Hello again
So, i've been producing a bunch of music for a while. I don't feel comfortable on guitars, the strings are too close, so i play all my guitar parts (mainly monophonic picky riffs) on my basses and eq out the bottom end.. Only thing is, I'm mainly using the second octave of the D and G string, it's quite limiting...All my basses are 4 string basses. So, instead of buying a guitar, or a 6 string bass I was thinking to create a 4 string bass that starts on D? ... does anyone have any experience with putting the top 4 strings of one of those extended sets of 8 or more string sets on a 4 string bass? Would I need to get someone to adjust or even make a new nut for the operation? Anything else I should consider?
Thanks in advance
D
It's called "piccolo bass" tuning.
Here's a modest contribution by yours truly:
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/27215591/
Extrapolating from the above, a list of pertinent points:
usually a piccolo is tuned a perfect octave above standard bass, i.e. to the same pitches as the four lowest strings of a Spanish-tuned standard guitar (E2 - A2 - D3 - G3);
to that effect, you could choose half the gauges as those of a regular bass set - say 50-40-30-20 - which, tuned to E2, gives you about the same tensions as 100-80-60-40 tuned to E1, scale length being equal;
on the other hand, lower tension may be more conducive to guitar technique, and you could obtain it by
- reducing scale (30" instead of 34")
- reducing gauges (*less* than half the usual)
- tuning to DGCF(AD), as you were planning to
(even though high EADG is a sort of standard for piccolo tuning, nothing prevents one to choose otherwise: there are some who tune a fourth *above* that, to high ADGC)
- a mix of some or all of the above.
If you decide you want the full EADGBE tuning, make sure you get a shorter-scale platform for it: a guitar high E4 on 34" scale doesn't last long, assuming ot doesn't break during the initial tuning, whichever gauge you try (010p, 007p, doesn't matter). Ideally, you want 30" scale or shorter for a high E. Or a multiscale (fanned-fret) instrument. Or a capo. Oh, and bluesy lead guitar string bending is best avoided.
Re strings,
- there are piccolo sets available (by D'Addario and others);
- or yes, you could get an 8-string set, put away the 4 bottoms for regular bass use and install the...4 tops on a dedicated piccolo;
- or you could get single strings, as available on several webstores;
- if you chose a medium- or short-scale bass to convert to piccolo, normal electric guitar strings may be long enough (they're built more or less the same as piccolo strings, bar the smaller ball-end).
Play with the Stringjoy tension calculator
Stringjoy Guitar String Tension Calculator
(specific values are those of Stringjoy products, but strings from other manufacturers will be in the ballpark)
first, to get a feel of typical tensions of both bass and 6-string guitar sets.
Then run a simulation of what you would like to accomplish in terms of tuning,
at the scale length that your intended platform sports (if you already have the bass) or will (when you zero in on what to buy);
and what gauges it would need, if assuming 1) typical bass tension, 3) typical guitar tension, 2) something in between.
And as mentioned by Jeff above, a setup would be in order (you may or may not need a new nut, or
some job done to it to narrow the slots - worry about that if you do experience rattle).
