I tune my 5'er BEADG, the 4 in EADG. I just like keeping the tuning in 4ths since all the patterns stay the same all over the fretboard.
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Dealing with "drop-D" guitar on a 5-string
- Thread starter friedlbug
- Start date
There is a reason why they make 5 string basses, and drop D-ing the E string is not one of them. Use that Honkin' D on the B string. You'll be glad you did. 
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
There is a reason why they make 5 string basses, and drop D-ing the E string is not one of them. Use that Honkin' D on the B string. You'll be glad you did.
+1
+1
i use my 5 in standard tuning. i only detune if the song uses tons of string skipping involving the low D.
There is a reason why they make 5 string basses, and drop D-ing the E string is not one of them. Use that Honkin' D on the B string. You'll be glad you did.
Of course drop D-ing the E string is one of them! The honkin' D sounds different from the open D, but that's not such a big issue. No doubt I would be the ONLY person aware of any difference at all. The real difference lies in the difficulty of playing certain lines. I went through all of the drop D songs in my current set and worked them on a 5 string tuned in straight fourths. I could play everything, but for the most part it involved a lot more difficult fingering than on the drop D four string. Tuning the five as if it were a standard four with an additional dropped D made everything simple and skipping over the E string is super easy and comfortable compared to playing the same lines in standard five string tuning.
The reason they make five strings is because there is a market for them and what the owner wants to do with it is up to them. I say it's a great thing to have the flexibility to do what suits the project, not just another rule to follow. To all you guys who say keep it tuned BEADG, I see your logic but in the end you gotta do whatever puts a smile on your face. DEADG tuning is potentially useful and has a place if you want to fool around with it.
If you want, check out this clip written in drop Db tuning. Certainly playable either way but keep in mind that the first riff repeats MANY times throughout the song. Have some fun with it
I tuned my 5 string adadg, I know it doesnt make a whole lot of sense but when playing bdadg if you hit an open B sometimes it sounds weird so I just dropd it to a low A. It also works really well in a bridge for one song and the open low A sound HUGE. both guitars playing high up and super low in your face bass.
I have played 4-stringers for 28 years and for about the last 10 years have played in drop-D tuning about 1/2 the time. I've given serious thought about what I would do if I ever went to a 5-string and to be honest I'm not sure I wouldn't keep dropping the E to a D and the B to an A, a la the previous poster.
IIRC, low A is the lowest string on the piano and I think that would be cool. Doubt I'll ever do it though. Not to mention that low A would get really floppy, especially on a 34-inch scale which is all I would ever consider.
Practically speaking I'd say keep it in the standard tuning and play the low D on the B string.
I've toyed with the idea of tuning a 5 string ADADG, a double drop of sorts. The lowest I need to go is C, when I tune CGCF, so I just use my 4 bangers. B strings are floppy enough, forget about dropping it a whole step to A.
Hipshot D-Tuners are awesome. I loved mine, till my bass fell over on the tuning peg and bent the shaft so it couldn't be used. If you set it up correctly, there should be no reason it doesn't drop you down to a perfect D and back up to perfect E as many times as you need with no tuning issues whatsover.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
This will help you with that problem.
Your issue is addressed at about the 2:30 point of the video.
I do the same thing - dropping in middle of a song...
I have hipshots on all my basses.. I love them and they
work great - never have issues with going outta tune either...
just gotta get that string stretched!
I have hipshots on all my basses.. I love them and they
work great - never have issues with going outta tune either...
just gotta get that string stretched!
You know you're using it wrong, right?
It's supposed to go out of tune once you flip it. So what you do, is tune up to almost E (so that you're a little flat) then when you flip the lever up and down, it'll bring you into E. That then sets the string tension and you can flip up and down as much as you like without going out of tune! It takes some trial and error of knowing how flat to be to bring yourself in tune, but I just look at the LED's on my tuner to know where I need it to be.
To tune the D note you do the same. Flip the lever up so your in E, twist the knob, flip the lever down and up again to set the tension, then flip it down, and check your in tune. If not, flip the lever up, sharpen or flatten (depending on how out of tune you were) and repeat until your in tune.
I find it invaluable (my band do alot of stuff in both tunings) and once you get the hang of it you'll be tuned up in no time. It's awesome flipping the lever mid-song if you want to take the riff down below E for one section then flip it back up again
Standard tuning here too. Although had I been aware of the existence of the Hipshot, I might still be playing 4 string. OTOH, I think my 5 strings look really cool on stage and I've been able to adapt pretty easily when needing to play d tuning so... preference I guess.
A good example of this type of song is Velvet Revolver's "Slither". The main riff in the song keeps hitting the low D between notes so you have to drop your E down to a D.
you know, you can fix that up with a graphite nut.
or, you can just loosen the bottom string of the bottom nut, and then draw all over the E string groove until its black with pencil graphite.
you have to do it frequently, but it helps
Our songs are pretty much based on riffs that are impossible to play in standard tuning (Hysteria-like fretting etc.) so it's drop-D for me all the way. Maybe I'll get a Hipshot if I just can get myself some extra money... It really sucks being unemployed at times like this.
I guess because I've been playing in church a while and a lot of music is in Bb,Eb and Ab I dropped my E to D on my 4 string. Then for some reason I dropped the A to G so I was tuned DGDG, I think I wanted the same relationship between those two strings. And while that sounds wierd I love it. I just recently aquired a 5 string and haven't moved back so I'm playing BDGDG. Maybe it's some sort of wierd bass perversion.
If I had a 5, I would just leave it in standard BEADG tuning for drop-D.
On my 4-string, I often mess around between standard EADG and drop-D DADG (blame Tim Commerford, he made me do it) so I finally just installed a Hipshot, and WOW. I'm wondering what the heck took me so long to start using a Hipshot instead of tuning up and down the slow way...
On my 4-string, I often mess around between standard EADG and drop-D DADG (blame Tim Commerford, he made me do it) so I finally just installed a Hipshot, and WOW. I'm wondering what the heck took me so long to start using a Hipshot instead of tuning up and down the slow way...
On my workhorse bass (Conklin Groove Tools 5) I have a Hipshot D-tuner on the E-string. I had to mod both the Hipshot and the D tuner, as it's tight on that neck. I'd like to put one on all of the E strings of all my basses. Not ready to dump that much cheddar however.
