String Gauge to 5 String Drop C tuning as CGCFA!

[michael_t]

I guess I've never understood the alternative tunings. It took me long enough to get muscle memory on my neck with standard tuning. One of the reasons I play a 6 string is to have the ability to play with guitarists who drop tune without me having to do the same. More power to you.

I'm with you in that one thing I would never do is to let guitarists dictate how I should tune my bass. They can do whatever they want with their guitars, but I'm sticking with my BEADG, with the exception of tuning my Fender Jazz to D-standard (DGCF).

 

[MikeBass]

40, 60, 80, 100, 120
A little lighter. honestly though, a regular set wouldn’t do anything/harm.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hello there folks.

I have a Markbass Kimandu 5, 35” scale. My band play in Drop C, and we use a lot of Open string in C. I want to tune my Bass to CGCFA. So I’m tuning up. I need a lighter gauge set of strings so the tension is lower and I can pull up. B to C, E to G, A to C, D to F and G to A.

what gauge do you recommend? I know that I need to take this to a luthier to a proper setup. But I understand i need a lower tension set so I can pull the tuning up without too much stress to the neck.

so what do you think?

View attachment 4989552

That's not drop, it's raised C. And, you'll break your g string doing that. I've tried...a few times. Every other string is fine jumping up two steps. The little guy is not.

What you do is get a 140 B, to 55 G, and down tune to GCGCF

Or, up tune a step to put it in drop B

Or, play it in B standard. It's actually easier than you think.

 

[Will_White]

That's not drop, it's raised C. And, you'll break your g string doing that. I've tried...a few times. Every other string is fine jumping up two steps. The little guy is not.

What you do is get a 140 B, to 55 G, and down tune to GCGCF

Or, up tune a step to put it in drop B

Or, play it in B standard. It's actually easier than you think.

Its Drop C compared to D standard mirroring the bottom strings of a drop C guitar.. B standard works but I wouldn't want to constantly be jumping back to the first fret when the guitar player just has to slam that open string.

A .140 isn't thick enough for G standard and you lose the clarity of the high A string playing higher on the F.

The best way is a custom set, or as has been said multiple times a 6 string set ditching the E string.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Its Drop C compared to D standard mirroring the bottom strings of a drop C guitar.. B standard works but I wouldn't want to constantly be jumping back to the first fret when the guitar player just has to slam that open string.

A .140 isn't thick enough for G standard and you lose the clarity of the high A string playing higher on the F.

The best way is a custom set, or as has been said multiple times a 6 string set ditching the E string.

It is thick enough.

I posted that based on experience.


But, it's not dropped, it's raised. He wants to raise all of his strings two full steps (or 4 notes). The G can't take it. It breaks. Again, experience.

 

[micguy]

Using an odd tuning like that, you should be buying a custom set to get some resemblance of even tension across the strings - there isn't really much hope that a standard set off the rack is going to work well for you. Use the StringJoy calculator (GHS also has one on their site), and aim for the same tension (or close) on every string. I like 35 pounds tension per string, but a lot of folks like a bit higher tension - 40 pounds on each string is kinda middle ground - maybe start there and move up or down as you see fit.

 

[Will_White]

It is thick enough.

I posted that based on experience.

From my own experience it works but the G0 is just flopping around.

But, it's not dropped, it's raised. He wants to raise all of his strings two full steps (or 4 notes). The G can't take it. It breaks. Again, experience.

Drop tuning doesn't refer to lowering tuning compared to "standard", it refers to tuning the lowest string a perfect fifth below the next highest string while tuning the rest of the strings a perfect 4th apart. So he wants to raise the B string a half step and lower the ADG strings a whole step and the C string a step and a half to match his guitar player's tuning. That's if he wants to use a standard set of strings. A custom set from Newtone or piecing together a set from singles would allow him to get exactly what he wanted for slightly more depending on availability and/or customs charges.

 

[TheBogart]

I talked to and experienced luthier. We agreed the best way to do this is to put a light set of strings. We found one. That should be perfect for what I want.

 

[HaphAsSard]

I talked to and experienced luthier. We agreed the best way to do this is to put a light set of strings. We found one. That should be perfect for what I want. View attachment 5001942 View attachment 5001942

Again: best or perfect, I don't know.
It can work, as long as you're fine with the significant jumps in tension across the set.

035 @ A2: 35.3 pounds @ 35" scale
055 @ F2: 50.1 pounds @ 35" scale
070 @ C2: 45.6 pounds @ 35" scale
090 @ G1: 40.6 pounds @ 35" scale
120 @ C1: 31.4 pounds @ 35" scale

^ [From post #11 above.]