Lowest/Loosest Tunings

as long as the pickups are of the right quality and the note dosen't go below 20 hz you can still hear the note. an 8 string bass and some 7 string basses have a low f sharp string.

 

Pickups can pick up any frequency...it's not a matter of "lowest the pickups go".

 

sorry about that i meant to say amplifier.

 

Some of the mudvayne songs are dropped to a G!

 

I was talking to the poster.

 

I think these ridiculously low tunings are just a fad and a childish form of showing off. "Oh, they tune to B, let's tune to C. They tune to C, let's tune to G." It all seems so silly to me.

I read a statement from Kenny Hickey of Type O Negative once. He said something to the effect of, "The reason for our tuning our instruments so low, is to hide our mistakes (laughs)."

 

dude if u have to tune down to G to sound heavy, that F'in ridiculous. u don't gain too many extra notes. My bass is tuned down to A and thats nice, every note picks up. and it's really not that low down. unless ur one of those bassists like machine head who tune 4-strings down to B. u guys are crazy. but the pickups will pick up any note u throw at it, ur amp and speakers will determine if its audible or not.

 

what do you mean about MH tuning all 4 strings to a B? is this true? I knew that they played in a B often, but I had no idea he did this.

 

keep in mind that the slipknot guy plays a five string. an A is just one whole step below B.

 

actually, paul from slipknot plays a 4 string Warwick, I have only ever seen him play a 5 string once, and then, he wasn't even playing it, he was only holding it for a photo shoot.

 

Speaking of inhealthy drop tunings...

What about dropping an F# one or two steps? and at .150...THAT'S low...

 

Brendan, I once remember someone on here trying to attain an E, one octave below the open E on a four string now imagine tuning that to a D... new meaning to "Drop D", huh?? Or C or B?!?!?! Sh!T! You thought a 5 string went low?

 

Very well spoken. I have always found a low B on a fiver to be almost too low to play. It's high enough to remain punchy, but low enough to give you that..... feeling.... you know what I am talking about. But I think it just starts to get muddy when you drop anywhere below a B and is totally unnecessary.

 

Well, In my band, we detune one full step (two as soon as my guitarist gets his new guitar), so I always wonder about the tunings I'm gonna use on that 7 string I'm looking at. Maybe drop EADGC, and leave the B and F# to themselves? Or all of them? Or none? Hmn...

 

If you don't mind Brendan, Why?

 

Why do we play dropped, or why would I detune my (future) 7?

7- that might become a personal use item. I don't know just how I'm gonna tune the sucker quite yet. So It might spend time in my hands, or in any side projects. Maybe If I can figure out something, it'll find it's way into the band...

Detuning: after years of listening to people droptuned vs. regular, the regular tuning became thin, transparent. I find that dropping tune adds weight and gravity not acheived in normal tuning. It's nothing against normal tuning, but in my band, and the music we play the lower nots pack more of a visceral punch than the regular notes. As such, we don't strive for the lowest tunings possible, we just find that D and C allow us to convey out musical ideas/concepts with more authority than EADG. That help?

 

What kind of music does your band play? I play pretty much every style of music there is i my band, and I have never really found much use for the B. Maybe my bass isn't as great as I thought?

 

I mostly play heavy music in my band, and I find that the 5 string tuning suits us fine! There is nothing more sinister sounding than a damn C#, I swear! hahaha
Although I am all one for the B tuning, I must say I really don't like going anything lower. It is just too damn low!