do sound best in the upper register, true dat.

 

[40Hz]

Not so much a big deal on bass, but on guitar open and alternate tunings allow you to voice chords in ways that are physically impossible with standard Torres tuning. Some musical wizards like Joni Mitchell made a career out of pushing the boundaries of 6-string guitar by using alternate tunings almost exclusively. And the results speak for themselves.

There's nothing sacred about any tuning system. Musicians throughout history have made a practice of using whatever works.

On a piccolo bass I prefer it be tuned like a cello in ascending 5ths.

If you want to have some fun, try tuning E A D♭ G♭ and playing with some guitar chord shapes.