Detuning your bass: standard vs. drop tunings

[Ric5]

I realize playing bass is all about the notes. It makes sense to do drop tunings on a guitar because it offers alternate chord shapes and what not, but what about the bass? I'm starting a new project and we've been tuning to drop b. I'm fairly well versed in standard tuning and drop is definitely a fun and interesting new challenge but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to maybe just play in b standard since I have a better understanding of that type of tuning. What do you think? Should the bassist also be in drop tunings if the guitarist is?

There is a solution to this problem

Get a 5 string bass ... tune it BEADG ... play it ...

 

[Nephilymbass]

I find it interesting how the vast majority of bassists here seem completely opposed to the concept of drop tuning a bass but there are very real and practical applications. The most obvious one is if you want to have a certain pitch as a pedal-point/drone note you can utilize a drop tuning around that note so you have more than just the one octave option of it. Bands like Tool make really obvious use of this: Play a variation of the main riff between the D and G strings for softer sections and then drop it very simply down the the D and A strings for heavier sections. It also facilitates certain types of lines; while standard tuning makes normal arpeggios and runs easier to follow mentally and reach physically, drop tunings make less typical intervals, which may be awkward or impractical to reach in standard, easier to reach.

I think it’s cool for people to do their own thing. On our last album I even wrote one of the songs on a drop D 4 and recorded it on a beadg 5. I get what you’re saying but I have no problem playing Tool on a 5 or 6 with a low B. Some parts can be easier, some more difficult but definitely doable. The majority of Tools material is in the same Key and the lowest notes are typically D, E, and F as far as difficulty I think It’s more difficult in general to nail the interestic rhythmic aspect to Tools music. I don’t have any issues spanning that three fret range on the low B. Even on songs where Justin plays the open low D kind of as a drone, for example Disposition, the part isn’t lost on a low b string. The delay on that part carries that low D note longer while I let it go to go back to the harmonics.

 

[bassbrad]

I generally keep my basses in standard tuning and adapt but I do keep a bass in drop D tuning cuz I dig that sound and play with a couple of guitar players that are either in drop D or DADGAD tuning.

 

[LowActionHero]

The couple songs I do in drop D with my regular band are no problem, but filling in with random drop D songs throws me a little. I think it'll just take practice and concentration.
Same for my other goal of playing higher on the neck with and octave pedal.
And possibly a pitch shifter to simulate BEAD on my standard tuned bass. I think they all could work, with practice.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

All of my 4 string basses have hipshot bass extenders. I play several tunes in drop d, while the guitarist stays in standard tuning (actually he always stays in standard). In one song I flip the hipshot for one part of the chorus. Playing drop D is different than fretting a D on the B string of a 5 string, so it does have its place.

Don't you also find it nice to have that low D to lead into the root E sometimes?

 

[superheavyfunk]

One tuning i am attracted to on bass is D standard. So many songs benefits from having that low D and it is a good comprimise for 4 bangers as tuning to BEAD requires nut filling and pickups that actually do not support a low C and B. A set of nyxl daddario heavy 55-110 might just be the thing for D standard.

Exactly. As for the strings, I haven't had any problem using 50-105, personally. Even 44-100 is alright but not ideal.

Don't you also find it nice to have that low D to lead into the root E sometimes?

Yep!

 

[LowActionHero]

PS. last week my (other) guitar player wanted to do a song In Eb, if I had my pedal set up for it I would have dropped it down a half step and rocked on. Instead I had to do math and stuff....

 

[khutch]

... I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to maybe just play in b standard since I have a better understanding of that type of tuning. What do you think? Should the bassist also be in drop tunings if the guitarist is?

Generally you should use the tuning that you are most comfortable with. It only makes sense to force yourself to tune like the rest of the band if the tuning that they use makes their music much easier to play. And that does happen. It is mostly people who play metal who claim that this is true for them here on TB but it could happen for other types of music too. Some orchestral compositions specify alternate tunings for the string soloist because the solo part was written around a variant tuning. They even have an Italian term for that: scordatura.

But if you find that you can play the repertoire perfectly well in whatever tuning you are most comfortable with then you should use that tuning. I play in a church band that includes a variety of instruments and it is only the stringed instruments that have any tuning flexibility so there is no way that we can all tune the same. I'm an oddball among the guitarists however as I tune CGDA, the fifths "cello" tuning, and this does not bother the other guitarists at all. In fact the only one who ever noticed my whacky tuning on their own was a drummer!! "How does your four string play so low?" he asked me one day. We play music in such a range of styles that there is no chance that a common alternate tuning would best suit our music so we all tune as we like. I can't even tell you if the other guitarists use alternate tunings. Since I have no hope of following their fingers unless one of them happens to tune in NST, I have no idea what tunings they use.

 

[Mushroo]

Ha!! I guess so!! But for some reason, my tuners all read it as A#.

Thanks for clearing that up; a light bulb went on in my head when I read your post! I've always wondered why so many people describe their tuning as, for example, "D#G#C#F#" instead of "EbAbDbGb." It never occurred to me that it's because certain brands of digital tuners display sharps instead of flats for the enharmonic notes. I feel dumb for overlooking something so obvious!

 

[Blaargh]

Man, you must’ve really wanted that gig.

Freudian slip? Those guys were always arguing about money...

 

[Korladis]

I use my BEAD tuned bass for this song (well, actually all songs) off our new album (out on wednesday!):

Invalid Link Removed

 

[EatS1stBassist]

I played in a standard tuning band, using a 5 string tuned down a whole step. Lots of songs were in A and D, and I wanted the bigger, low, open string sounds.

Tune the way it works for you. I came from a guitar background, so I had some reference for playing in drop D and I was "used to it" on bass.

I have my 5 tuned down to A I love those low lows goes right through my chest.

 

[Anders Barfod]

Exactly. As for the strings, I haven't had any problem using 50-105, personally. Even 44-100 is alright but not ideal.

Yep!

Roundwound 44-100 in D standard. Thats sounds like a recipe for really loose strings.
Rounds 40-100 in E standard is flexibel but adeqoute tension. A 45-105 is tight.
A 45-105 is flexible in E-flat but in D standard that set just have to little tension. So a 50 (55) - 110 is the way to go.

My bassplayer plays daddario xl 45-105 rounds in standard on 34" basses in E standard and E-flat standard. He feels that the set is slighty tight in E standard but a little too soft in E-flat

 

[superheavyfunk]

Roundwound 44-100 in D standard. Thats sounds like a recipe for really loose strings.
Rounds 40-100 in E standard is flexibel but adeqoute tension. A 45-105 is tight.
A 45-105 is flexible in E-flat but in D standard that set just have to little tension. So a 50 (55) - 110 is the way to go.

My bassplayer plays daddario xl 45-105 rounds in standard on 34" basses in E standard and E-flat standard. He feels that the set is slighty tight in E standard but a little too soft in E-flat

It really depends on the string... Roundcore/hexcore, etc. Like i said, it wasn't a huge deal for me but I preferred the 50-105 set.

 

[Anders Barfod]

It really depends on the string... Roundcore/hexcore, etc. Like i said, it wasn't a huge deal for me but I preferred the 50-105 set.

I thought that most nickel on steel roundwound today are the hexcore type

 

[superheavyfunk]

I thought that most nickel on steel roundwound today are the hexcore type

"Most" is not the same as "all," and I am no string expert. In fact, I almost never think about strings or their makeup at all... I just know what has worked or not worked for me. You'll have to ask Linnin or SlapinFunk about that other stuff.

Anyway, this isn't a thread about string types. The OP will choose whatever strings they think will work best in their situation. Trial and error has always worked for me

 

[OnederTone]

Don't you also find it nice to have that low D to lead into the root E sometimes?

of course

 

[Dr. Bottom]

I realize playing bass is all about the notes. It makes sense to do drop tunings on a guitar because it offers alternate chord shapes and what not, but what about the bass? I'm starting a new project and we've been tuning to drop b. I'm fairly well versed in standard tuning and drop is definitely a fun and interesting new challenge but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to maybe just play in b standard since I have a better understanding of that type of tuning. What do you think? Should the bassist also be in drop tunings if the guitarist is?

Actually I’d have to say bass is more about the rythum than the notes. They are secondary although many of my guitar playing friends might disagree!

 

[Cat Davis]

Should the bassist also be in drop tunings if the guitarist is?

My guitarist and I have been dropping a half step on all strings (e flat tuning) because he switches back and forth from guitar to alto saxophone on a couple tunes- that way we don't have to use alternate fingering to match the sax.

Another advantage is that it's easier to hear if we're in tune together- the RG he sometimes gigs with has a Floyd Rose and stays in tune, but the custom strat he usually plays has a vintage 6-hole tremolo and goes out of tune easily, especially with drop tuning. My bass stays in tune and his ear is faster than his pedal tuner ;-)

Both the '79 Ibanez Musician and '04 SRX 500 I gig with have behaved well but they'll need a minor truss rod tweak to be perfectly happy.

 

[Subs bass guy]

I have always played with DGCF, mainly because the strings are a bit looser for a richer sound on fretless, the intervals are narrower when playing up the neck, and because Pino Palladino does so.