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Tuning BEAD: A Difficult Sacrifice or Good Riddance?

#27
id miss the G, but i play a 5 (and occasionally 6) string for a reason. i plan to use them all. in my last band, i did a good bit of work on the low B, as a lot of our songs were in Em (they didnt tune down, and i liked to accent the lower octave of the 5th. powerful move). they were also very fond of the Em, Dsus, C, B progression.

but i spent just as much time on the high strings. if i played a 4 string (for what reason, i have no idea. i cant play one to save my life), it would be tuned with the guitars. otherwise its ERB allllll day so i dont HAVE to choose. the only tuning i ever do is drop D when the riff absolutely requires that groove.
 
#32
Big +1 for D standard, (D-G-C-F), gives you a full step down, and you sacrifice *only* the top most 2 frets. Besides, when I played a 5, or BEAD tuned bass, I never really went below a low D anyway. It's the perfect compromise, and on top of it all, you can use a normal heavey E string for the D, like a .110, (though I use a .125)
 
#33
I used 2 basses (fretted & fretless) tuned BEAD for about a year in a Blues band, mainly because the numbers were mostly sung in D E or G, so it worked. Widening of the slots was the only mod, and using the bottom 4 of a 5 string set. Went back to standard no prob without changing the nut, but both headstocks were tilted & had a good break angle.

Can't see much point in F# tuning as (a) you can't hear the fundemental on a low B, so God knows how you can hear a low F# and (b) you'd need collossal power & amazing cabs to project that kind of frequency with any volume & clarity anyway.

No doubt some will pay for it & achieve it, but in the words(ish) of Oscar Wilde 'the amazing thing is that it happens at all'.
 
#35
Kwesi said:
I've always wondered how four string players feel about BEAD. Not whether it's necessary or not but how much you miss the G string in doing so? I know I'd be distraught without all four "primary" strings. So do you guys miss the G when it's gone or is it not that big a deal?
Click to expand...

I tried it for a while ... I really missed the G string.
 
#38
I love TalkBass forums. The thought of B-E-A-D occurred to me this morning, so I searched it here and voila. You guys are the bomb. It appears that there are 2 different methods discussed above; tuning down, or actually buying a thicker B string (probably in a typical 5-string pack). Obviously tuning down would be easier and cheaper, but surely that would screw up the neck in some way, right? Enlighten me, please.
 
#40
I have one tuned BEAD and another standard. I use the standard more, as it just sounds like 'home' to me. And I use the G string, quite a lot. But the BEAD is what it is, and if I only had that at a gig I'd get on with it, see what I could do with it.

I find it encourages me to play more rhythmically and a little sparser. Solos become more essential and less 'wanky', which I like. Different tools make for different approaches.

Get functional and explore it, you might add a new, very useful tool to your arsenal.
 

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