If there was something to it, there would be a double sided but, that you can de-attach yourself and just turn on it, and on the other side of the nut, the slots are filed for thicker gauge. Wouldn't turn out that complicated. But a zero fret allows for any gauge. Any time.
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May Have to Switch to Higher Strings
- Thread starter HiEnd Basses
- Start date
If there was something to it, there would be a double sided but, that you can de-attach yourself and just turn on it, and on the other side of the nut, the slots are filed for thicker gauge. Wouldn't turn out that complicated. But a zero fret allows for any gauge. Any time.
minor diversion question if I'm allowed...as a semi newb bassist, whose band just plays regular tuning, why does a guitar player want to play in drop C or D tuning? ....what advantages ?....
Drop tuning is a standard part of the rock vocabulary these days. Just like a writer might choose certain words to tell a story, or a painter might use certain colors.
FWIW, I use often use a .090 string for drop C. I have to turn the amp up a bit and play with a lighter touch to compensate for the lower tension, but it sounds amazing.
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I'll share my tale of shock and awe about something...
So I own an Ibanez SRX3EX with modded electronics and a hipshot bass xtender. I auditioned for a band that played in drop C and I was freaking out. The strings I wanted were on order and weren't coming in before practice, so I decided "To heck with it, I'll just tune down what I have for one practice session". I had gauge 45-65-80-100 DR Stainless Lo-Riders on the bass and they were fairly used, want to say about 3 or 4 months of light playing worth. I tuned them down to drop C and they were surprisingly stable, typically I'm a whiny baby when it comes to loose strings but they did quite well. It was about as tense as say a Fender P bass tuned down a half step (Eb Standard) IME. It could be the bass, the strings, or something else but that was my experience with them. I can imagine a heavier gauge like .55-.110 in DR Lo-Riders should still fit in your nut slots and provide a decent amount of tension. YMMV, but it sure beats having to do some nut filing.
So I own an Ibanez SRX3EX with modded electronics and a hipshot bass xtender. I auditioned for a band that played in drop C and I was freaking out. The strings I wanted were on order and weren't coming in before practice, so I decided "To heck with it, I'll just tune down what I have for one practice session". I had gauge 45-65-80-100 DR Stainless Lo-Riders on the bass and they were fairly used, want to say about 3 or 4 months of light playing worth. I tuned them down to drop C and they were surprisingly stable, typically I'm a whiny baby when it comes to loose strings but they did quite well. It was about as tense as say a Fender P bass tuned down a half step (Eb Standard) IME. It could be the bass, the strings, or something else but that was my experience with them. I can imagine a heavier gauge like .55-.110 in DR Lo-Riders should still fit in your nut slots and provide a decent amount of tension. YMMV, but it sure beats having to do some nut filing.
I play in drop C and drop C# with light gauge DR strings. Less tension means I can dig in for an aggressive attack and get a grinding tone when I throw some overdrive on the tone. IMO if you're playing with downtuned guitars and distortion, consider keeping light-medium gauge so you can get an aggressive tone.
Yeah, I'm dreading this. I'm using a 34"scale Fender P; two to be exact. The thought is making one D standard, which I've done, and the other C standard. I'm hoping I get lucky. The Guitarists I seem to hook up with are always ignorant about the fact that I'll have to adjust the length of the strings for proper intonation, and maybe the action. I might get lucky with that one though. It's a pain in the rear end!
Best of luck on it, it'll all work out eventually
I think one of the contributing factors to the tension on the Lo-Riders may be the hex core they use to wind them on. For some reason it's supposed to make them stiffer and more tense. Might want to keep that in mind when looking at strings. For the record I've never used that type of string on a P-bass before, so that could be my problem with them.
For what it's worth, I played in a band where everything was tuned to C# and used a 4 string with 50-110 strings without any issues. I was using Tobias basses at the time and adjusted the intonation and string height accordingly
IMO it's not really a big deal. I play roto 95 gauge on my Ric, and have played it in B-E-A-D for a band before. Besides being a little rubberband-y and needing a light touch, it really wasn't a problem at all after a little adjustment.
We do for covers that require it - the song is in a lower key (and we are matching it) and the lower tuning provides a thicker, heavier sound. Our guitards (term used in the most affectionate way) have extra guitars for this purpose that are strung with heavier strings.
The next question is, "why detune to D or lower if you have a five string bass?" There are a handful of songs that we play which require rapid transitions to D (primarily that key) that would be impossible to play on a BEADG-tuned five string. Case in point, Creed's "What If" (mainly for the bridge), Avenged Sevenfold's Afterlife, "Full of Regret" by Otherwise (it may be possible but it's much easier detuned) and I think there is one or two more but I don't remember.
Raz
I have the worst issue with a wobbly B as I tune ADGCF always (I taught myself in drop C for reasons I don't remember 
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I found that using an old .110 works better than the .130s that came with my Roto and Slinky Cobalts to hit the low A. Mild intonation adjustment was all I ever needed despite being dropped 7 half steps and using an E in a B nut slot.
) I found that using an old .110 works better than the .130s that came with my Roto and Slinky Cobalts to hit the low A. Mild intonation adjustment was all I ever needed despite being dropped 7 half steps and using an E in a B nut slot.
I got a new synthetic nut cut very cheaply by a luthier because I didn't want to mess up my original brass one when I went to BEAD tuning for awhile. When I went back to standard, I never switched the nut ... and it plays just fine thru multiple brand string changes since. The tension alone keeps it centered and it doesn't move at all. Go for it!
grab a digitech Drop.... let it do the work and leave your bass as is.....
