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Strings for B and E standard?
- Thread starter JC14428
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- gauge strings strings
Not practically possible, retuning a set by a fourth almost doubles/halves the tension, so the neck will bow and the setup ruined in one or both tunings. Tension will shift between very tight and super-loose, making it near-unplayable.
The one thing I would suggest is buying a 5 string set, then string your bass with the BEA & D strings. You will be missing your G but it's the thing you sacrifice if you want a low B on your 4 string. Many bassists do this actually. I will say this though, if you aren't familiar with setting up your bass, you'll have to take it to a tech. It's really not that big a deal. But when you string a 4 string with these strings, you have to adjust the neck relief, possibly saddle heights, intonation and even shave some of the nut slots in a lot of cases. I learned that one the hard way as I didn't shave the E slot for a fat B string and it cracked my nut in the E slot. Sometimes I was able to get away with not doing it, it just depends on the bass's nut. So be aware of all these things. I have done this quite a few times with my basses and I've always had to make all these adjustments to them after those strings were strung on said bass. It's really fun and easy if you know what you're doing.
Short of that, you may need to save for a 5 stringer. Because as @ixlramp stated, there is no way you'd be able to do this on one bass. It would be too taxing on the neck and throw it way out of whack to the point it wouldn't be able to be played. I've tuned down as low as an A on a 4 string with standard gauged strings before and adjustments were always necessary when it was tuned. But even then, it didn't play that well for me. You MAY be able to get away with doing this with a medium to heavy gauge string but again, if you tuned one way or the other, it would make playing the bass not that good if it all possible. It's just too drastic of a tension change for one neck to handle without making quite a few adjustments to the bass after tuned.
Short of that, you may need to save for a 5 stringer. Because as @ixlramp stated, there is no way you'd be able to do this on one bass. It would be too taxing on the neck and throw it way out of whack to the point it wouldn't be able to be played. I've tuned down as low as an A on a 4 string with standard gauged strings before and adjustments were always necessary when it was tuned. But even then, it didn't play that well for me. You MAY be able to get away with doing this with a medium to heavy gauge string but again, if you tuned one way or the other, it would make playing the bass not that good if it all possible. It's just too drastic of a tension change for one neck to handle without making quite a few adjustments to the bass after tuned.
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Welcome to the forums!
First idea, it's a great exercise to play 5-string songs on a standard-tuned 4-string. You will need to transpose some notes up an octave, obviously. It is a good musical challenge to figure this out. Maybe you only play the notes below E up an octave. Or maybe you transpose entire sections up an octave, to preserve the contour of the phrase. It is possible to play songs in all 12 keys on a standard-tuned EADG 4-string.
Second idea (mentioned by others above) is to use the bottom 4 strings from a BEADG 5-string set. You will need to "set up" your bass (action, intonation, tone, etc.) with the new strings. And you will not be able to quickly switch back and forth between BEAD and EADG. Restringing to BEAD is a commitment to that tuning.
If you are a beginner, then my recommendation is to just stick with standard EADG tuning for the first few years.
Or you could get an extender for your E string tuner. That way you could get a heavier gauge string, then have the ability to tune your E to a B (when tuned correctly that is) with the flip of a lever. But then you'd be in drop B. Not sure if that's something you'd want though.
And welcome to TalkBass!!!!
And welcome to TalkBass!!!!
Welcome to the forums!
First idea, it's a great exercise to play 5-string songs on a standard-tuned 4-string. You will need to transpose some notes up an octave, obviously. It is a good musical challenge to figure this out. Maybe you only play the notes below E up an octave. Or maybe you transpose entire sections up an octave, to preserve the contour of the phrase. It is possible to play songs in all 12 keys on a standard-tuned EADG 4-string.
Second idea (mentioned by others above) is to use the bottom 4 strings from a BEADG 5-string set. You will need to "set up" your bass (action, intonation, tone, etc.) with the new strings. And you will not be able to quickly switch back and forth between BEAD and EADG. Restringing to BEAD is a commitment to that tuning.
If you are a beginner, then my recommendation is to just stick with standard EADG tuning for the first few years.
This is a great suggestion as well. You can always learn a 5 string song on a 4 string. You may not be able to get as low as a low B, but you can still hit those notes in other octaves. It would def be a great learning exercise to learn the neck, your notes and how to play in key.
After having played two 4-string Fenders (P & J), I finally decided to get a 5-string six months ago - not necessarily to be able to play the low B, but mostly for the low D and Eb.
If you want to stick with the 4-string bass you have, you can experiment with the D-standard tuning (D-G-C-F) as a compromise to see how that would work for you.
If you want to stick with the 4-string bass you have, you can experiment with the D-standard tuning (D-G-C-F) as a compromise to see how that would work for you.
Welcome!
Tuning a string up and down will cause problems. With a B/E string that measures 0.110" in diameter, the tension would vary from 30 to 53 lbs. This makes intonation, action and relief vary as well. The same goes for the other strings.
I modified one of my four string basses to BEAD tuning. To me it's a good compromise, as I don't really miss the G string.
Tuning a string up and down will cause problems. With a B/E string that measures 0.110" in diameter, the tension would vary from 30 to 53 lbs. This makes intonation, action and relief vary as well. The same goes for the other strings.
I modified one of my four string basses to BEAD tuning. To me it's a good compromise, as I don't really miss the G string.
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String for and tune to BEAD; use a capo on the 5th fret when needed. Seriously. Yours is the perfect situation that calls for a capo.
I don't think there is a Bass Xtender Tuning Machine that can do 4th drop down (from E to B). AFAIK, only down to D.
That’s why I kinda said dropped D or whatever. I thought that’s how I put it anyway. And yes, that’s correct. But if you tune the strings to the right tuning, dropping the E string with an extended, again when the stings are tuned the correct tuning one wants, can be dropped to a B with ease. But yeah, it would just be in dropped B then.
By the time you buy a 5 string set of strings ($30) and pay (presumably $50-75) to have your bass set up for BEAD, you are about $50 shy of buying an inexpensive, used 5 string bass.
Just save up $$ best you can and just get another bass. It's virtually impossible to get E and B standard tuning out of one set of strings on a bass.
Just save up $$ best you can and just get another bass. It's virtually impossible to get E and B standard tuning out of one set of strings on a bass.
BEAD for the win! 
if you have 24 frets you will hardly miss the G string...
if you have 24 frets you will hardly miss the G string...
Wouldn't that sound like absolute garbage when you drop it to B?
Using the same gauge string for E & B can't be a good idea.
Yes they will. I've had Hipshots that could drop to B.
Will Lee uses his Extenders set to drop C.
Oh my goodness. Reread my post. I said if he put a heavier gauge of strings on. Jeez guys.
welcome to the forums
another vote here for BEAD tuning, using the low 4 strings from a 5-er set.
there isn't a set of string in existence that will sound good if you try and de-/re-tune between BEAD and EADG regularly (or even once). and as mentioned, varying the tension that much will not be good for your neck.
if you absolutely need the low B and also miss having the high G, you might look into saving some money and trading up for a 5-string eventually.
another vote here for BEAD tuning, using the low 4 strings from a 5-er set.
there isn't a set of string in existence that will sound good if you try and de-/re-tune between BEAD and EADG regularly (or even once). and as mentioned, varying the tension that much will not be good for your neck.
if you absolutely need the low B and also miss having the high G, you might look into saving some money and trading up for a 5-string eventually.
