Guitar detuning to D: what are my options?

[mesaplayer83]

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...

Yeah, Killing, Slither, Sound of Madness, etc... I typically play on a drop tuned 4 string - but the ONLY time I play in a drop tuning is when I need to... I don't really like to play that way, since it changes the way I have to think about the instrument - whereas, I've learned to think of a 5er as sort of a "continuation" of a 4 string... I would change over completely to 5s, except I typically only need one for 30-40% of the songs I play - and have some really nice 4 strings I would miss playing... Also, my 5ers are a bit heavier, and not as comfortable to play, neck-wise - I can't "rock them" like I can a 4 string... I'm my most comfortable with a good P Bass, to be honest...

 

[mesaplayer83]

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.

I did try BEAD on a 4 string before finally submitting to the 5er - and also found that I missed the G string too much for that to be a viable approach *for me*... I typically try my best to play the songs I cover as accurately as possible - and it seems to get noticed, as I stay as busy as I want to be, gig-wise...

 

[mesaplayer83]

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.

Some of the songs he's talking about playing require Low C and C# - unless his band decides to transpose those, a drop tuned 4 still won't get it done...

 

[Reedt2000]

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...

The band I was talking about play in D-standard (all strings down a whole step) if it's just drop D tuning you might just put a drop tuner on you E string as shown above.

 

[Amajew]

Learn that 5 like others stated!! go back and forth playing your 4's and 5 and it will become easier to transition and have it feel natural playing either...

regarding tuning... depending on the song I just leave my bass tuned 440 standard or I'll tune the B to D and transpose the other notes on the other strings... I played in a cover / original band that played in numerous tunings and I wasn't about to detune my whole bass and deal with the floppy strings.. if your neck is stable it can handle tuning the b to d.

 

[Sam Dingle]

for ease I'd learn that 5 string. Also I'd consider using a Hipshot Bass Extender to tune youre E string to D. I don't like alternate tuning so that's why I got my 5 string

 

[waveman]

I have drop D tuners on all of my basses. So if the guitar player is tuning to Drop D, is he also playing the songs as if he was tuned to E? Effectively playing everything a whole step down? If so, I would go with a 5 stringer or use bigger strings on a longer scale bass and tune to D. If the guitar player is tuned to D, but playing them in the right key, I would just go with a Drop D tuner, but I wouldn't like that on a short scale bass personally

 

[lfmn16]

You're way overthinking this.
If you like how your usual bass sounds and feels when tuned to E just put the next thicker gauge of the same strings on it for D.
Re-check the intonation and be done with it. Should take you 20 minutes, tops.

+1

I could:

1) Use a D tuner and relearn my fingering on the E string
2) Play in a 'different' key than the rest of the band, therefore eliminating any visual clues
3) Learn to play a 5 string bass
4) Tune down a full step and be done with it.

 

[Worldeeeter]

Another interesting idea

Btw, something else I could start using is my old DigiTech BP-8 floor unit. It was one of the first of the big bass multieffects and had a street price of $300 or $400 when it came out. It has an AX-7 tube in the preamp section.

Among its many settings is a pitch shifter but I've never used it and don't know how good or bad it is.

THIS. I detune my bass using a Digitech Drop, and I don't touch my tuners. Plus, I can turn a knob and be tuned wherever I need to in half a second. The sound integrity is great as well.

 

[mmon77]

THIS. I detune my bass using a Digitech Drop, and I don't touch my tuners. Plus, I can turn a knob and be tuned wherever I need to in half a second. The sound integrity is great as well.

How are those as far as latency? I Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I know some of those Whammy type effects have a very noticeable latency that used to drive me nuts when I used them playing guitar. Not to mention poor tracking, especially with the lower strings...

 

[Biggbass]

I haven't read all the responses, but my technique would be to go into Drop D. For that I have D tuners.

 

[jaymelewis]

I'd say learn how to rock the 5. I did country for years and always played a 5 string - especially with all the new pop-country these days, it's a must. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Worldeeeter]

How are those as far as latency? I Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I know some of those Whammy type effects have a very noticeable latency that used to drive me nuts when I used them playing guitar. Not to mention poor tracking, especially with the lower strings...

I bought the Drop due to the high ratings regarding latency. It runs neck-in-neck with the EHS Pitch-Fork, and I think either one will produce great results. I don't stray more than 2 whole steps from standard tuning, so I don't go into the "danger zone" for tracking/latency. However, when playing with it, I found that it sounds true several half-steps down. I used to have a Eventide Pitchfactor, which worked great, but at 3x the cost of the Drop. The biggest issue I have with detuner pedals is "shimmer", where your clean sound develops a watery, shallow-fast sine waveform. If you play with any amount of distortion or overdrive, you can go nuts with it, as you'll never hear anything.

 

[mexicant]

practice makes perfect! Suck it up and learn the 5.....that's the real answer,not capos or detuners..imho. are you singing and playing bass? I tried the drop d tuning for a while and it was way more confusing, and I would forget to retune;now that's a trainwreck! I do both 4 and 5 on same gigs,it's not rocket science

 

[Bigbri]

Yesterday I got accepted into a start-up new country/classic rock band. The guitarist tuns down to D. So to quickly learn the songs needed for the tryout I just detuned my short-scale bass to D. It got me though enough to land the post but I really didn't like how my bass sounded, especially on that almost floppy D string.

Now that I am accepted and can properly learn the songs how would you folks suggest I do to get the optimal sound for our gigs. I see my options are:

1) Just do what I did as the short-scale, semi-hollow is my go-to bass.
2) Use one of my regular-scale basses, also tuned to D. I understand the tension would be higher and so the "floppiness" may be less.
3) Tune in E, and learn the songs and just adjust for the tuning differences. That's fine but I will lose some of those lower notes.
4) Tune in E but use drop D tuning. It will be hard at first as I have only played out that way on a few songs. If I do this would, as in No. 2, it best to use my regular-scale basses. I don't have any long-scale basses.
5) Finally get around to learning how to play my 5-string bass. I've had it for several years and I've never played out with it or done much with it, except to get it repaired. (It has active pickups and the thing was always "on" even with the cable out.

Also I wonder if maybe just a string change may help. On my short scale I am using some La Bella Deep-Talking flats with an E strong of .105. I think they are sometimes called low tension strings but I don't know.

On my others I have D'addario Chromes flats in medium gauge, Fender flats in medium gauge. I forget what I have on my 5-string but they are either Chromes or D'Addario halfrounds or whatever they are called. I also have an Ibanez Iceman with non-flats; I think they may be medium gauge Boomers but I don't remember.

Sorry for being so wordy but I have never come across this problem before.

I like drop D. I like the tone of the low D on the 4 string and fret accordingly. If all your tunes are using that then definitely go with the 5 string. You could try what I suggested a while ago and put the bottom 4 strings of a 5 string set on your 4 string. You might want a 35 inch 4 string but it's worth trying.

 

[bassbully]

Five string is the way to go.

 

[buldog5151bass]

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.

I'm starting to think you have a crush on me with these posts. No, everyone (for the most part) was conscious, and the check always cleared. No, the general public is not as anal as some TB posters.

 

[TrevorR]

I did "She's Country". The lick on the original is with a 5 string. No one in the band minds and no one in the audience cares 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.

I'm starting to think you have a crush on me with these posts. No, everyone (for the most part) was conscious, and the check always cleared. No, the general public is not as anal as some TB posters.

There you go, @buldog5151bass , fixed it for you! How did those poor bass players in the 60s and early 70s ever cope with D-tuning guitarists before Anthony Jackson got Carl Thompson to make him his first Contrabass?

 

[basslifter]

I have played a 5 string, used a D tuner, and just played an octave up. It depends on who you are playing with. Will these guys notice if you play the higher register D? I brought a 5 to rehearsal with my current band. Nobody seemed to notice or care about that extra low thunda from those low D's and C's. So, I decided to save myself the weight and just play a 4 in standard tuning.

 

[Ralph124C41]

I have drop D tuners on all of my basses. So if the guitar player is tuning to Drop D, is he also playing the songs as if he was tuned to E? Effectively playing everything a whole step down? If so, I would go with a 5 stringer or use bigger strings on a longer scale bass and tune to D. If the guitar player is tuned to D, but playing them in the right key, I would just go with a Drop D tuner, but I wouldn't like that on a short scale bass personally

The guitar player is tuned to D and then playing everything in that tuning.