Down Tuning ideas/questions

[Sam Dingle]

Hey yall,

I have done searches here but got overwhelmed lol just a quick question about setting up a bass for down tuned 4 string.

I got an extra P bass I am thinking of setting up as a down tuned bass. It has a drop D tuner on it. I have a jazz bass that I have in standard tuning and the drop tuner on that bass goes to D. It has DR high beam 45-105. When I drop the string down to D I can obviously tell its lower tension but it doesn't bother me.

I want the same feel but a whole step down on my P bass so that its DGCF but I can throw that D down to a C when needed. Will getting the 50-110 DR high beam set be similar or do I need to go heavier? I understand the rest of a bass setup is gonna change (intonation etc) i'm just thinking string tension. Thanks yall. And yes I do already have a 5 string

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Plug the numbers into D'Addario's String Tension Pro:

String Tension Pro

 

[Killing Floor]

Yep, look for higher tension. But really 1 step probably won't be that drastic, you should be fine. Might plan on a turn of your truss rod.

 

[michael_t]

I want the same feel but a whole step down on my P bass so that its DGCF but I can throw that D down to a C when needed. Will getting the 50-110 DR high beam set be similar or do I need to go heavier?

Hi Beams 50-110 should work fine for DGCF, but if you want to be able to downtune the D another whole step down to C, you might want to substitute the Hi Beam 110 with the Lo-Rider 110. The natural stiffness of the hex core (LR) would prevent it from getting floppy like the round core (HB).

 

[Sam Dingle]

Hi Beams 50-110 should work fine for DGCF, but if you want to be able to downtune the D another whole step down to C, you might want to substitute the Hi Beam 110 with the Lo-Rider 110. The natural stiffness of the hex core (LR) would prevent it from getting floppy like the round core (HB).

Interesting. If thats the case I may go to Low-Riders for the whole set as I'm not interested in mixing sets. I've tried them a few times but can't remember

 

[michael_t]

If thats the case I may go to Low-Riders for the whole set...

That's what I would do.

I have a set of GHS Pressurewounds (44-62-84-106, hex core) on my Fender Jazz, tuned to DGCF. And they work very well for me, thanks to their natural stiffness and higher tension compared to typical rounds.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

IME Lo-Riders have an extra 'bite' in the upper-mids, I think I will switch to use them all the time soon.
They're wound with more wraps, which is why that happens.

 

[Riff Ranger]

Do you want or need similar tension/stiffness/feel/whatever to what you get in EADG? I happily use .105/.085/.065/.045 Slinkies in CGCF; you certainly don't need bigger/heavier strings to pull it off, but it will feel (and more importantly, sound) different from EADG. I have come to prefer it, and have started favoring short scale for EADG, haha.

Side note: dropping your lowest-pitched string by itself won't change your setup nearly as noticeably as dropping the higher pitched strings will, at least with typical gauges.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Do you want or need similar tension/stiffness/feel/whatever to what you get in EADG? I happily use .105/.085/.065/.045 Slinkies in CGCF; you certainly don't need bigger/heavier strings to pull it off, but it will feel (and more importantly, sound) different from EADG. I have come to prefer it, and have started favoring short scale for EADG, haha.

Side note: dropping your lowest-pitched string by itself won't change your setup nearly as noticeably as dropping the higher pitched strings will, at least with typical gauges.

its pretty important to me.

 

[Riff Ranger]

its pretty important to me.

Then I suggest taking the approach @Killed_by_Death suggests with the calculator.

 

[Seashore]

My personal taste in strings would need something thicker on the low end. I play with a pick and tend to dig in, so I want a bit of tension to stand up to that. I'm tuned in C standard right now and I use a hex core .124. I used a .108 when I was tuned in C# but it was a little too floppy for me going down the extra half step; I used a .118 for a while and that might be a happy medium.

 

[donahue]

OP the problem you might see when going to a heavier E string, is if you go too heavy it will start to behave like a B string and not ring out as much imo. The 110 lo rider set mentioned above will serve you well imo

 

[Nephilymbass]

Hey yall,

I have done searches here but got overwhelmed lol just a quick question about setting up a bass for down tuned 4 string.

I got an extra P bass I am thinking of setting up as a down tuned bass. It has a drop D tuner on it. I have a jazz bass that I have in standard tuning and the drop tuner on that bass goes to D. It has DR high beam 45-105. When I drop the string down to D I can obviously tell its lower tension but it doesn't bother me.

I want the same feel but a whole step down on my P bass so that its DGCF but I can throw that D down to a C when needed. Will getting the 50-110 DR high beam set be similar or do I need to go heavier? I understand the rest of a bass setup is gonna change (intonation etc) i'm just thinking string tension. Thanks yall. And yes I do already have a 5 string

I would just experiment. Different brand strings have different tension from my experience. One brands 105 will feel stiffer and tighter than another brands 110 for example. Imo the best DR strings for C standard are the 45-125 5 string hi beams tuned up a half step. But that would be too tight for d. So You're probably looking for something in the middle if you want to stick with DR.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I would just experiment. Different brand strings have different tension from my experience. One brands 105 will feel stiffer and tighter than another brands 110 for example. Imo the best DR strings for C standard are the 45-125 5 string hi beams tuned up a half step. But that would be too tight for d. So You're probably looking for something in the middle if you want to stick with DR.

exactly i don't want to move from a different brand and DR has a lot of options which I like

 

[The Deep]

It's important to differentiate string tension from string stiffness with regard to what you're looking for. High string tension (on the neck) does not necessarily equate to firm string stiffness when plucking.

Sounds to me you're looking for string stiffness, which can be better achieved with a hex core or pressure wound string in heavier gauges. My go to is DR Lo Rider hex core stainless in extra heavy gauge (50-110). GHS pressure wounds are good for this also.

Of course, plucking nearer to the bridge will yield a stiffer string response as well, but there are tonal changes in doing so.

 

[Sam Dingle]

It's important to differentiate string tension from string stiffness with regard to what you're looking for. High string tension (on the neck) does not necessarily equate to firm string stiffness when plucking.

Sounds to me you're looking for string stiffness, which can be better achieved with a hex core or pressure wound string in heavier gauges. My go to is DR Lo Rider hex core stainless in extra heavy gauge (50-110). GHS pressure wounds are good for this also.

Of course, plucking nearer to the bridge will yield a stiffer string response as well, but there are tonal changes in doing so.

true this is all the stuff I don't know about i think stiffness I want the tuned down a whole step to feel like a normal standard tuning set in feel both left and right hand

 

[The Deep]

true this is all the stuff I don't know about i think stiffness I want the tuned down a whole step to feel like a normal standard tuning set in feel both left and right hand

I think you'd be happy with the DR Lo Riders in 50-110 (stainless or nickel, as per your preference) or the GHS pressure wound (44-106). The GHS are made of Alloy 51 yielding a smoother feel than the DRs. The DRs are more mid present than the GHS pressure wounds.

Both strings are great and I think it would fit the Bill for what you're looking to do. At the very least it would get you off to a good start that you could fine tune from.

Edit: DR also makes a DDT set of strings designed for down tuning. I don't have any personal experience with those but they may be another fitting option for you.