Drop D Nightmare

[lustersilk]

I play electric bass in a classical guitar ensemble. Last night at our concert we played a beautiful arrangement of Grand Solo by Fernando Sor, and the bass part was in drop d. Eleven minutes of pure joy, the song was great. So then we leave the stage and various small combos and soloists begin to perform. Now it's my quintets turn. We're doing an arrangement of the theme song from the movie Rudy, which is NOT in drop d. Do I re-tune my bass, nope. To make matters worse, that string doesn't even come into play until about 30 seconds into the song. Arrrrggggg! Improvisation takes over and in the end it doesn't turn out too bad. Needless to say I was freakin' out the whole time. Lesson learned, always check your tuning!

 

[CryingBass]

Or get a 5 string?

 

[bassbrad]

One band I play with does the final song in Drop D and it is always a night mare because it is never in tune and neither of the guitar players even seem to notice. I have tried and tried to get them to use a different guitar tuned for the song but it is always the same Drop D nightmare.

 

[TedH]

Bass Xtenders

 

[lustersilk]

Or get a 5 string?

I need a short scale five. I tried the Ibanez Mikro 5 but that B string isn't really even viable. Way to flabby and too much buzz. I currently play a Mustang in this group, which I love! I'll keep searching because I agree, a five is where I need to be. Thanks.

 

[lustersilk]

Bass Xtenders

Now this looks interesting!

 

[JGbassman]

Hipshot drop d tuner. I have them on both of my main four string basses

 

[mpm32]

+1, I have the one that does 2 stops, I have it tuned to Eb and D.

 

[rickdog]

Now this looks interesting!

I have one on my Jazz. Totally works. Couldn't imagine being without it.

 

[ctmullins]

Bass Xtenders

+ a million

Every four-string in my collection has one, for this exact reason. A five-string isn't always a solution, depending on the fingering pattern.

 

[Ric5]

Or get a 5 string?

Why in the world would anybody tune drop D when a 5 string bass is available?

 

[ctmullins]

Why in the world would anybody tune drop D when a 5 string bass is available?

Fingering patterns. Ever tried playing "Living On A Prayer" in D? Easy on a drop-D tuned four, much more difficult on a five.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Now this looks interesting!

They're absolutely necessary in my band. We have no breaks between songs, ever, and we have a handful of songs in drop D. Those are completely worth the investment. Have em on pretty much all my basses.

Regarding your nightmare - been there, done that, and know the feeling well. Had a similar situation recently using a one of the D-tuners. I had one on my Gibson that I hadn't used in a while, and forgot to tweak the tuning on it (ya have to do that from time to time). We tune down a half step in my band, and when I went into drop D and it was out of tune, my brain didn't register "C#". I did my best to retune during the song, but lost it. Tuning back up for the next song, I had the same problem, PLUS, the weird-ass chorusy thing that Gibsons do threw my tuner into crazy mode. I couldn't tune with the pedal, there was no break, and I had to sweat through till I managed to get it as close as I could and finish the set. Not fun. The Gibson doesn't get to come out to play with that band anymore. Actually took the tuner off it and put it on my Warwick. It works perfectly on that.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

In some cases drop tunings have more advantages over using a 5 string, and sometimes it is the other way around.

 

[Felken]

Y'all just need to concede once and for all that 5 stringers are better than 4. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Felken]

In some cases drop tunings have more advantages over using a 5 string, and sometimes it is the other way around.

The only time I found downtuning more convenient than a low B string is for raking, which I do quite often. However, I can always tune my B string up to D.

 

[Kirsty]

I play Wrap It Up with the E string tuned to Eb, and Broke and Hungry in dropped D. This morning I was seriously considering buying a rubber chicken to clip to the headstock when I'm in dropped tunings. Embarrassingly easy to forget and forge ahead into the next song. Ouch!

 

[gjbassist]

Why in the world would anybody tune drop D when a 5 string bass is available?

Try playing "Spoon Man" by Soundgarden on a five string. Then play it on a four string tuned to drop D. There is your answer.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

The only time I found downtuning more convenient than a low B string is for raking, which I do quite often. However, I can always tune my B string up to D.

Exactly, sometimes you need a certain note to be an open string thus tuning up or down would be necessary.

 

[mikewalker]

Just tune the whole thing down a full step all the time, and use a capo when you are jonesing for that "open E thang"...