Drop D# - is that a thing?

[Aceman]

So I am playing some bass in the charity work band.

A couple of tunes were in Eb, so I tuned down the E string a half step. What I noticed is it was pretty easy to play in "Eb" tuning with only that string tuned down.

I can't be the person who discovered this, but I have never really heard of it.

Is Drop D# a thing? Obviously drop D is, and all strings down a half step is.

 

[Les Fret]

You can tune any string the way you want. I tune my E string to Eb sometimes. Is it a thing? It is when you use it.

 

[IamGroot]

Drop D is a thing. Its a fifth below A and it is an octave below the D string. Lots of bass players retune or use a hipshot for D. And the ladies love it.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Tuning toD# is the norm for most Bon Scott/ACDC bass.

 

[MrLenny1]

SRV played 1/2 step down IIRC.
I worked with 2 bands that played 1/2 step down
to help the singers voices. Way less strain for them.

 

[two fingers]

So I am playing some bass in the charity work band.

A couple of tunes were in Eb, so I tuned down the E string a half step. What I noticed is it was pretty easy to play in "Eb" tuning with only that string tuned down.

I can't be the person who discovered this, but I have never really heard of it.

Is Drop D# a thing? Obviously drop D is, and all strings down a half step is.

Tuning to drop Eb is easy. Tuning to drop D# is impossible.

 

[Les Fret]

SRV played 1/2 step down IIRC.
I worked with 2 bands that played 1/2 step down
to help the singers voices. Way less strain for them.

That’s not the same as tuning only the E string to Eb. That’s what the OP is referring to.

 

[higain617]

To achieve this, I believe you would have to tune up to F. I think that's referred to as "Nashville tuning."

 

[GregT]

Although it's not quite the same thing, I frequently fill in on bass for a guy who always tunes to D#/Eb. I just retune my bass and play. Sometimes I forget to retune my bass for a few days after I get it home.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

It depends on the song. I'd prefer Drop D or just use a 5 string, maybe an instrument tuned down a half step

 

[FullumMusic]

Drop tuning is when you just tune the lowest string down and leave the others standard. So Drop D# (which if we want to get pedantic should probably be called Drop Eb) would be D#(Eb)-A-D-G.

Is it a thing? Anything is a thing if you do it. There's no official Bass Tuning Advisory Board defining official tunings that are allowed to be things. Do a thing, and then describe it, and it's a thing.

Is it a useful thing? If having the Eb and A strings a tritone apart helps play what you want to play... but how often is that a useful thing to have across the nut/finger-bar?

So you drop the E to D#(Eb) and then tune the other 3 strings to different notes at more useful intervals. Then we can have fun getting bogged down debating the semantics of if it's Drop Eb with a shift tuning, or just an alternate tuning that's not technically a Drop tuning, or and Open tuning, or some other thing, which is less useful than just picking notes for your strings, tuning, and playing.

 

[FRoss6788]

I'd rather (and have) tune all the strings down a half step. If you were playing a cover tune, that's probably how it was recorded anyway.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Tuning to drop Eb is easy. Tuning to drop D# is impossible.

Psshh whatever....at least 5 of my basses are tuned to Fb Standard at all times.

 

[waveman]

Tuning to drop Eb is easy. Tuning to drop D# is impossible.

 

[80jazz]

Psshh whatever....at least 5 of my basses are tuned to Fb Standard at all times.

D## is way better.

 

[bassinflorida]

So I am playing some bass in the charity work band.

I can't be the person who discovered this.

Nope.

 

[edot3021]

Tuning down a half step seems pretty popular in the late 90s. No real idea why.

 

[telejojo5]

Used to do it when I played heavy strings on guitar.

 

[ryco]

If you want to learn Hendrix or SRV songs off of the records it is.
A lot of blues guys tune down a half step to "slack E" = a little easier to sing lead and releases some string tension for easier note bending.
I keep my Ric tuned to Eb/D# for just such purposes.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So I am playing some bass in the charity work band.

A couple of tunes were in Eb, so I tuned down the E string a half step. What I noticed is it was pretty easy to play in "Eb" tuning with only that string tuned down.

I can't be the person who discovered this, but I have never really heard of it.

Is Drop D# a thing? Obviously drop D is, and all strings down a half step is.

If it works, I'm all for it. Not so sure it would work for me ( and I played with a drop D E string for about 10 years in horn bands where keys of Bb and Eb were common) as I found having that half step below the Eb tonic very useful. Less brain work as well when playing in other keys.