one 5 string bass, two different tunings

[dmnw]

I play in 2 bands, one on Drop A, second in drop C. For drop C i have my main 4 string ss bass which works well with ghs boomers .115. I need a backup guitar as we tour a lot and i was wondering whether i can use my 5string bass for that purpose. For drop A i use standard gauge 45-130 which sounds floppy when 4 strings are tuned down (don’t use B string at all) and tuning up the whole set to drop C makes the play impossible. There’s my point, should i try custom set for 5 strings bass (like for B string .135 and for E string .110 or .115) or rather buy a lighter set like .120 .90 which i imagine might be floppy as hell for drop A. The first option sounds good to me but i’m not sure if it will handle EADG tuning? I play in drop A band rarely, 1-2 times a month so tuning won’t be changed very often in fact. Buying second 4 string as a backup is something i’d like to avoid as i just have no room for 3 basses. What would be the best way in your opinion?

 

[HaphAsSard]

I play in 2 bands, one on Drop A, second in drop C. For drop C i have my main 4 string ss bass which works well with ghs boomers .115. I need a backup guitar as we tour a lot and i was wondering whether i can use my 5string bass for that purpose. For drop A i use standard gauge 45-130 which sounds floppy when 4 strings are tuned down (don’t use B string at all) and tuning up the whole set to drop C makes the play impossible. There’s my point, should i try custom set for 5 strings bass (like for B string .135 and for E string .110 or .115) or rather buy a lighter set like .120 .90 which i imagine might be floppy as hell for drop A. The first option sounds good to me but i’m not sure if it will handle EADG tuning? I play in drop A band rarely, 1-2 times a month so tuning won’t be changed very often in fact. Buying second 4 string as a backup is something i’d like to avoid as i just have no room for 3 basses. What would be the best way in your opinion?

First off, do you use "drop A" and "drop C" in the more accepted sense of "AEAD"/"CGCF", or did you mean "ADGC"/"CFBbEb" instead (better described as "A standard" and "C standard", respectively)?
I'll go ahead and assume the former. If it's the latter, please state it in the reply.

A minor third up is roughly 50% more tension (and, conversely, a minor third down is ~33% less). In other words, tuning up and down would be a set-up nightmare.
IMO, you have two options:
- permanently tune the 5-stringer to AEADG and get a capo (yes, it is mostly guitarists that use those, but it would be the least impractical course of action if you insist on using the same bass - in other words yes, I am totally serious about a capo). Remove said capo when you play with the drop-A project; keep it on the 3rd fret when you carry it as backup for the other band. Resign to have woofy and chorusy tone up the neck, on the lowest two strings;
- get another bass for drop-A, and use the fiver as its backup, or vice versa.

If you tune a 115" to C on a short scale bass and are satisfied with the feel, you could even get away with a 120 low A on a long-scale 5-string bass. A balanced set of Boomers, made out of singles
GHS Boomers Bass Strings - Singles
could be as light as 45-60-80-120 - yes, I am still being dead serious.
However, if what you actually use is the heavy Boomers set (H3045, gauges 50-70-95-115), you're not really attuned to a balanced set: you simply adjust to a very light low C, and have normal tensions for the G, high C and F.
[Again, I'm assuming your tuning is CGCF, or "drop C" proper.]
In view of this, a custom set for a long-scale, 5-string AEADG tuning with gauges 040-055-075-105-120 would have roughly the same tensions as your shorty, drop-C 4-banger. If I were you, I'd still drop the E down to a 095 and bump the low A up to 125 or 130, in order to mitigate the unbalance.

 

[Seth DuSith]

First off, do you use "drop A" and "drop C" in the more accepted sense of "AEAD"/"CGCF", or did you mean "ADGC"/"CFBbEb" instead (better described as "A standard" and "C standard", respectively)?
I'll go ahead and assume the former. If it's the latter, please state it in the reply.

A minor third up is roughly 50% more tension (and, conversely, a minor third down is ~33% less). In other words, tuning up and down would be a set-up nightmare.
IMO, you have two options:
- permanently tune the 5-stringer to AEADG and get a capo (yes, it is mostly guitarists that use those, but it would be the least impractical course of action if you insist on using the same bass - in other words yes, I am totally serious about a capo). Remove said capo when you play with the drop-A project; keep it on the 3rd fret when you carry it as backup for the other band. Resign to have woofy and chorusy tone up the neck, on the lowest two strings;
- get another bass for drop-A, and use the fiver as its backup, or vice versa.

If you tune a 115" to C on a short scale bass and are satisfied with the feel, you could even get away with a 120 low A on a long-scale 5-string bass. A balanced set of Boomers, made out of singles
GHS Boomers Bass Strings - Singles
could be as light as 45-60-80-120 - yes, I am still being dead serious.
However, if what you actually use is the heavy Boomers set (H3045, gauges 50-70-95-115), you're not really attuned to a balanced set: you simply adjust to a very light low C, and have normal tensions for the G, high C and F.
[Again, I'm assuming your tuning is CGCF, or "drop C" proper.]
In view of this, a custom set for a long-scale, 5-string AEADG tuning with gauges 040-055-075-105-120 would have roughly the same tensions as your shorty, drop-C 4-banger. If I were you, I'd still drop the E down to a 095 and bump the low A up to 125 or 130, in order to mitigate the unbalance.

That is pure genius. I didn't make the thread, but I'm gonna use this advice anyway

 

[dmnw]

Wow, didn’t even consider the capo option. Funny thing is, as i’m ss lover, this idea sounds perfect to me. I’ll get a good capo, try this out and let you know how it works.

 

[HaphAsSard]

let you know how it works.

Please do: I loves me some closure, every now and then.

 

[dmnw]

Well i tries it with 2 capos and i see some cons, especially for live situations. First of all, tuning would take more time, as i’d need to remove capo, tune to AEADG, put capo and do that song after song. Not to mention, setup must be done perfectly in this case. In live situations I would always have to remember to add 3 frets which is nonsense when i require from backup bass simplicity and available to plug and play. Another thing is, i felt bass doesn’t resound as well as from open strings, which i use a lot (playing rock/metal). So I’d go with the second option, just need to find some light set. By the way, i couldn’t fine any budget short scale 5 strings bass (except from Ibanez GSRM25, which is for now out of stock i think everywhere) - so i though whether i can use 32” 4 string bass for both tunings and use the gauge you mentioned like .125, .95, 75, .55. I wonder how it will handle tuning down to AEAD, again i don’t care about little floppiness

 

[HaphAsSard]

Well i tries it with 2 capos and i see some cons, especially for live situations. First of all, tuning would take more time, as i’d need to remove capo, tune to AEADG, put capo and do that song after song. Not to mention, setup must be done perfectly in this case. In live situations I would always have to remember to add 3 frets which is nonsense when i require from backup bass simplicity and available to plug and play. Another thing is, i felt bass doesn’t resound as well as from open strings, which i use a lot (playing rock/metal). So I’d go with the second option, just need to find some light set. By the way, i couldn’t fine any budget short scale 5 strings bass (except from Ibanez GSRM25, which is for now out of stock i think everywhere) - so i though whether i can use 32” 4 string bass for both tunings and use the gauge you mentioned like .125, .95, 75, .55. I wonder how it will handle tuning down to AEAD, again i don’t care about little floppiness

Wait, wait wait wait.
Just so we're on the same page:

you have two basses, right?
one is a 4-string short-scale bass, usually tuned to C-G-C-F, no?
the other a 5-string. Long-scale.
Is everything correct so far? If it is,

option 1) was to
- keep the four-string shorty exactly as it is (gauges, drop-C tuning);
- restring the five-string bass with gauges 040-055-075-95-130, tuned to A-E-A-D-G - permanently;
- use it (not the four) in your drop-A band, twice a month, with no capo of course;
[- if you need a drop-A backup, bring the four-string, and only use it, tuning it down rapidly, for emergencies;]
- the five-string will also serve as backup for the other (drop-C) band - bring it with you every time you play with them, keeping it ready (in case of problems with the four-string) with a capo on the 3rd fret, with *no* retuning (other than fine-tuning), because A-E-A-D-G + 3rd fret capo -> C-G-C-F-Bb.

option 2) was to buy another bass, even if you would prefer not to, and use it for backup.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure if you need backup for the drop-C band, or the drop-A band, or both.
If for both, you would still have the dual-tuning problem, even with three basses.


^ Please point out any inaccuracies above, and in that case I'll revise my suggestions.