The Modified BEAD 4 String Bass Club

[DavidOfChatham]

Well, nuts to you!

Have you had those nut files for a while or are they new?

Looks like a P Bass neck?

Yes — Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Precision bass. My one and only (so far).

Just got the files! It's the MusicNomad bass file set. Sort of overkill for this little project, but maybe I'll get to do more with them in the future!

 

[DavidOfChatham]

Welcome a new Club number! ​

#115 @DavidOfChatham

I'll be monitoring to add more members as they post here. If I skipped anyone, please let me know. There's still a few numbers left for even more members!

And, you can find the entire BEAD Club Membership list on the BEAD Club Wiki page.

Thank you, sir!

 

[joeLowB]

Yes — Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Precision bass. My one and only (so far).

Just got the files! It's the MusicNomad bass file set. Sort of overkill for this little project, but maybe I'll get to do more with them in the future!

Excellent. Go easy with the files...they are very effective. But a couple of strokes at a time!

Enjoy the BEAD!

 

[Bassonder]

I have tuned my Ibanez GSRM20B miKro 4 string to BEAD tuning but I'm having trouble getting the B intonated properly. Per the recommendation of Prodigius Filius I have replaced the screw with a shorter one to make the saddle go back further and I have even removed the little spring (any downside to that?) to make the string as long as possible. I also lowered the action as much as possible. Despite all this, the B is still sharp about 10 cents on the 12th fret.

Is there anything else I can do? Adjust the truss rod? Replace the bridge? Or am I doing something completely wrong/should I get someone more experienced (perhaps even a luthier) have a look at it?

It is much better than before when it was 30 cents sharp but I'd like to get it a little closer to perfect, even if I'm not going to play the 12th fret itself.

How does the GSRM25 deal with that lower B? Does it have a longer neck than the GSRM20? A different bridge? Or has it just been setup properly at the factory by someone who knows what they're doing?

 

[Bassonder]

I just noticed that the nut was not sitting straight after re-stringing, setting it straight helped quite a bit. I then filed out the nut for the B just a little bit more to make it sit a little lower and now it's around 5 cents on the 12 fret.

Is the action on these things not a bit high coming from the factory?

 

[G-Dog]

I have tuned my Ibanez GSRM20B miKro 4 string to BEAD tuning but I'm having trouble getting the B intonated properly. Per the recommendation of Prodigius Filius I have replaced the screw with a shorter one to make the saddle go back further and I have even removed the little spring (any downside to that?) to make the string as long as possible. I also lowered the action as much as possible. Despite all this, the B is still sharp about 10 cents on the 12th fret.

Is there anything else I can do? Adjust the truss rod? Replace the bridge? Or am I doing something completely wrong/should I get someone more experienced (perhaps even a luthier) have a look at it?

It is much better than before when it was 30 cents sharp but I'd like to get it a little closer to perfect, even if I'm not going to play the 12th fret itself.

How does the GSRM25 deal with that lower B? Does it have a longer neck than the GSRM20? A different bridge? Or has it just been setup properly at the factory by someone who knows what they're doing?

Welcome a new Club number! ​

#116 @Bassonder

I'll be monitoring to add more members as they post here. If I skipped anyone, please let me know. There's still a few numbers left for even more members!

And, you can find the entire BEAD Club Membership list on the BEAD Club Wiki page.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

...

Then I went shopping and just didn't fall in love with any 5 string at any price point. My fingers are short and the necks just felt too wide.
...

This, BTW, is why I went the BEAD (OK, ADGC) route. The V I tried was difficult to play, and always resulted in my left hand cramping within 20 minutes. Even after a couple of weeks of playing it every day and being very conscious of left hand position and technique. Converting a bass I already knew my hands liked was a no-brainer.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

WRT drawbacks (on the WIKI page):

• [Some] can't play in standard tuning any more and don't want to go to a 5-er
• Lose the top 10 notes on a 24 fret G string or the top 5 notes on a 19 fret
• Learning new songs [may] require transposing frets, sometimes on the fly
• They won't borrow your bass - "You ain't tuned right!"

1, 3, and 4 are true, but to me not drawbacks. They were already in effect since my standard tuning has been DGCF for a few years.

 

[G-Dog]

... ... Then I went shopping and just didn't fall in love with any 5 string at any price point. My fingers are short and the necks just felt too wide. ... ...

This, BTW, is why I went the BEAD (OK, ADGC) route. The V I tried was difficult to play, and always resulted in my left hand cramping within 20 minutes. Even after a couple of weeks of playing it every day and being very conscious of left hand position and technique. Converting a bass I already knew my hands liked was a no-brainer.

You & me both, Miley. I still have my Line 6 Variax 5-string for it's modeling of various iconic basses, which I really love. But, it's too heavy, and the neck too wide, for me to use all the time, dang it! I tried and tried for a few years, but picking up a 4 banger just felt SO much better.

WRT drawbacks (on the WIKI page):

• [Some] can't play in standard tuning any more and don't want to go to a 5-er
• Lose the top 10 notes on a 24 fret G string or the top 5 notes on a 19 fret
• Learning new songs [may] require transposing frets, sometimes on the fly
• They won't borrow your bass - "You ain't tuned right!"

1, 3, and 4 are true, but to me not drawbacks. They were already in effect since my standard tuning has been DGCF for a few years.

Yeah, I was really reaching to find Drawbacks to BEAD for the wiki list. Suggestions are welcome!

1, playing standard EADG tuning again is no problem for me coming from BEAD. And I don't mind using my 5-er now and then. But, ...​

I considered DGCF for a while, thinking I could pro'lly switch to a standard tuned bass without too much trouble. But, the low D just didn't resonate with me like the B does. And the ADGC tuning is just not within my comfort zone at all, as a guitar/bass switch hitter!​

​

2, has never been a problem for me. I can find the lower version of those lost notes, or an interesting harmonic, easily enough.​

​

3, having EAD on my bass allows me to learn new songs quite easily! (Picking out bass lines is how I have always started learning new songs on guitar!) And if it seems to call for a lot of G string, I just move up the neck. Then I'm probably gonna re-voice it lower on the neck anyway (unless there's a really valid aesthetic reason not to).​

​

4, is listed on both the Drawbacks and the Benefits to BEAD wiki lists, depending on various inter-personal dynamics at any given time.​

 

[poochiecheeks]

I just noticed that the nut was not sitting straight after re-stringing, setting it straight helped quite a bit. I then filed out the nut for the B just a little bit more to make it sit a little lower and now it's around 5 cents on the 12 fret.

Is the action on these things not a bit high coming from the factory?

Look up setting witness points. B string needs to be bent over the saddle fully otherwise the action will be way high, intonation will be off and it will sound warbly. Press down on the string immediately in front and behind the saddle and check intonation/action again, same with the nut side on all strings

 

[Bassonder]

Look up setting witness points. B string needs to be bent over the saddle fully otherwise the action will be way high, intonation will be off and it will sound warbly. Press down on the string immediately in front and behind the saddle and check intonation/action again, same with the nut side on all strings

Thank you so much, that made a huge difference. I looked this up like you said and my B string especially was definitely arcing up from the saddle just like the various pictures I've seen on this topic. After setting the witness points my B string now intonates properly and I even had to move the saddle forward a bit again because now it was flat on the 12th fret. Still need the shorter screw but this really made all the difference!

 

[poochiecheeks]

Thank you so much, that made a huge difference. I looked this up like you said and my B string especially was definitely arcing up from the saddle just like the various pictures I've seen on this topic. After setting the witness points my B string now intonates properly and I even had to move the saddle forward a bit again because now it was flat on the 12th fret. Still need the shorter screw but this really made all the difference!

Awesome. I struggled with that too until someone told me the same thing. Getting the B string height and the pickup height right is the next toughest thing but just takes some messing around with it.

 

[HoHumbucker]

In my zeal to ensure my gear is well ahead of my skill, I am kind of interested in making a short-scale BEAD unit.
Buy something new for mods? (Sterling RaySS4, Squire CV, Ibby TMB30, Gretsch G2220)
Take something out of my inventory and mod? (Sire U5 maybe)

Any good/bad ideas in my list? Talk me in or out of any options?
Seems like strings is not really an issue for any of these.
Any of these easier or harder to restore back to EADG if I decide to go back? (mostly because I don't have a luthier near me and learning to do my own work).

 

[Gadgetman6754]

My BEAD was done on my Schecter Stilleto Studio 4. I do have a short scale, but haven’t converted it… all that say that I’m curious about recommendations for this as well…

 

[RavenousPoe]

My guitarist and I (in both bands together) spent all day Wednesday transposing the bass parts from the band that we joined, which is tuned to Drop C#, into BEAD. It's something that we've been meaning to do for awhile, and was so much fun! A lot of the riffs ergonomically play a lot better in standard, and the only drawback is that since it's a metal band, there are some "open" C#'s that I now must fret. But they have really creative parts, and thankfully don't all rely on open notes.

 

[RavenousPoe]

In my zeal to ensure my gear is well ahead of my skill, I am kind of interested in making a short-scale BEAD unit.
Buy something new for mods? (Sterling RaySS4, Squire CV, Ibby TMB30, Gretsch G2220)
Take something out of my inventory and mod? (Sire U5 maybe)

Any good/bad ideas in my list? Talk me in or out of any options?
Seems like strings is not really an issue for any of these.
Any of these easier or harder to restore back to EADG if I decide to go back? (mostly because I don't have a luthier near me and learning to do my own work).

Of course this isn't a universal rule and everyone's tastes differ, but I was blown away trying BEAD on my SBMM Stingray because of that bridge humbucker. I had tried before on a P, Spector PJ, Jazz, and Warwick Corvette, and the Spector and SBMM are the only two that truly wowed me. I bet the RaySS4 would be killer here.

 

[G-Dog]

My guitarist and I (in both bands together) spent all day Wednesday transposing the bass parts from the band that we joined, which is tuned to Drop C#, into BEAD. It's something that we've been meaning to do for awhile, and was so much fun! A lot of the riffs ergonomically play a lot better in standard, and the only drawback is that since it's a metal band, there are some "open" C#'s that I now must fret. But they have really creative parts, and thankfully don't all rely on open notes.

Welcome a new Club number! ​

#117 @tpoez28

I'll be monitoring to add more members as they post here. If I skipped anyone, please let me know. There's still a few numbers left for even more members!

And, you can find the entire BEAD Club Membership list on the BEAD Club Wiki page.

 

[joeLowB]

So, I got serious with my BEAD bass and did a careful file of the nut this afternoon. Got the good MusicNomad files and carefully got the nut slots widened and lowered.

I also dropped the saddles...taking the strings to the point of fret buzz, then pulling them back up a quarter turn.

I've actually been playing this bass in our worship band since last July. This is the biggest setup change I've made since I got this bass.
It feels good so far...will get a full test on Sunday.

.

 

[JosephLB]

Hey everyone! I’m so glad this club was recommended to me by @Prodigus Filius! I’ve been doing this for a few years but no other bass players seem to do it where I live so I was beginning to think I was alone. The 3 Ray 34s are BEAD and the Schecter Corsair is about to be!

 

[JosephLB]

My BEAD was done on my Schecter Stilleto Studio 4. I do have a short scale, but haven't converted it… all that say that I'm curious about recommendations for this as well…

I’m doing it to my new Schecter today!