Guitar detuning to D: what are my options?

[nzscott]

Just use the D note on the 5th fret of the (A) string as your root note when the guitarist has detuned his E string to D ........that's what I do avoid detuning my E To D it works fine , for example I do this when we play "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles , and it works fine .

 

[Jrussblues]

#6 - put a capo on the 3rd fret of your five string lol
....
I play fivers so it's hard for me to weigh in on this but with my short time on 4s I found it better just to play everything and transpose it and if a low d is needed then I would just drop d.

 

[gln1955]

I've strung a short scale BEAD with flats. It's not the best B string situation, no doubt, but it's doable and you get to keep using the bass you like.

 

[mesaplayer83]

You might THINK no one can tell you're playing stuff an octave higher, but they can tell. The band can REALLY tell, even if they don't say anything, they can tell...

Agree with this 100%, and that playing modern country uses 5 string basses a pretty fair amount...

 

[Inertialsky]

Tell the guitar player you want to tune to C#

 

[bherman]

If it were me I'd go the 5 string route. I've owned several and gotten reasonably comfortable with them but never had much need for the b. I play 4s now and have a d tuner on one of my p basses - for the occasional song in d with a pedal tone or a tune in Eb (because the singer couldn't do E) but if I was playing modern country I'd go 5

 

[Ric5]

5 string bass or tune DGCF

 

[GroovinOnFunk]

I did "She's Country". The lick on the original is with a 5 string. No one notices that I am playing the part up an octave. Just a thought.

That's actually a great example! They may not "notice" consciously, but the audience probably "feels" that lacking big bottom by playing the line up an octave. That line lacks all of it's balls not having that low C#. Otherwise you're just in unison with the down-tuned guitar(s).

Modern country on a 4-string is tough. It kind of necessitates a low-B. A lot of cats (like the Rascal Flatts bassist) look like they're playing a 4-string but it's actually tuned B E A D.

I second that you should learn how to get comfy on your 5-string.

 

[pbass6811]

I agree with *most* of what you said - but used a different approach when I started my 5 string adventure... Because I was playing in several bands, some of which would never need a 5er, I learned the songs that required a 5er on one, but played most of the "4 string songs" on one of those... I still use the same approach, and bring one of each to gigs that call for it - that way, I always have some sort of a backup(although I've never needed it)... This accomplished a couple things - I think it sped up my learning curve on the 5er for the songs I needed it for, and still allowed me a "breather" while on the 4s - since I find them easier to play, even to this day... That way, everything I play sounds like it's supposed to... I've averaged 100+ gigs per year for over a decade - and am on pace to play around 130 this year, so I must be doing something right...

Yeah, I agree with ya'. I was playing both 4's and 5's, and switching whenever the song called for a real B, then, my choice of basses was determined for me. I switched to 5's out of necessity, my gear got stolen, and I could only afford to replace one bass. That pretty much meant I was going to be playing a 5er. That was years before we formed the band I'm in now, and I've been in this band for 15 years! Same type of schedule, 100+ gigs/yr(plus we've already booked most of next year!), and almost all of that has been on a 5er. I've had a few 4's over the years, but I never really played them. I'm so used to playing 5's, that 4's just feel bizarre. BUT, I just ordered another 4-string, because of my one issue with playing a 5er...

Dropped-D.

99.8% of the time, dropped-D on a 5 is simple. It may require some finger gymnastics(I like to use Slither/Velvet Revolver as an example), but it's very doable. That other .2%, can't really be played any other way(Killing In The Name/RATM)but in Dropped-D, and, to me, Dropped-D sounds better on a 4 than a 5. Sure, you can tune to Dropped-D on a 5, but it just doesn't sound the same and there's that extra string that you're not gonna use...

Still, if I was gonna pick one bass to play "bro country", it would, without a doubt and in no uncertain terms, be a 5er...

 

[Reedt2000]

I do exactly what you're talking about with a standard tuning 5 string

 

[Chef]

This is why 5 string basses.

Yup.

 

[pbass6811]

I do exactly what you're talking about with a standard tuning 5 string

I'm not sure who you're replying to, so forgive me if it's not me...

I should've made it clearer. Using my example, when I play Slither, I play it in standard tuning on my 5er. I've been doing it foreva', so it's no biggie, but if you're used to playing that song in Dropped-D on a 4, playing it in standard on a 5 will be a challenge. We break our sets down by grouping songs with similar tunings together to eliminate as many guitar changes as we can. I play almost every song in the Dropped-D blocks on a standard tuned 5, EXCEPT for the ones that require weird or dramatic string skips(Killing In The Name or What If/Creed). Those songs need to be played on a bass tuned to Dropped-D, which I do on my 5's, BUT, IMO, Dropped-D sounds better on a 4.

To make my 4-string purchase worthwhile, I will probably re-learn all the Dropped-D stuff in that tuning on my 4 when it shows up.

Again, if I gotta pick ONE type 'o bass, it's gonna be a 5er...

 

[mmon77]

Learn the 5 string. It's useful, and will definitely sound better for modern country.

We play modern/classic/outlaw country in the band I'm in and I would really miss the B string. This is coming from someone who started on a 5'er though, so YMMV.

 

[Ralph124C41]

#6 - put a capo on the 3rd fret of your five string lol
....
I play fivers so it's hard for me to weigh in on this but with my short time on 4s I found it better just to play everything and transpose it and if a low d is needed then I would just drop d.

I'm not very good at using drop d consistently, especially in a song that has a lot of notes. I just get confused and I seem to be jumping all over the place. I have used it on simpler songs, or songs with just a base note, a third and a fifth, for example, but with songs involving complex lines I just get lost.

I've strung a short scale BEAD with flats. It's not the best B string situation, no doubt, but it's doable and you get to keep using the bass you like.

First I would face forgetting in the heat of playing that I'm playing BEAD. Secondly I need that "high G" strings for some of the songs the band wants me to do that require some notes high up on the fingerboard. Now when I was in some of those classic country bands I never ventured out of the first two positions ... unless I decided to improvise a bit.

A lot of good ideas here, some I'd never thought of such as a pitch shifter. However, it seems to me the consensus is for me to finally learn that five stringer. Before that I will try out one of my long-scale basses and see if the slightly higher tension will help firm up those lower notes for me. If not, then it's off to 5-String World.

 

[TrevorR]

How often are you going to be using the two lower notes? I played in a modern country band for four years, and still sub for them. It was not often that I needed those two notes. I had a D-tuner on my E string, and just dropped that in when I needed those notes.

Two things I like about this:

1. It does not affect the intonation/tension of your bass.
2. You can pop it down and back up in less than a second, so you can use it and pop back into standard tuning easily, even in the middle of a song.

I'd second this... keep in E tuning but add a Hipshot D tuner for the songs where you really really need a low Eb and low D. But like Bulldog says, those are probably much fewer than you think!

Have added one to each of my main basses (also strung with 760FLs) and they are amazing bits of kit. Yes, the low D is a bit floppies than I'd prefer but only for a few notes on a few songs.

And it's a very easy mod!

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

A five string won't help if you're playing around the open D and its octave, you might find your left hand moving unnecessarily.

My preference would be to set up a bass in D. Get a gauge higher strings to counter the lower tension, and you'll fit right in.

Of course if the options are open to you, try them all out over the first few weeks and you'll soon know what works best for you.

 

[interp]

Use the five string. After 40 years of playing only four strings I added five strings and have never looked back. Takes a couple of weeks of practice/use to get accustomed to it.

For me, the key was a mental adjustment where I just started thinking of the E as the lowest string and the B as an "auxiliary lowest string," to be used as needed. The advantages of the five string are numerous.

 

[Medicine Man]

I started playing a 5er a decade ago just for bro country and certain hard rock songs. Just bite the bullet and learn it, cuz 5s are great once you get used to em.

 

[Cosmo Dalton]

5 string. B-Eb is where the magic happens. Use sparingly.

 

[mellowinman]

I did "She's Country". The lick on the original is with a 5 string. No one notices that I am playing the part up an octave. Just a thought.

How fortunate for you to get into bands where everyone's either always drunk, or in a walking coma. How could anyone notice that? It's not like it jumps out at you, or anything.