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Best bass for B E A D tuning.

#61
I was going to suggest a MIA P bass special. It has a C neck. That's what my 4 is. I actually am debating on selling right now to pay some unexpected legal bills if interested. It is a sweet bass, but it has a quarter sized dent that I would offer a great discount on. Just send me a PM if interested.
 
#64
sethlow3 said:
I was going to suggest a MIA P bass special. It has a C neck. That's what my 4 is. I actually am debating on selling right now to pay some unexpected legal bills if interested. It is a sweet bass, but it has a quarter sized dent that I would offer a great discount on. Just send me a PM if interested.
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Sounds good fretlessbaby.

See my earlier suggestion for the American Special Jazz. The American Special Precision is also lightweight (maybe even a bit more so) with the nicely thin front to back neck w/graphite support rods.

Big fan of these basses here.
 
#65
miles'tone said:
Sounds good fretlessbaby.

See my earlier suggestion for the American Special Jazz. The American Special Precision is also lightweight (maybe even a bit more so) with the nicely thin front to back neck w/graphite support rods.

Big fan of these basses here.
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Thank you for the suggestions Miles. I am just wondering about the neck profile. I picked up a MIA P bass in Guitar Center one day and the neck felt like a baseball bat.



:rollno:
 
#66
Fretlessbaby said:
Thank you for the suggestions Miles. I am just wondering about the neck profile. I picked up a MIA P bass in Guitar Center one day and the neck felt like a baseball bat.



:rollno:
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Yes, an American Standard no doubt. The Am Specials have the same nut width but front to back they are WAY thinner. Nice and fast. I've got the Am Special Jazz neck on my Precision and with hindsight I wish I'd gone for the P one instead as I'm 6'1" with hands like spades so I'm finding my Jazz neck a bit too small. I went for the Jazz version as I used to own an American Standard Jazz that had a baseball bat of a neck as you say but with the thin nut width it was ok.
Love the sleek depth of the specials though, reminiscent of the pre CBS basses in that respect but solid as with those support rods.
 
#68
all basses can be used for BEAD. I know because I've done it. But instead of redoing the nut, I make a new nut and replace it when I change them over. It's just one drop of CA glue. Once you cut a nut to new string dims, you can't go back!!
 
#70
Take a look at the Yamaha TRB1004
Yamaha-TRB1004.jpg

35 scale.
 
#73
It's been said already, and probably now overlooked: almost ANY bass with a *proper setup* for B/E/A/D, with the right strings, will do.
A new nut might be needed for a larger diameter set, but it's a cheap part at under $10 for plastic, $15 for graphite, and hell, you can even go brass if you want. DR DDT strings are made specifically for drop-down tuning and have served me very well for the past several years, and I tailored my basses' B/E/A/D setups around them (for me, .125s). A replacement bridge is also cheap enough if you want to maintain the originality of whatever bass you end up buying if you have to tap out the holes ever-so-slightly for larger strings.
And as far as the "don't-dare-do-it-to-a-Ric" frame of minds, I've personally played two early-'70s 4001s that were set up for B/E/A/D and sludgemetal. One had an original bridge, the other a Badass version 1, and both did the job quite well because they were set up for that tuning. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the sanctity of Rics, especially the 70s versions, but it's not like you're tatooing the headstocks or reshaping the body if you go for a lower tuning, and it can be undone later with another proper setup for "normal" E/A/D/G.
 

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