Agreed. It’s not the way I would go but lots of people are ok with tuning down into vortex world. If they can make it work, go for it…but I sure can’t!
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BEDG Tuning?
- Thread starter darwin-bass
- Start date
Agreed. It’s not the way I would go but lots of people are ok with tuning down into vortex world. If they can make it work, go for it…but I sure can’t!
There are much better options out there. The head is surely not going to have a true quality effect tagged on, and MXR isn't exactly top-quality either.
The EHX micro-POG is very popular and absolutely worth trying out. I've never had any issues with tracking, tuning, or speed, plus it can track chords.
Lately I've been experimenting with the Bass Octaver in my Line 6 HX FX unit and, while it doesn't track chords, for single notes it sounds great.
I think you could pick up a micro-POG for under $200 and it would solve all your problems.
I am still hoping some will say why they have physically more trouble playing a 5 string than a 4 string? A 6 string is much harder than a 4 string both psychally and mentaly, but a 5 not so much I think. Like someone said before, you could buy a small string spacing 5 string.
Or just use a standard 4 string and down tune the E when needed.
Or just use a standard 4 string and down tune the E when needed.
I'm tuning BBBB. That way, I can't hit the wrong string.
I think this is the better solution, if the problem is insisted. Fourths tuning with a single re-rentrant 9th sounds like hell to figure out.
Fifths is logical, but requires stretches or shifts that you may not like. I used to play a guitar range instrument tuned in fifths - at a 22 inch scale it was still fairly tough to play (chords add to the challenge). There's a reason who 4ths is what you find on bigger stringed instruments (basses and guitars), but 5ths is used on violins and violas. A cello is the odd man out - 27 inches, but tuned in 5ths. If chords were a common thing on a cello, it'd probably be tuned in 4ths.
The OP already answered this, Not that it's any of our business.... "So, I see some just-get-a-5 posts. I get it. Played exclusively 5 for a bit. But my hand just hurts. And I mean really hurts. For days. Like have to wear a brace type hurt. But I'm pain-free with a 4. So, while I totally agree "just play a 5", such a response does not really foster discussion & discovery, which is what a Forum is about, right?"
. He's specifically asked about alternative tunings for his 4 string. Suggesting he buys a 5 string doesn't answer his question at all so why keep doing it?
I'd say he should try his tunings and see how he gets on and for the record I play 5 strings exclusively (upright too) but I'm not going to try to convert anyone else.
If you want to think this, go ahead, but a thicker neck is a more solid platform than a skinnier one - more stiffness and mass. I actually studied the Physics of musical instruments (I have a degree in that), and the thought that a 4 string neck is somehow better is just silly. The differences may not be huge, but the differences that are there favor the bigger neck.
alexclaber
Commercial User
Yeah, but to do that you need metal plasticity of a degree that most of us don't have. When I had standard tuned 4's and on in D standard, I'd have to practice for days beforehand if I wanted to use the D standard tuning one on a gig. Michael switches mental maps in his head every frickin' phrase (or measure!) on that thing.
- Dec 28, 2010
- 43
- 17
- Disclosures
- I own a cat... Owned a cat........... I think it was a cat.
BEAD all the way. If you are really hankering to live above the 12th fret on a G string, play a guitar. Every other note can be achieved with the higher frets of the D string.
Hey it works for the piano and drums... no reason for us to be left out!
I used to play lots of Irish Trad music on Fiddle, Mandolin, and Tenor Banjo. Fifths tuning just made so much sense and was so fast and easy to play. For me the sweet spot was between 19-22 inches. However I hated playing on big Octave Mandolins or Mandocellos with a 25+ inch scale length. When I first started learning the double bass I thought about fifth tuning because it was so easy for me to work with, then I remembered how much I hated that stretch between the 5th and 7th fret and came to my senses.
In one way we do that every time we change keys or chords, this adds a different dimension to that.
To me that odd E-D interval in the middle of the neck would be difficult to learn. But you don’t know until you try!
If someone forced me to attempt this I might start with B-E-E-A. (The second E is a step above typical D, the A is a step above typical G). Still a weird interval, but an octave seems easier to think about. Either way I can’t shake the feeling that a handful of pitches are only going to be available in relatively extreme locations. Requires more shifting up and down the neck.
Sure would be tempting to look for a short-scale 5 string with a narrow neck - trying to replicate the more comfortable ergonomics of your 4 string. Or even have a luthier convert a 4 string neck (that’s just like yours) to a 5 with VERY tight spacing. Adjusting to that would be easier for me than a whole new tuning.
Good luck!
If someone forced me to attempt this I might start with B-E-E-A. (The second E is a step above typical D, the A is a step above typical G). Still a weird interval, but an octave seems easier to think about. Either way I can’t shake the feeling that a handful of pitches are only going to be available in relatively extreme locations. Requires more shifting up and down the neck.
Sure would be tempting to look for a short-scale 5 string with a narrow neck - trying to replicate the more comfortable ergonomics of your 4 string. Or even have a luthier convert a 4 string neck (that’s just like yours) to a 5 with VERY tight spacing. Adjusting to that would be easier for me than a whole new tuning.
Good luck!
I knew a guy who tuned BE GC, as in a 6 string bass minus the middle ones.
He palyed bass and rhythm guitar parts at once in a trio, sounded like 2 different instruments.
He palyed bass and rhythm guitar parts at once in a trio, sounded like 2 different instruments.
Hipshot is your friend.
That D is the shizzle.
I this is the most convenient way to play the D or C for a dedicated four stringer. The user has to know the fingerboard well enough to quickly transpose in order for it to be most effective.
I can change keys very easily, but tunings are tough. My pitch memory is very good, and my brain hears a “C”, and tells my fingers where to go. If the instrument isn’t in standard tuning, my brain won’t let go and remap. But change keys? Sure, no problem.
