Detuning my 6er or not?

[hexbass]

Started playing with a blues band recently, learned their tunes only to get an email just before the gig explaining that on live gigs the guitar player was detuning 1/2 step to "concert E flat" I play an F-Bass BN6 so I just dropped a half step on the fretboard, fine except for some of the tunes that he plays in the "new" E. Question is-- is it going to be in any way harmful to my bass to go ahead and detune a half step to make it a little easier to play in the new "E" ?

 

[darkstorm]

Nope, not harmful at all. Being just a half step you may not even need to do a minor truss rod tweak. Since it'll just be smaller decrease in tension then a whole step down would be. Id suggest detune it early so you have time to see if any truss rod tweak is needed. By the same token, if bass currently has little more bow then needed, the downtuning could put it at bit better amount of relief. Lol.

 

[Showdown]

I play in one band that plays in standard tuning and one that plays 1/2 step down. I switch between the two all the time without adjusting anything. I use medium gauge strings.

 

[hexbass]

Thanks guys, seems like I'll be alright with the 1/2 step down, but I did email Mr. Furlanetto just to be sure.