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Tuning BEAD: A Difficult Sacrifice or Good Riddance?

#82
I'll remember not to take the route of the 5 string dollar. That's not a good dollar according to the marketing genius that is Gene Simmons.

Anyway, I've never really been in a band situation where I've not felt the need to have less than the whole 5er set, mainly because I see the 5 string as two 4 string tunings in one. If I had the money squander then sure I'd maybe get two in those tunings but I think I'd still feel more comfortable with the 5 string after getting used to it after so long.
 
#83
i haven't read the whole thread so someone might have hit on this already... i play four string most of the time but i have spent a lot of time on a 5 string in the past.. and last night.. i just played a gig with a 5 string... and i remembered why i like 5 and why i Dislike switching from a 4 to 5 or vice versa...

Like:
-I can get to the open E sound without letting go of the strings
-In general I have more range at any given point on the neck without moving my hand up or down the fretboard.
These are two small points but they have fairly strong implications

Dislike:
- When I use a 5 string in writing a song, the patterns that come out don't necessarily use the low notes of the B string but they may need the B string in close proximity to the higher notes for quick and easy access. So when switching to a 4 string and trying to play the same song with the exact same notes i may have to drastically change my patterns which tend to lead to a sloppier performance.


So at the end of the day I like 4 and 5 equally
But I always write with a 4 so I don't have any issues with performance.
 
#84
Jester's Fury said:
As for Sub B string tunings, didn't TB's very own Jauqo III-X have a bass tuned with a low F#?
Click to expand...

It's my sub contra bass and it's tuned C# F# B E.




Jester's Fury said:
It was meant to be felt, but I don't think you could hear it. I'll look it up later.
Click to expand...


With all due respect it was originally meant to be heard. And it is heard very clearly. Audience members always comment on how they are so surprised that they can actually hear the open C# string so clearly.




TapyTap said:
Actually, it is C#0...a perfect fourth below F#0.
Click to expand...



You are correct. Thank you.


And to answer the op's original question.

For me each bass is nothing more than a tool. Whether it's 4, 5, 15 string. Fretted or fretless or my sub contra bass which has no G string. I do not miss it at all when I'm utilizing the function of my sub contra bass.
 
#89
Rockmusician said:
When you think about it, the only thing a low B string does is give you a total of 5 notes that are an octave lower than you would have if tuned to E. I played a 5 string for many years. The low B was nice but you could feel it more than hear it. There really wasn't any clarity to it.

The following was taken from Gene Simmons website. It sums up how he feels about 5 string basses and the low B:

Gene:

I've always seen you perform with four-string basses. A friend of mine who's been a professional musician and plays the bass talks about how his dream bass is a five-string and how it has one string lower than the four-string. Was wondering if you've ever used a five-string bass and if you just prefer four strings.

Best,

Rick



Response from Gene:

It's a waste of time. You can't hear the low bass string and it's strictly musicianitise (a rare disease that hits musicians -- the symptoms include a delusional notion that the masses care about double neck guitars or 5 string basses. In all seriousness, if your friend likes it, I say do it. But, it won't put a single dollar more in your pocket.
Click to expand...

Obviously, Gene has never played a Dingwall...or a Knuckle Quake! :D
 
#95
All of my 4 bangers are BEAD. I love it! Once I did this (2005)I never looked back, and never missed the G, playing in many different settings: metal, P&W, classic rock, jazz, country, bluegrass........basically anything. Ive never had any neck issues either, and that is on 9 different basses. In fact a couple of them play better. My main bass has 24 frets so that makes it even better.

Now my 5 stringers collect dust.

What is weird tho is that now when I play another 4 stringer strung EADG, it sounds funny. The G sounds way too high and feels very small. It does kinda suck having to spend the extra $ on 5strings sets...........I have a stack of brand new G's that will never get used.

Circle K is the only company i know of that sells 4string BEAD sets. Any one know of any others?
 
#98
Nice to see Jauqo III-X chiming in... and as far as Gene Simmons is concerned, I'll just observe that there's a dude who knows how to make a dollar with his resources. I'm not a real big fan myself- except for that bassline to "Detroit, Rock City", which is pretty cool, and some nice solid playing over a fairly overplayed career... lol!- but as far as advice on what matters to your garden-variety, hard-working, bare-knuckled rock music fan, a 5 string bass is as relevant as breakfast cereal. No one beyond your fellows or band-mates cares what you play.

It's the pocket, it's the energy, it's the gag. That's rock n' roll, and between that and corporate investment, you have a potential fortune. Or maybe it's had, at this point!

Now a question for Jauqo: Hey man, do you think that the pickups on your bass bring out the clarity of that low C#? I have a low-B on a MIM Fender Precision, and it functions for all intents and purposes, but I don't know if I could get that low C# to happen so well on my bass. Not that I've tried!
 

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