Need a bass for my 8 string guitar

Warwick makes a bass (forget what it is called) that is tuned F#BEA and conklin makes a C# string. The problem isn't on the bass end, because those strings are designed for a 35" scale bass. The real problem is the amplification of those low tones.

lowsound

 

The Vampyre BO "Dark Lord"

 

Man anything lower than a low C# just becomes muddled, even with a decent rig for bass. You would be better to have a bass player play in sync with you than have a low F# on bass.

 

That is the warwick. Where are you in Kitchener? I live just north of Kitchener now (not London, I should update that), in Listowel. If you know where that is.

lowsound

 

Dude, if you want a bass that can match a guitar tuned to F#BEADGbe you'll need a bass at least F#BEA (if it's 4 strings). That means you'll want probably a 35" bass, and probably something good. Second, ESPECIALLY with notes that low, you'll want a really loud head, and either a 410 or 115 cab. Basically... if you want a bass for those low notes, you ain't doing it on a cheap budget. Maybe find a bassist who already has a good rig, and get him to work with you? He might not even need to tune down (If you play an 8 string I'm assuming you do a lot of heavy Meshuggah like riffs? Maybe he can do point/counterpoint type stuff and play melody lines or something on his bass?) or at the very least, if you both want him to do a more "standard" role it's probably only a change of strings/setup for him.

Goood luck, dude. What kinda 8 string you have? The new Ibanez?

 

Hello mate,
I own a Warwick Dark Lord (tuned F#BEA), I live quite far away from you (for now) but if you wish we might be able to colaborate. Just send me a PM.

If not my suggestion is that you get the Warwick, its not the cheapest but its worth it. For less budget you could also get another bass and use a "pitchshifter", I'm not very familiar useing them. Its an effect which downtunes the sound by one octave, I believe that it wont be the best quality but as I'm not very familiar with them I suggest you to investigate more.
Of course you could also buy pretty much any bass (better a good one, I suggest ESP as they have some 35" scale basses) and string them up with the Warwick Black Lable Dark Lord strings, they cost about 55 euros here in Europe. Those strings have a gauge of 175. 135. 105. 85. and are made especially for tuning in F#. You can put those strings basicly on any bass ajusting the nut and perhaps intonation, it would be better to get one with a longer scale (normally all 4 string basses have 34") thats why I suggested that you get a with 35" as those strings are designed for such scale length. A tip is to get a fretless one with those strings, sounds really great, check out the new album of the band The Rotten, the bassist "Wilson" uses a Fretless Dark Lord on some songs.

As for amplification, you said that you are a guitar player, and might only want to record the sound rather than play out loud. If so you sould get a decent bass amp, quite some amps are good enough and can go down untill 20Hz (you need 23Hz for the F#).
Then record directly plugging the amp in a sound card.
If you dont and want to play out loud. There are two companies which make speaker cabs for low frequencies, one of them is Accugroove. The Whappo Grande, has a 21" subwoofer and is made for the F# or lower. The disadvantage, is the high price.
There is another company which also makes cabs for low frequencies, and are more afordable. The cabs from Basson, B410B and B210B are said to be able to get a good sound of the F#. Best would be the B410B.
I havn't tried out those cabs yet, and am currently useing a 15", and I get a pretty decent sound, still I'm thinking of upgraiding to a Basson cab in the future. You could also get any other good cab, but the sound quality wont be as good.

Well I hope some of that information helps you out, if you have any furthermore questions please send me a PM.

NR

 

Yup Warwick Dark Lord, as for recording it, there is quiet a few sub-harmonic players on here, who I'm sure would be happy to help.

 

THis thread, though closed, will have a lot of info(and fighting) on the low F#, and links to more info, should help a lot.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=427959

 

http://www.knuckleguitarworks.com/what/index.html

Never played one myself, but you might be interested.

 

my advice... a good warwick thumb neck thru 5 string

 

I'm gonna assume that you picked up the new Ibanez 8 string. Noble idea to match the lows, between having the right bass, right strings, and right rig, this is considerably more expensive than the guitar you're trying to match.

 

Get a Galveston 7 or 8 string bass. Both have low F# and can be had for under $500 off of eBay. I have the 8 string and its a very nice bass w/ good quality & tone. Only problem with it is the bridge...non adjustable string height, and the radius doesn't come close to matching the radius of the neck...I made shims out of guitar picks to get it right. Shreds now.

 

This isn't the best showcase of the F# but it should give you an idea.

 

I thought ya might have.
From what I can tell, he dosn't seem to have a proper rig for that low on hand, and seems to play aggresivly.

 

Solyaris, please don't make your decision of an F# string based off that video; it's a good representation of a poor setup (everything about that video makes me cringe). I'll see if I can get a decent recording of my F# string for you later today.

 

Maybe you can get the Bill Dickens Conklin and get a new nut to fit a F# string. This is the cheaper and easier solution, IMO.

 

Listen to some Jauqo III X, his subcontrabass is doing what you're thinking of... (or PM him, he's on here).

http://www.jauqoiii-x.com/