D Standard Club (DGCF)

[michael_t]

Excuse my ignorance but may I ask, how easy/difficult is it to switch from standard E to DGCF tuning? Does it require a long period of familiarization?

The main reason why I wanted to try the DGCF tuning had to do with one of the lead vocalists in my church and her vocal range. Just about every song we do need to be lowered by a whole step so she can sing them comfortably. Instead of having to transpose those songs on my EADG bass just for her, I can play them exactly the same way on my DGCF bass as I normally would in EADG. So, in that sense, it actually makes it simpler and easier.

 

[MirandM]

I think I should try it. It'll also lower the string tension on my high tension flatwound bass.

Check your string tensions with the manufacturer (if possible). As a rule of thumb you should go +5 gauge up on all strings, so for example: 40-60-80-105 would be 45-65-85-110.
Now if you have high tension flats like for example pyramid gold at 50-70-90-110 you'd be better off loosening the truss rod a bit. Of course you should check to keep the correct neck relief and action height.
It also depends on your playing style, some like floppier strings while others like stiffer ones. Personally I like a bit stiffer strings on my fretless basses, and if they're flats or tapes even better.
But you always have to check the setup of your bass if you go to D or back to E.

 

[MirandM]

The main reason why I wanted to try the DGCF tuning had to do with one of the lead vocalists in my church and her vocal range. Just about every song we do need to be lowered by a whole step so she can sing them comfortably. Instead of having to transpose those songs on my EADG bass just for her, I can play them exactly the same way on my DGCF bass as I normally would in EADG. So, in that sense, it actually makes it simpler and easier.

Indeed, and you also could have picked a 5 stringer and just play the lower 4 strings 2 frets up and when needed to play normal E play the normal 4 upper strings.

 

[michael_t]

Indeed, and you also could have picked a 5 stringer and just play the lower 4 strings 2 frets up and when needed to play normal E play the normal 4 upper strings.

I do play a 5-string as my main bass. But the whole point of having a 4-string in DGCF is to have those four specific notes as open strings, which provides a whole different feel and dynamics from simply playing up the neck on a 5-string.

 

[Phaidrus]

Check your string tensions with the manufacturer (if possible). As a rule of thumb you should go +5 gauge up on all strings, so for example: 40-60-80-105 would be 45-65-85-110.
Now if you have high tension flats like for example pyramid gold at 50-70-90-110 you'd be better off loosening the truss rod a bit. Of course you should check to keep the correct neck relief and action height.
It also depends on your playing style, some like floppier strings while others like stiffer ones. Personally I like a bit stiffer strings on my fretless basses, and if they're flats or tapes even better.
But you always have to check the setup of your bass if you go to D or back to E.

Currently my bass is indeed strung with Pyramid Gold 50-70-85-105 so I don't know whether the 85 and 105 are suitable for downtuning. And I have ordered a set of Fender 9050M (55-70-90-105), so again don't know how that 105 will behave tuned down. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

 

[Will_White]

Check your string tensions with the manufacturer (if possible). As a rule of thumb you should go +5 gauge up on all strings,

That doesn't really work the high strings kind of work but the low strings get looser, I like a set pretty close to .120, .090, .065, .050. That matches the tension of a .105 balanced set.

 

[W_R]

That doesn't really work the high strings kind of work but the low strings get looser, I like a set pretty close to .120, .090, .065, .050. That matches the tension of a .105 balanced set.

I have almost the same set as Will mentioned, for the same reason—similar tension as E standard. You can go lighter, but I think lighter works better with a pick and a slightly higher action setup… wider string vibration in lower tension. Something to consider when picking strings, trying things and adjusting your setup to get the results you want.

I would suggest that folks’ natural path to experiment with this is to just tune down what they have and for a lot of folks that might their whole idea of tuning down. But if you go a little further with experimenting with strings, setup, adjust technique etc, you have more options available.

For me, lighter strings are kind of fun but overall seem too loose in feel and a little duller than I prefer, so I experimented and found my way to the thicker strings. .120 sounds like a better match to the other strings in DGCF. A minor other plus, .120 better supports Drop C (albeit rarely used by me)

 

[W_R]

Excuse my ignorance but may I ask, how easy/difficult is it to switch from standard E to DGCF tuning? Does it require a long period of familiarization?

It depends on what you are doing, in short it’s not necessarily harder to play, but you do end up doing some homework to prepare to play something in DGCF that wasn’t originally written that way (no big deal, part of the joy of learning and practicing). Directly transposing up or down 2 frets is easy, and DGCF moves you up the neck to smaller fret size, i.e. like a 30” short-scale. Adapting open strings or shifting notes to other strings/octaves is trickier on the fly… takes some practice to re-arrange—each piece of music is different—absolutely feel free to choose a different octave for a note when you want to, like any other time you might transpose to a key that wasn’t the original tuning (make it your own!). One thing I do notice in DGCF, I tend to anchor more with my fretting index finger and I use my pinky more than when I use E standard or Eb 4-string, but that anchoring is similar to what I do sometimes on a 5-string anyway. I had to work to eliminate a technique problem with my pinky, (off time and overcompensating with too much force to land the pinky = bad note, drilling the right hand/left hand timing helped with that). Once your DGCF confidence is up and your instrument is set right for you, it’s fun—nice to have down to D, don’t have to do Drop D to get it, plus you can tune your setup to match whatever you’re doing that calls for DGCF.

 

[MirandM]

That doesn't really work the high strings kind of work but the low strings get looser, I like a set pretty close to .120, .090, .065, .050. That matches the tension of a .105 balanced set.

As I said, it's a rule of thumb, meaning a guide which cannot be taken as a rule for all.
It all depends on your bass, the strings used and what you're preferences are. I've used upto .130 for D and have some other bass with .104 (yes, that's right not .105). You may use different basses for different styles with different strings as I do, or maybe not, it's a matter of finding what works for you.
As @wardak says, that's where the fun is, experimenting till you find your ideal combo.

 

[MirandM]

Currently my bass is indeed strung with Pyramid Gold 50-70-85-105 so I don't know whether the 85 and 105 are suitable for downtuning. And I have ordered a set of Fender 9050M (55-70-90-105), so again don't know how that 105 will behave tuned down. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

Exactly, just try and see/hear what you think of it.

 

[MirandM]

I do play a 5-string as my main bass. But the whole point of having a 4-string in DGCF is to have those four specific notes as open strings, which provides a whole different feel and dynamics from simply playing up the neck on a 5-string.

Of course, completely understandable.

 

[Phaidrus]

It depends on what you are doing, in short it’s not necessarily harder to play, but you do end up doing some homework to prepare to play something in DGCF that wasn’t originally written that way (no big deal, part of the joy of learning and practicing). Directly transposing up or down 2 frets is easy, and DGCF moves you up the neck to smaller fret size, i.e. like a 30” short-scale. Adapting open strings or shifting notes to other strings/octaves is trickier on the fly… takes some practice to re-arrange—each piece of music is different—absolutely feel free to choose a different octave for a note when you want to, like any other time you might transpose to a key that wasn’t the original tuning (make it your own!). One thing I do notice in DGCF, I tend to anchor more with my fretting index finger and I use my pinky more than when I use E standard or Eb 4-string, but that anchoring is similar to what I do sometimes on a 5-string anyway. I had to work to eliminate a technique problem with my pinky, (off time and overcompensating with too much force to land the pinky = bad note, drilling the right hand/left hand timing helped with that). Once your DGCF confidence is up and your instrument is set right for you, it’s fun—nice to have down to D, don’t have to do Drop D to get it, plus you can tune your setup to match whatever you’re doing that calls for DGCF.

The pinky can be tricky! It takes some extra work to make it do what you want.

 

[MirandM]

...Once your DGCF confidence is up and your instrument is set right for you, it’s fun—nice to have down to D, don’t have to do Drop D to get it, plus you can tune your setup to match whatever you’re doing that calls for DGCF.

You should try a fiver tuned in A, that's right a full note below B so the other strings are at DGCF, really rocks going that low!

 

[HelpImaRock]

After reading a few pages of this thread, I might try short scale LaBella DTF 49-109 on my Reverend Watt. Should have enough tension for D standard and Drop C. There's no real flatwound option for my Mustang though. Looks like the standard Mustang DTFs are it. That could get a little too floppy.

I bought these strings and settled on Db standard. Dropping the low string gets me to B, but it's a little floppy. I'm seriously considering building a Labella 128-104-82-60 set and going full BEAD.

 

[Will_White]

As I said, it's a rule of thumb, meaning a guide which cannot be taken as a rule for all.
It all depends on your bass, the strings used and what you're preferences are. I've used upto .130 for D and have some other bass with .104 (yes, that's right not .105). You may use different basses for different styles with different strings as I do, or maybe not, it's a matter of finding what works for you.
As @wardak says, that's where the fun is, experimenting till you find your ideal combo.

It might be conventional wisdom but that doesn't make it right, the D(C) and G(F) strings are already the highest tension strings in a standard set.

 

[RodRy]

The main reason why I wanted to try the DGCF tuning had to do with one of the lead vocalists in my church and her vocal range. Just about every song we do need to be lowered by a whole step so she can sing them comfortably. Instead of having to transpose those songs on my EADG bass just for her, I can play them exactly the same way on my DGCF bass as I normally would in EADG. So, in that sense, it actually makes it simpler and easier.

That's part of where I started too. I have a baritone vocal range, and tuning down a whole step makes it easier to sing and play. Plus, one of the songs written in the band I was in used a drop-D tuning, and I didn't like how the D string fit with the other strings, so I tried dropping all 4 strings and just playing that way.
So far so good!

 

[RodRy]

Currently my bass is indeed strung with Pyramid Gold 50-70-85-105 so I don't know whether the 85 and 105 are suitable for downtuning. And I have ordered a set of Fender 9050M (55-70-90-105), so again don't know how that 105 will behave tuned down. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

I have a slightly lighter set of flats on my detuned Jazz bass, so I'm guessing those strings you named will work just fine.

 

[cyberprimate]

I see LaBella makes a SS set of Stainless Steel Flats, .49-.109. That might be good.

I have a ‘73 Fender Mustang neck that is on a Warmoth SS Jazz body

Have you tried this idea? I’m thinking of going down to D standard on my 71 Musicmaster with these 49-109 strings, but I hesitate.

 

[Ringhammer]

Have you tried this idea? I’m thinking of going down to D standard on my 71 Musicmaster with these 49-109 strings, but I hesitate.

I also have a 2021 American Performer Mustang neck on a Warmoth mini P body and went with the the labella 49-109s on it, it plays well in D standard, but now I want to find a good SS set of rounds that will also do well in D standard

 

[MirandM]

I also have a 2021 American Performer Mustang neck on a Warmoth mini P body and went with the the labella 49-109s on it, it plays well in D standard, but now I want to find a good SS set of rounds that will also do well in D standard

Check out [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] they do custom short scale sets. Great strings at a nice price, very recommendable.