I don't know about OP, but definitely not for me. I'm too set in my ways having 4 strings under my fingers and just too lazy to put the time into getting accustomed to the extra string, lol. It really throws me off.
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Going to BEAD my Ibanez
- Thread starter Black Out Jazz
- Start date
I marked the bottom of the slot with a pencil and widened with the files down to it. I was able to leave bridge height alone, just had to back the saddles up to get intonation on.
find what is string tension of your usual set and then look for a BEAD or 5-string set with similar tension.
i bought a Mexican J set up for BEAD, strung with a DR DDT-55 set. I play it tuned EADG with the same set of strings and it works great. Never tuned it down but that's all the guy I got it from did with it and said it played great. I bought a few extra sets when I decided to keep it and so far it has been one of my better playing basses.
- Apr 20, 2009
- 2,620
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- Endorsements: your name could be here, Mr. Sadowsky!
Not sure what kind of bridge you have, but on my EBMM Stingray that I converted to BEAD, I had to get a new bridge saddle to fit the B string.
+1 on the DR DDT. I used a set to BEAD a bass before I made the leap to a 5 string.
I had an '06 Carvin LB-20 strung BEAD for... oh, about 10 years, I guess. Tried several kinds of strings on it, in several different gauges; finally settled on the 65-130's from the Roto RS77LD5's. They worked very well, and I liked them; but, I finally had to admit that the tuning just didn't work for what I like to play. So, I put the original Tusq nut back on, and installed a set of Gen 1 Sadowsky Blue Label Flats that I'd had stashed away. Which, for me, work ever so much better... In the BEAD Club, a common complaint was the inability to intonate the B string, due to lack of rearward saddle travel. It was hardly ever a problem on Fenders with bent plate bridges, however. I always thought that it had more to do with how the bridge saddles were set up prior to installation, than the bridges themselves, though. The Hipshot A bridge on my Carvin never had a problem - but there was only about 3/4's of a turn left on the B string saddle with the Rotos. It was awfully close...
I scrape the nut slots out with old roundwounds. It's a wee bit tedious. But as someone without much experience filing nuts, I feel a lot more confident about getting the depth right taking minimal material out with each pass.
You probably already know. But the money frets will play a bit sharp if your strings are too high over the nut
Last edited:
Th
Thanks for the tip! Yes, that's exactly what I've found so far - a bit sharp. I haven't done any filing yet, but definitely need to since I can see daylight showing under the strings laying in the nut slots. Surprisingly, the action isn't as horrible as I was expecting without the filing, but in order for it to play properly, it's a must.
