One full octave below BEAD tuning

[FretlessOwl]

Today I have been drooling over a 40" scale 4-string Quake bass most of the day.
Then I went on this string tension calculator website.
And it calculates that technically you could use a 40-inch Quake bass and tune one full octave below regular B standard BEAD tuning.

B (-1), string 0.236, 40lbs tension
E0, string 0.176, 40lbs tension
A0, string 0.130, 40lbs tension
D1, string 0.100, 40lbs tension

My question is: Has anyone done anything like this before ? ?
Or can anyone share any audio samples (songs) of this tuning with me ? ?


View attachment 4848614

Today I have been drooling over a 40" scale 4-string Quake bass most of the day.
Then I went on this string tension calculator website.
And it calculates that technically you could use a 40-inch Quake bass and tune one full octave below regular B standard BEAD tuning.

B (-1), string 0.236, 40lbs tension
E0, string 0.176, 40lbs tension
A0, string 0.130, 40lbs tension
D1, string 0.100, 40lbs tension

My question is: Has anyone done anything like this before ? ?
Or can anyone share any audio samples (songs) of this tuning with me ? ?


View attachment 4848614

At least we found your new amp.

 

[Killing Floor]

Now we’re talking. The Chandra team’s black hole sonification had to be synthesized 57 octaves higher so we could hear it.

 

[Bob_Ross]

15Hz is inaudible to all except the great whales . And you won't be getting any fundamental from speakers

As others have already mentioned several subwoofers that can reproduce 15Hz at usable levels, I won't belabor that point (though I have a small list of additional models to consider should anyone with super-deep pockets wish to pursue this). I just wanted to chime in to say it's not just whales that communicate infrasonically; elephants would also get down & boogie to your super-low B string. In fact, the Intersonics ServoDrive subwoofers were used extensively in field research on how elephants communicate over long distances: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Element Zero]

Please report back with your findings/experiences/experiments. Love to see other players thinking outside the box.

I’ll add, that just because the lowest notes aren’t audible as “notes”, played with the octave (or 2) above can creat some huge sounding sustained bits.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

Well, at least the keyboard player won’t be messing with you down there.

 

[ga_edwards]

Interesting idea . But why ? 15Hz is inaudible to all except the great whales . And you won't be getting any fundamental from speakers . Not sure an amp is going to work well at that sort of frequency . Just because something can be done , doesn't mean that it should be done .
Be nice to see what you come up with ,

To be fair, you don't hear much of the fundamental of the lowest notes of a typical 4 string bass through a typical bass cab. Even the mighty SVT 8x10 classic starts rolling off the low frequencies at around 60hz, and is already -10db at 40hz. Yet they reproduce the notes of a low B on a 5 string just fine. As long as the OP could find a speaker that's capable of reproducing the 2nd order and above harmonics cleanly enough, he should be fine.

 

[bigthemat]

I don't think it's as low, but I remember watching this video a while back. Those low strings are so thicc

 

[BassFalcon]

Jauqo iiix is an excellent source for this, there are others as well, look on social media for SubContra basses/bassists, I believe that’s the name they self apply. It’s a thing. I believe Yves Carbonne also horses around in that register. Last I checked Jauqo was using an Ashdown rig. While it’s true you can’t hear that low, you can feel it, and above and beyond that there are psychoacoustics at play here as well. You hear the upper harmonics in certain proportions and then your brain magically fills in the low stuff the amp can’t reproduce and your ears can’t hear. It’s weird. It’s also how MP3s work to compress file size. So it’s not quite the fool’s errand some are suggesting, there are ways and means to get it done, and there are people out there doing it. Have fun!

 

[claudel]

Search for the brown note continues...

 

[MultiScaleMale]

See if you can try out some people's gear before going down the rabbit hole. Even if you have to buy a plane ticket, it's going to be worth it to try it in person rather than spending a lot of money to decide, "Nah".

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

 

[bearhart74]

 

[Killing Floor]

As others have already mentioned several subwoofers that can reproduce 15Hz at usable levels, I won't belabor that point (though I have a small list of additional models to consider should anyone with super-deep pockets wish to pursue this). I just wanted to chime in to say it's not just whales that communicate infrasonically; elephants would also get down & boogie to your super-low B string. In fact, the Intersonics ServoDrive subwoofers were used extensively in field research on how elephants communicate over long distances: Invalid Link Removed

And I just want to chime in that you made me imagine elephants dancing and now my day is much better.

 

[AlexanderB]

Lots of nonsense here, in the replies.
There are plenty of capable subwoofers reasonably flat to around 20 Hz. PA amps as well. Adding a bit of low end boost in that range is doable. Scale up to required SPL.
The fundamentals are definitely audible, but pitch might be impossible to identify.
My shortscale bass + analogue octave pedal delivers lots of mid 20Hz output through my detuned SVT-410HLF and Markbass Ninja 1000. Notably less if powered by my EBS Reidmar 750.

 

[aprod]

Why? Just why?

 

[Pings Bass]

I mean pipe organs can go down to like 8 Hz, but the ear can't really distinguish pitch in those lower reaches of audibility. It's more about feel. You know: Heft. Slam.

 

[And I]

... why? Humans can't hear under 25hz. Speakers won't produce those freuqncies so all you'd be getting is overtones. These frequencies would likely be filtered out by a mastering engineer so they wouldn't even make it to a final recording.

That said I'd love to hear it in the real world to see how my "educated guesses" pan out.

 

[Sam Evans]

Why? Just why?

I believe the CIA uses such low tones to assassinate people ...

 

[darwin-bass]

You are 100% correct in everything that you have said.
But, that doesn't mean that someone else has not already tried it and can now share from their knowledge & experience . . . . .

Yes, it is an interesting idea, though perhaps more academic than practical. I don't expect a flood of practical experience to follow.