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The Modified BEAD 4 String Bass Club

#402
My Factorbird fretless was posted here 7yrs ago (!) - still kickin' - here's a recent recording of my band using it -

upload_2023-6-22_10-39-23.jpeg
 
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#404
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#405
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... :whistle: ... ... ...
:wideyed:
​
Yep! You guessed it. Still even more new Club numbers!!! :woot:


#71 @manchego_eggo

#72 @Danger McLovin

#73 @bass4u

#74 @Solarmist

#75 @Michael Pearce

#76 @Scotland66

#77 @Marko 1

#78 @BrianVengeance

#79 @6thplanet

#80 @NOLA Bass

#81 @Tpi


So, I think I'm all caught up to the current state of this BEAD Club thread, for now. I'll be monitoring to add even more as they post here. If I skipped anyone, let me know. Some people talked about "gonna do this", but I didn't see where they did finally do it. :confused: But there's still a few numbers left for more members! :smug:

And, yep, as always, you can find the entire BEAD Membership list on the BEAD Club Wiki page. :thumbsup:
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#406
Volker Kirstein said:
Yes. There are.
View attachment 3612723
In addition, GHS, D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Fender, and many others make BEAD sets.

I turned my plaid HB Stingray clone into a BEAD machine.
View attachment 3612724


Can I get a number, too?
Click to expand...
G-Dog said:
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Hmmm ... what's this!? Oh, yeah! Still MORE new Club numbers! ;)
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#63 @Volker Kirstein
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And remember, you can see all the BEAD Club Membership list on the BEAD Club Wiki page. :thumbsup:
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Click to expand...
:roflmao: 3 1/2 years!

That plain plaid passive BEAD Stingray clone is now a BEAD Stingkitty.
8f0b2f2714dca0f2-1.jpg
 
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#407
Maybe another minor benefit to BEAD, but needs checking and re-phrasing by someone better than I...
In my case, I *think* I find that the open B is available as thumb rest more often than an open E in that same string position.

Does that even make sense? Open E1-5 are transposed up and over, so still being used as much as before, but somehow over the years my thumb seems to have more hang time muting that B. It must be my perception and not exterior reality, right?

Well there's one benefit to a 4string BEAD over a 5-string BEADC: muting the B on a 4 is inherent to play, not an additional chore to keep in mind while hitting that E.

4-string BEAD vs 5+ string BEADG/C assuming each has 24 frets...

pro
thinner neck
muting the B is easier

cons
lose top 10 notes off the 5-G.
lose 15 notes off the 6-C

This assumes my math is right. I think it is.

If comparing a 19 fret BEAD to any 24fret standard, massive notes are lost.
I'd conjecture that BEAD on a 19 fret is pointless and should be reserved to 24fret+ necks.
 
#408
I just read the updated wiki page.
Love the bene' that no one will borrow your bass. lolz!

Rather than throw that G string out, one old hostel'er trick is to sew a metal strand like a bass string into something like purse or satchel straps, especially if you are on vacation anywhere. If a thief comes along and tries to slice the strap, that bass string should be enough stop the cutpurse from instantly running off with your purse.

At the very least, that moment of delay should cause all sorts of doubts and hopefully run off or change to an easier target -like if your gig bag is the only one of several that won't easily cut -but the one next to yours does. poof-gone! Not yours, though.
 
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#409
Funny enough, I came across a fanned fret bass video by SBL in which he's tuned BEAD, mentions the capo/short scale benefit and suggests/demos the tone as different than if the the strings were open full scale. I hadn't thought about neck length affecting tone to such degree; 24 frets was always about the extra notes for me. At best my vector is garage band amateur, so my understandings and concept-base is relative to the deeper musings by the true pros and old-timers that are here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9U8NBwIKB4
 
#410
Tpi said:
Maybe another minor benefit to BEAD, but needs checking and re-phrasing by someone better than I...
In my case, I *think* I find that the open B is available as thumb rest more often than an open E in that same string position.

Does that even make sense? Open E1-5 are transposed up and over, so still being used as much as before, but somehow over the years my thumb seems to have more hang time muting that B. It must be my perception and not exterior reality, right?

Well there's one benefit to a 4string BEAD over a 5-string BEADC: muting the B on a 4 is inherent to play, not an additional chore to keep in mind while hitting that E.

4-string BEAD vs 5+ string BEADG/C assuming each has 24 frets...

pro
thinner neck
muting the B is easier

cons
lose top 10 notes off the 5-G.
lose 15 notes off the 6-C

This assumes my math is right. I think it is.

If comparing a 19 fret BEAD to any 24fret standard, massive notes are lost.
I'd conjecture that BEAD on a 19 fret is pointless and should be reserved to 24fret+ necks.
Click to expand...
If however you had a 24 fret 4 stringer tuned BEAD and a 19 fret 5 stringer tuned so + G, than you don't lose any tops.
If you just re tuned (re strung for playability) your existing standard tuned 4 stringer to BEAD you lose 5 top notes. Don't think I have ever played so high on bass up in that dusty corner. So for me personally, I would happily ditch the G on a 4 stringer with D as the new tuning. I haven't tried BEAD tuning nor have I ever played a 5 string bass. Very interested in BEAD though
 
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#411
Prodigus Filius said:
If however you had a 24 fret 4 stringer tuned BEAD and a 19 fret 5 stringer tuned so + G, than you don't lose any tops.
If you just re tuned (re strung for playability) your existing standard tuned 4 stringer to BEAD you lose 5 top notes. Don't think I have ever played so high on bass up in that dusty corner. So for me personally, I would happily ditch the G on a 4 stringer with D as the new tuning. I haven't tried BEAD tuning nor have I ever played a 5 string bass. Very interested in BEAD though
Click to expand...

Yeah, on any given neck you're just trading the top 5 for a new bottom 5 and when comparing to different fret counts and string counts, the loss gets negligible or easily countered as you suggest. And as you say, how often are those top 5 on the G really used? Yes, they may very well be missed, but in exchange for all the bene's to BEAD... BEAD is awful enticing.

I think I said in my first post, I'm only keeping one bass around standard E to learn new songs off youtube more easily and do the gymnastic transposing later. Any new noodling I just do straight to my BEADs. Of 35yrs (this fall) I've owned a bass, at least the last 25 have been BEAD.

Oddly, its' easier for me to go from BEAD to EADG than EADG to BEAD for some reason.
 
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#413
Well, I don't know how strings work for short scale basses at all to say on that point.

Frankly, most of my years, I just kept my EADG strings, tuned down adjusted the truss and saddles myself to suit. It's only last few years I've gone to a real B string and I haven't gigged, recorded or done anything in that time that would be a worry about floppiness. A slappy string can be slightly countered by playing lighter and at different points along the string length as an intermediary solution.

All that said, my current new bass is in the shop being specifically setup for B. The nut is being drilled and all that. So despite my long years, later this week will be the first time I've ever had a properly setup BEAD. I am likely to have my secondary BEAD 'officially' setup in the coming months after I strip it down and reassemble it with new paint work. There's a thread about loss/gain of light vs heavy gauge strings around here. So my EADG gave a different tone, but it worked for me.
 
#415
Hey guys, been reading through this thread (haven't made it all the way through yet) because I'm thinking of setting up my old Vega bass to BEAD.
Been playing bass for over 40 years and never owned a 5 string, and this bass has been mostly unused for the past few years.
Do you think this bass would work out for BEAD? It's a string thru body so do you think I will have problems getting it to intonate properly? It's also 34" scale. I can do my own setups and general mods so I will be doing any mods myself. Do you think this is a bad idea for this particular bass or could it work out?
Recommendations on string type and gauges appreciated if so.
Thanks! And here's a couple older pics of the bass in question.

 
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#417
grrg63 said:
I think it would be great for BEAD, looks solid and like it would have at least a fairly beefy neck. I bet it would handle a B string like a champ.
Click to expand...

Thanks! it does have a solid neck and is a solid bass. Does the bridge usually have to be moved back some for the B string to intonate? I ask because this Vega is a string through body. Thanks again!
 

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