Is there a 4 string B Bass?

[arbiterusa]

To be clear, you want to buy a new bass so that you don't mess with your current basses.

You really don’t have to. My usual BEAD bass has had to sub in for another that I’m refinishing, so I restrung it with a 35-95 set and the only thing I had to do is move the bridge saddles. The strings sit a little lower in the nut than the regular 65-125 set does, but the action over the fingerboard doesn’t change (the bottom of the nut slot doesn’t move, right?) so that’s fine. You can absolutely set up a BEAD bass and just restring as needed, just have the one bass.

 

[MDBass]

Not all 4 strings are capable of a BEAD restringing.

I had my Lakland 44-01 redone to a BEAD setup and the neck would never stabilize. The neck wasnt thick enough to take on the extra tension.

There is actually less tension on the neck when tuned BEAD, unless you’re using string gauges higher than 130 of course.

 

[krovx]

Tapered Bs are underrated. Don't worry about your bridge saddle that way, and IME they intonate better. Only challenge is getting the action/setup on the low B, I struggle with a tapered string for some reason. The pros outweigh the cons IMO.

Tapered strings have a T ( 125t, 135t, etc) behind them and often need to be ordered separately. It is best to ordered custom sets from bassstringsonline or another vendor that sells singles to get the best tension match for your playing style.

 

[LowActionHero]

There's one in my basement right now...

 

[2F/2F]

There's no overwhelmingly good reason to seek out a bass that comes that way. Just put the bottom four strings from a 5-string set onto any 4-string bass. The only difference is the size of the nut slots, and that's a cheap modification.

 

[Solarmist]

Tapered Bs are underrated. Don't worry about your bridge saddle that way, and IME they intonate better. Only challenge is getting the action/setup on the low B, I struggle with a tapered string for some reason. The pros outweigh the cons IMO.

Tapered strings have a T ( 125t, 135t, etc) behind them and often need to be ordered separately. It is best to ordered custom sets from bassstringsonline or another vendor that sells singles to get the best tension match for your playing style.

The D'Add EPS300-5 balanced tension set I've been using comes with a tapered B, E, and A which I'm really liking. They're only $20 at BSO, and what I'm using for BEAD tuning.

 

[SquareWaveSymph]

Maybe somebody said it already, but Lambdin Guitars builds a 4 string tuned down to B.

 

[johnson79]

Just get another bass of your choice and have a good tech file the nut and possibly the saddle.
The Ibanez Paul Gray signature came BEAD from the factory, and some others were pointed out here.
It's all about the nut (that's what she said) and the bridge.

 

[40Hz]

I don't recall many manufacturers offering an off-the-shelf 4-stringer tuned BEAD.

Only company I’m aware of that currently is doing them is Lambdin. They offer a 35” scale BEAD. But be prepared for nosebleed when you see the price tag. Hardly surprising since they’re custom built.

And like you, I don’t know anybody offering a production BEAD in the usual price ranges since Schecter discontinued the Scorpion.

@4stringstevie - there’s a club for BEAD tuning modders at TB you can find here.

I know you just want to buy something off the shelf. But there’s plenty of good info in that thread you might also want to look at.

There’s also a Schecter Scorpion Bass listed on eBay right now with a “buy now” price of $190 + $75 shipping. They usually run around $300 when you see one so that price is definitely in the ballpark.

 

[bholder]

It's really not that hard to learn how to convert a normal 4 banger to BEAD. Literally about half an hours' work with fairly common hand tools. Far easier than trying to find one specifically made for BEAD.

 

[basscapes]

All of the above.

If you get a regular 4 string and have a tech/luthier set it up for BEAD, then you have a B-Bass...

I personally go for an "expanded" tuning- CGDA (low to high, after Robert Fripp's New Standard Tuning , or NST) if I need to have a wider tuning range on a 4-string.

 

[krovx]

All of the above.

If you get a regular 4 string and have a tech/luthier set it up for BEAD, then you have a B-Bass...

I personally go for an "expanded" tuning- CGDA (low to high, after Robert Fripp's New Standard Tuning , or NST) if I need to have a wider tuning range on a 4-string.

Any NST resources you would recommend? I like that approach.

 

[Amajew]

Extra tension? What gauges did you use for EADG and BEAD?

medium light with a .095 E. When I converted my B string was .135.

Maybe not extra tension but the neck didn't like the conversion. Then again, thinking about it more, the nut could've been cut incorrectly and that's where the issues may have been.

 

[Solarmist]

medium light with a .095 E. When I converted my B string was .135.

Maybe not extra tension but the neck didn't like the conversion. Then again, thinking about it more, the nut could've been cut incorrectly and that's where the issues may have been.

That's why I had a local Luthier do it for me (I've never done it before, and didn't want to mess up the factory nut), besides that - I didn't have the proper files to do the job, and they're $15-$17 each at Stew-Mac. I also wanted to keep the stock nut stock.

 

[HaphAsSard]

medium light with a .095 E. When I converted my B string was .135.

Maybe not extra tension but the neck didn't like the conversion. Then again, thinking about it more, the nut could've been cut incorrectly and that's where the issues may have been.

Nonono, mine was an honest question and it seems in your case there probably was an increase in total tension after all: a set with a .095" E usually has a .04" G which, generally speaking, indeed pulls some pounds less (let's say about 3 to 5?) than the average .135". This assumes the E-A-D stayed the same, but if you bumped up the gauge of one or more of them, the increase was even more significant.

The important thing is that people should not see the fatarse B and assume BEAD>EADG just because. Au contraire, chances are the opposite will be true. A 120+ string is tight...if you tune it to E: as a low B, it's nothing special tensionwise, and actually looser than most G's until you get to 130-135.

 

[bassbenj]

There is actually less tension on the neck when tuned BEAD, unless you’re using string gauges higher than 130 of course.

True. One of the online string tension charts for standard string weights shows G string tension to be 42.8 while B string Tension is 34.5 Which comes out to about a 20% reduction in tension by replacing the G string with a B string.

 

[amphlett7]

unless you’re using string gauges higher than 130 of course.

But even that's not always true.
Look at this GHS Boomer Tension Chart

The 0.145 String Tuned to low B has 3 pounds less tension than the 0.045 tuned to G!

 

[MDBass]

But even that's not always true.
Look at this GHS Boomer Tension Chart
View attachment 3086090

The 0.145 String Tuned to low B has 3 pounds less tension than the 0.045 tuned to G!

Yep, exactly. Definitely a misnomer that the bigger strings are somehow a strain on the neck with their increased tension.

 

[HaphAsSard]

It depends.
A .005" increment in diameter is a significant difference, mass-wise, for a G string, so much that 40 vs. 45 vs. 50 makes a world of difference in our discussion. It "only" takes a .135 - for GHS Boomers, as little as a .13 - to exceed the tension of a .04, while a .045 has no match among low B's until we reach .145 and not even there; finally, for a B to have as much tension as a 50 it would have to be a 175, a gauge more associated with low A or F#.

It.
Depends.

The most important point, already made by many posts above including mine, is that one shouldn't assume a BEAD set has necessarily more tension than an EADG one, just because dude, big strings eh?
No.
As I said, a 120/125/130/whatever is an insanely tight string if you tune it up to E; as a low B it can be way below the tensions that (high) G and A strings commonly found in sets have. Ergo: take out the G, shift the D, A and E, add a random B and chances are you end with less total tension on the neck.
Unless the G was a 40 and the B is a 130/135 or larger, in which case you'll end up with more tension (not a lot more though).

 

[basscapes]

Any NST resources you would recommend? I like that approach.

Well, from Wiki, there's this (where I base the lowest strings in relation to this)-

New standard tuning - Wikipedia

For musical reference, I like to point people to this part from the Wiki article(and especially those songs listed)-

"Properties
The lowest five strings are tuned in perfect fifths from a low C. The first string is a minor third up from the E to a G. Since the lowest five strings are tuned in fifths, guitars with NST can be played with the fingerings for chords and scales used on the violin, cello, and mandolin.

The first five strings of NST have all-fifths tuning, and so its all-fifths chords are movable around the fretboard. In contrast, standard tuning has an irregular major-third interjected among its perfect fourths, which complicates the learning of chords by beginners.

The distinct open-notes {C,G,D,A,E} are the notes of the major pentatonic scale on C, which contains only consonant intervals. The C-pentatonic scale omits the open B of standard tuning and all-fifths tuning, which forms a dissonant second-interval with C. With the 1980s King Crimson, Fripp had used pentatonic harmony in "Discipline", "Thela Hun Ginjeet", and "Sartori in Tangier"."

Even though Mr. Fripp didn't use NST at the time of the recording of those three examples, due to the Pentatonic nature (especially in his soloing on "Discipline"), they represent the idea of NST.

To properly hear Fripp's use of NST and the resultant "bass parts"* that accompany him, pick just about ANY of the King Crimson output from the early 90's (when KC became active again) to the most recent live shows/CDs/etc...

* I put "bass parts" in quotes, as latter-era KC featured not just bass guitar, but also Chapman Stick, Warr guitar, and sometimes bowed electric upright bass (courtesy of Mr. T Levin!).

As for strings- I usually use a light B string from a five string set (126 or thereabouts), regular A, D and G strings for the G, D, and A tunings (in my case just the standard Rotosound 80, 60 and 40 of the SM-66 set).

The tension on the G (A) is a little firmer than I like, but since this is such an "abnormal" (dare I say "obscure"?) tuning, I don't see any string makers rushing out to accommodate any time soon...

Hope this helps.