Drop A on precision bass

[Alec Corallino]

Hey, so I have a 2000 american deluxe precision bass and am wanting to tune it to D standard and drop the low string to A. I was planning on buying .145 kalium/circle k string. Do you think that my bass could really deliver a good/clear tone with such a low tuning and heavy gauge? Also, I would also expect to have to file the nut and set the intonation for the heavy string. Thoughts?

 

[yodedude2]

a-a-d-g? cool.

sorry, i have no pertinent advice for you. just a wish for success.

 

[Alec Corallino]

a-a-d-g? cool.

sorry, i have no pertinent advice for you. just a wish for success.

my phrasing was off. its d standard tuning with the low string dropped to a. mastodon's tunings

 

[twc1313]

Have you watched this?

Troy is at the 12:25 mark.

It seems he uses his jag for standard and drop d stuff and uses a Warwick Custom for the drop A stuff, he implies that the Warwick is built/suited for the drop A and not the Jag.

 

[hbabels]

Daddario and Rotosound and I think DR also make .145 strings if you need other options.

You may need to cut the nut and a taper wound low B or A in your case may help clarity as well and may fit in bridge saddle better as well.

How's the clarity down low on your P Bass now ? If It's good you should be fine with bright strings that have enough mass to be at a good tension that low which the .145 should have.

What's your rig like? Some amps & speakers handle the super low notes wel other can get muddy so that's something to keep in mind.

Pedals like the Darkglass B7K can really help low end clarity and tightness even with little to no drive engaged Nolly from Periphery use a B7k with no drive but EQ and tone shaping that helps the clarity and tightness of sound with some of their low tunings.

 

[Alec Corallino]

Have you watched this?

Troy is at the 12:25 mark.

It seems he uses his jag for standard and drop d stuff and uses a Warwick Custom for the drop A stuff, he implies that the Warwick is built/suited for the drop A and not the Jag.

watched it and am keeping it in mind, only wish I had a warwick. that was mu backup idea, just to save up for an NT thumb

 

[Korladis]

Hey, so I have a 2000 american deluxe precision bass and am wanting to tune it to D standard and drop the low string to A. I was planning on buying .145 kalium/circle k string. Do you think that my bass could really deliver a good/clear tone with such a low tuning and heavy gauge? Also, I would also expect to have to file the nut and set the intonation for the heavy string. Thoughts?

Yeah, I've seen bands tune that low on regular P-basses.

People here will make it sound more complicated than it is.

I tune to BEAD, almost that low, and all my basses I use for that are 34" or 33.25" scale. I use a big cab, but relatively modest power amplifier.

 

[hbabels]

I have found that Warwicks do seem to handle low tunings particularly good.

 

[Alec Corallino]

Daddario and Rotosound and I think DR also make .145 strings if you need other options.

You may need to cut the nut and a taper wound low B or A in your case may help clarity as well and may fit in bridge saddle better as well.

How's the clarity down low on your P Bass now ? If It's good you should be fine with bright strings that have enough mass to be at a good tension that low which the .145 should have.

What's your rig like? Some amps & speakers handle the super low notes wel other can get muddy so that's something to keep in mind.

Pedals like the Darkglass B7K can really help low end clarity and tightness even with little to no drive engaged Nolly from Periphery use a B7k with no drive but EQ and tone shaping that helps the clarity and tightness of sound with some of their low tunings.

I've gone as low as C using a .110 string. A tad floppy for my taste, but considering its with a .110 I'd say its great.

I have an SVT-2 pro with ampeg 410HLF. svt-2 pro has a graphic eq which might help?
All I have from darkglass is a vintage microtubes distortion

Thanks!

 

[Korladis]

One of my favorite bands, Yob, tunes to A standard.

I've seen their bassist use a number of different basses. A Fender P-bass, a Rickenbacker 4003/4001, a Gibson T-bird, and a custom Electrical Guitar Company bass. Always sounds great.

 

[Alec Corallino]

Yeah, I've seen bands tune that low on regular P-basses.

People here will make it sound more complicated than it is.

I tune to BEAD, almost that low, and all my basses I use for that are 34" or 33.25" scale. I use a big cab, but relatively modest power amplifier.

yeah, I saw a lot of threads where people said that 34" can't really handle lower turnings which made no sense to me...

 

[Korladis]

I've gone as low as C using a .110 string. A tad floppy for my taste, but considering its with a .110 I'd say its great.

I have an SVT-2 pro with ampeg 410HLF. svt-2 pro has a graphic eq which might help?
All I have from darkglass is a vintage microtubes distortion

Thanks!

Honestly I don't think the 410HLF is very good for heavy music. Sure it goes low, but it has a lot less in the midrange than most of Ampeg's cabs.

Despite the roll-off of the lows on the 810, I think it's actually better suited for this stuff.

 

[Korladis]

yeah, I saw a lot of threads where people said that 34" can't really handle lower turnings which made no sense to me...

When I went to Psycho Las Vegas, one of the bands even used a Gibson EB-3, even though they were tuned low.

Even though tons of bands there were playing in low tunings, most of the bassists seemed to use just regular, standard scale length 4-strings. Dave Edwardson from Neurosis used a 5 string for the drop A stuff, but I don't think it's a longer scale, just a regular early 80s 5-string Ibanez.

 

[Alec Corallino]

Honestly I don't think the 410HLF is very good for heavy music. Sure it goes low, but it has a lot less in the midrange than most of Ampeg's cabs.

Despite the roll-off of the lows on the 810, I think it's actually better suited for this stuff.

I don't doubt it haha, me and the HLF haven't been getting along very well but its what I have for now :/

 

[Ric5]

Hey, so I have a 2000 american deluxe precision bass and am wanting to tune it to D standard and drop the low string to A. I was planning on buying .145 kalium/circle k string. Do you think that my bass could really deliver a good/clear tone with such a low tuning and heavy gauge? Also, I would also expect to have to file the nut and set the intonation for the heavy string. Thoughts?

wouldn't drop A = AEAD a .130 or .135 string should work fine

 

[Korladis]

I don't doubt it haha, me and the HLF haven't been getting along very well but its what I have for now :/

Look for a used Peavey 2x15, or Ampeg 8x10 (or 2x15, though they're not as common). Can be had for pretty cheap.

 

[Alec Corallino]

Look for a used Peavey 2x15, or Ampeg 8x10 (or 2x15, though they're not as common). Can be had for pretty cheap.

I'll keep an eye out for an 810 for sure.

I found a standard warwick corvette being sold for a good price, considering just buying it

 

[scuzzy]

.145 on A will be good. I would up each string you wanna drop a step down by .005. that should suffice. DR DDT and D'addario make strings that will work as well, without the potential for some crazy kalium wait times that are floating around the interwebs.

Nut will likely need to be opened up a bit and intonation will probably need a tweak. Nothing too crazy.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Also, I would also expect to have to file the nut and set the intonation for the heavy string. Thoughts?

You should have to assume that you will need to do a complete setup, including nut slotting, intonation and relief adjustment.

 

[khutch]

He wants to tune in D standard, DGCF, but with the D string dropped to A, so AGCF. For those who were confused. Of course I'm not sure myself if he will always drop the D string to A or just sometimes! He does reference Mastodon and according to Troy Sanders:

"What’s the breakdown on the tunings you are using?

We have three tunings. The first one is everything dropped one whole-step to D [DGCF]. We call that our standard tuning. From there we go to drop C with the bottom string, and then we also go down to A. Those three tunings make for heavy riffage, for sure."

FWIW I tune my basses CGDA and will occasionally drop the C as low as an A using Hipshot tuners. If I want to get an occasional B or Bb I will drop to those notes as needed during a song by finding some convenient time to flip the Hipshot lever. If I am going to need them a lot I just drop to A and leave it there for a song or songs, since I know where the notes are on that string! I do this on two 34 inch basses, a Fender Reggie Hamilton Standard Jazz and an Ibanez SR605. I like the results but that is me, not you.