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how show ready is your battle axe?
- Thread starter idorky
- Start date
I had an aluminum neck Kramer 450B. Winters in SLC it would be 12 degrees outside. As it warmed up under lights it would go sharp, but evenly across the strings. Between sets she would cool down and go flat. Not a lot, but enough to notice. I’d tune whenever I got a chance.
Consistent temperature and it’d stay in tune for months.
Consistent temperature and it’d stay in tune for months.
When I noticed my bass needed to be tuned more often, I tightened the tuning machines: the nut on the back of the headstock underneath each capstan, and the tension adjustment on each tuning knob. Since then, the bass has been staying in tune longer. I can tune before each set, and haven't had any problems going out of tune.
our BL /rhythm git tunes between every song..it is a Gibson SG...either it is him or the git but 
That's what makes me wonder about the people who say their basses stay in tune for months...they must never leave one climate controlled room. Or they can't hear when they're out.
Then again, I check my tuning before every take in the studio...because it's the professional thing to do.
anyone ever watched baseball players in between pitches? they probably don't need to loosen and retighten their gloves after every pitch but if it takes a worry off their minds/allows them to clear their heads to prepare for the next pitch why question it?
humans are fascinating creatures
humans are fascinating creatures
Hilarious. I was a pro for over 25 years and no one ever gave me grief for tuning as I am not a front man. I'll check the tuning anytime the lead vocalist is blathering on. If it needs adjusted it gets adjusted. I use a tuner pedal that mutes everything.
My Yamaha TRB6P is pretty stable so it usually doesn't need to be tuned unless I wank on the strings for some reason (slap, heavy pick sound, etc). The neck on my Ric 4001 is a wet noodle and goes out of tune constantly. I also doubled on string bass and electric upright, and had to tune them mid set on occasion as well.
but not as much as playing out of tune.
Perhaps I should have been clearer. I should have included the word "audibly", changing it to "audibly tuning during a set".
I'm assuming that when you're walking onto the stage, you're already tuned. If you wait to tune until you're in the spotlight, you're doing it wrong, IMO.
If, for some reason, your bass goes horribly out of tune in the middle of a song, I don't believe your axe is performance ready, excepting "thrash your instrument to within an inch of its life" style playing.
Edit - this includes the Ric with the "wet noodle" neck in the post above. IMO, if your axe constantly detunes, it's not ready for the stage.
If you must retune in the middle of a set, do it quickly and inaudibly. Having the audience hearing you retune during a set is kiddy corner stuff.
There. I think that about covers it.
I agree that tuning noisily is amateurish, but most people have the ability to mute to tune these days.
The Ric was my first bass and it never struck me as odd because I came up on string bass playing symphonic music. All of the symphony orchestras and concert bands I have played in tuned quite a bit, and it is not silent. Also all of my string bass instructors taught me to quietly check my tuning by ear, and this is something I have seen professional string bass players do frequently at concerts.
You might find it surprising, but the setup on the Ric is actually very stable. I haven't had to adjust the truss rods in decades. The neck is almost perfectly flat, the action is extremely low, and it plays great.
But the neck does flex a bit while playing, so it is necessary to tune a bit more than with my other basses.
A TRB6P has been my #1 electric bass since about 1995. My first TRB6P had dual truss rods and it rarely needed adjustments. My current bass only has one truss rod. It holds tuning a lot better during a show than the Ric, but I have to adjust the truss rod about four times a year.
If the stage is hot or the there is a significant temperature change, it doesn't really matter if the instruments neck is stiff or not, it will still go out of tune. If you play with horns, the problem is compounded because wind instruments go out of tune in the opposite direction from string instruments. I.E. If the horns go sharp the bass will go flat, and vice versa.
I wonder when I see posts about frequency of tuning is there actually a point the OP is making? If you’re out of tune then tune. Who cares?
You want to know and are curious, check the tuning.
Some of you need to look in the mirror every once in a while and stop congratulating yourselves for not tuning your instrument. You sound ridiculous.
You want to know and are curious, check the tuning.
Some of you need to look in the mirror every once in a while and stop congratulating yourselves for not tuning your instrument. You sound ridiculous.
A good few years ago my band were supported by a sort of funky, indie world music outfit.
They invited a guest Peruvian harpist onstage. He wheeled this thing through the audience, hefted it up on stage and proceeded to start tuning all 40 odd strings while the rest of the band watched in silence. No apologies, funny stories, chat or any kind of audience interaction. It took forever. It's the only time I've heckled another band on the same bill...
Never had a problem with the tuning stability of my basses. Always have them ready in thyme for action.
They invited a guest Peruvian harpist onstage. He wheeled this thing through the audience, hefted it up on stage and proceeded to start tuning all 40 odd strings while the rest of the band watched in silence. No apologies, funny stories, chat or any kind of audience interaction. It took forever. It's the only time I've heckled another band on the same bill...
Never had a problem with the tuning stability of my basses. Always have them ready in thyme for action.
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When I played DB and I felt a string was a bit out I just compensated by shifting my finger position to get the right note until the song is over.
With fretted basses I check between songs if necessary.
