Get Off My Lawn: Downtuning

[Guitalia]

My only objection to downtuning in metal is that the guitarists generally use EQ settings that are so scooped, the bass player is all but superfluous.

That said, the Music Machine downtuned (to Db) in the mid-'60s. Not knowing that, the guys I knew who covered the song Talk Talk in their bands all assumed that the signature four-note fuzz riff was being played by the bassist. Nope; it was the lead guitar.

 

[Nev375]

I am making fun of most of us here who think they have a tight B string even on them Dingwals. No piano player obsessed over their A and B notes. You want tight fundamental on low notes, it's a pipe organ or a bass synth.

I know. I was attempting a double entendre but I probably should have gone with the one about encountering a loose G-string if you go a little lower.

Guess I need to tune up my wordplay a bit.

 

[Jack Butler]

I liked this post not because I don't enjoy jazz, but because there may not be anyone more pretentious than Yngwie.

That's fair, the irony was not lost on me when I posted it The sheer gall of him to keep releasing multiple albums containing that many notes alone, to say nothing of his personality(at least in the early years, seems he's mellowed a bit with age).

 

[5StringBlues]

There is no good Mexican food in Houston.



Please don't come here.

 

[Bikeguy57]

This has probably been covered but even the boomers downtuned. Black Sabbath was playing in C well before I was born.

I remember when Sabbath came out, they sounded completely different than ANYTHING else...Awesome!

 

[Dincrest]

When I listen to the classical music of India, particularly the Karnatik music of southern India which contains some of the oldest music of civilized man... a lot of it would be darn near impossible to play on modern instrumentation unless it's a alternatively tuned fretless.

My point is that down/drop/alternative tunings have been around since some of the earliest days of music so it's not a newfangled kids-these-days thing at all.

And go figure, that "old" music is probably more atonal and dissonant than that downtuned "djent" metal that's all the rage these days.

 

[bassGtar]

Correct, since LA is Louisiana, east of Tyler. If you mean L.A., Los Angeles, that city is west of Tyler.

There is no good Mexican food in Houston.

Please don't come here.

I know Houston is in TX. But I'm confused, is it east or west of Tyler?

I know it isn't really Mexican food, but my favorite pizza is a white with home grown garlic, tomatillos and jalapeños.

 

[scottfeldstein]

What are these allegedly metal AF basses?

The ones in my sig. An Ibanez BTB745 and a Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ 5. Although I don't think metal players would choose the natural finish on the Ibanez.

 

[5StringBlues]

I know Houston is in TX. But I'm confused, is it east or west of Tyler?

I know it isn't really Mexican food, but my favorite pizza is a white with home grown garlic, tomatillos and jalapeños.

Slightly west and very south of Tyler.

 

[knumbskull]

5-string tuned to B: so versatile, allows for comfortable hand placement, funky, great for gospel, the choice of mature professionals.

the same model 4 string tuned to B: abhorrent, unthinkable, a crime against god and nature, only used by drug addicts and talentless heavy metal degenerates who cannot Learn The Fretboard (TM).

also, apparently, amps can reproduce the low B of a 5-string fine but will be completely unable to function if you send the same note on a 4-string.

 

[knumbskull]

Uuhhh yeah. Actually the OP is perfectly reasonable. The post above is my get-off-lawn thing!

 

[rashrader]

The Arrogance is strong in this one…. Seriously OP?

 

[Bass Jones]

What's your get off my lawn thing?.....................

I'll probably get shot at sunrise or put on "double secret probation" (animal house quote) for saying this. I do respect the art form and the talent and the years of practice to be able to do this..............

But

But

But

But

I don't like slapping. Because it doesn't sound go to me. Also, when I hear it via a solo, it sounds so banging and rattle noise.

IMHO YMMV

Now, I accept my punishment. First though, "get off of my lawn!"

R/
I feel that way about a lot of later slapping but I like the early stuff. At some point (after the 70s maybe?) slapping went from being some of the funkiest riffs around to wankers just doing wanky paradiddles on bass = devoid of funk. It seems to have coincided with the scoopy EQ becoming all the rage.

The scoop sound has become so associated with slap that now every time someone demos a bass amp when they get to the ubiquitous "contour" knob they crank the scoop and go, "And if you want that slapping sound..." as though that's the only way you would ever play slap and you would never use the contour knob for finger picking.

These are all objective facts, BTW.
/R

 

[Erik Stokley]

I tune AEAD in two of my bands, with a set of balanced tension strings it's no different than standard tuning, maybe even better since tensions of standard sets are all over the place. It's not "bad for the instrument" to use alternate tunings

 

[Erik Stokley]

A doesn't even sound tight on a 9 foot grand piano.

It does with a .165 guage string on a 34 inch scale bass

 

[scottfeldstein]

The Arrogance is strong in this one…. Seriously OP?

I don't know how many times I have to say this: I was making fun of myself. It is dumb to have that kind of bias. And it is good that people do new things, even if old timers "don't get it." I am not suggesting that people shouldn't downtune. I am suggesting that it is at least a little bit humorous that some older players instinctively react with horror. It's funny. It's a gag. Hence the photoshop of Abraham Simpson and the title of the post.

Everybody good? Great!

 

[zubrycky]

Downtuning isn't a modern thing. Geezer Butler tunes his bass C# F# B E - to match Tony Iommi's guitar tuning - since Black Sabbath's Master of Reality (released im '71).

 

[scottfeldstein]

Downtuning isn't a modern thing. Geezer Butler tunes his bass C# F# B E since Black Sabbath's Master of Reality (released im '71).

It's a lot more popular today than it ever was back then. Isn't it?

 

[dave hope]

The low frequencies that are hyped up, and used in certain style of music now. Are visually the equivalent of the 450 pound women. Who stuff themselves in thongs, on the cover of their CDs.
Freakishly bloated, and very embarrassing.

 

[Starthief]

What's your get off my lawn thing?

People who drive like they have something to prove. Dude it's a morning commute, not Death Race 2000.