So I do half my songs in E and half in drop D. As of now my Sire P7 4 string is way too loose in drop D. Bad fret buzz. Do I adjust the truss rod relief while in drop D? Also the intonation while in drop D? Will take care of the buzzing? Then E will fall into place? Thanks in advance!
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Drop D Tuning Setup
- Thread starter Mario Keresztes
- Start date
I tune to Eb, with some songs in drop D (Db!).
What I do is set up the bass, adjusting the truss rod, string height and intonation, to play properly in Eb, then drop the E string and raise just that single string to not be so buzzy. It leads to an elevated E string height, but it's what I have to do, and it's not so bad.
Strings play a major part; I try to find stiffer strings rather than floppy. Many times I go up a string gauge to 50-110, which works well.
What I do is set up the bass, adjusting the truss rod, string height and intonation, to play properly in Eb, then drop the E string and raise just that single string to not be so buzzy. It leads to an elevated E string height, but it's what I have to do, and it's not so bad.
Strings play a major part; I try to find stiffer strings rather than floppy. Many times I go up a string gauge to 50-110, which works well.
In my case, the entire bass is tuned to Eb, therefore "drop D tuning", means the lowest string gets tuned to Db. In your case, if tuned to E Standard, the lowest string is dropped to D. But I still set up the bass the same way in either case, with the exception of the string gauge. Lighter strings for tuning to E Standard tuning.
Setup the same either way? Not sure I'm following you. Mine is setup for E and buzzes in drop D.
Raise the E string when it's dropped to D. If the whole bass buzzes, I would adjust the truss rod when in Drop D.
I'd also like the action to be a bit lower at the 12th fret and higher for tapping. The neck is currently concave. Should I tighten the truss rod?
Also after making adjustments should I worry about pickup height?
Also after making adjustments should I worry about pickup height?
My default tuning is drop D. I’ve played like this for decades and I now instinctively learn all songs in drop D. I own 3 Pbasses and have experimented with setups. You do need to raise the one string a bit. The problem is that now (usually) the fretted low E note can go sharp easily. I adjusted the truss rod but that didn’t fix the issue. AND I have found that excessive string height sucks for playing up around the 12th-14th fret. I like low as possible action. Sooooo, I tried shimming the neck and that was a game changer. It (somehow) fixed both of those issues. Not much of a shim was needed I can’t remember the exact amount.
A fat business card towards the back of the heel pocked, or even a playing card is about all you probably will need. I use the Ace of Spades. Matchbooks work too.
Turnaround
Commercial User
There are only two reasons to add a shim:
1. If the saddles are bottomed out and the strings are still too high.
2. The break angle is too shallow over the bridge causing strings to vibrate in their saddles.
1. If the saddles are bottomed out and the strings are still too high.
2. The break angle is too shallow over the bridge causing strings to vibrate in their saddles.
Use hex core strings if you're not already. You could also try DR DDT strings, the core is a larger diameter and the string will retain a higher tension when dropped to D, with the added benefit of more stable intonation when dropped down.
What if, (and hear me out) you play drop D tuning, so you decide to increase string tension on the low D string because it’s flop flopping around in the breeze smacking on the frets causing all kinds of racket. To increase the tension you raise up them there saddles high up in the sky. Now the string is nice and tight. Tight tight tight. But… now the string is so high that fretting at the higher frets is gonna cause disabilities of the fingers. So you throw a shim in there. What about that?
