Tuning Confusion...

[planbbassist]

First thread. I did a search across all sections and I saw a couple of tuning threads under Basses, so I hope this is the right spot.

Anyways..

I joined a metal band that told me they play Drop A on 7 string guitars so I figured that's Standard Tuning with a Low A string right? Well, the guitarist's idea of Drop A is an octave down A-E-A-D-G-B-E. Am I mistaken as to what Drop A means or is he?

 

[PatQ]

Dropped A tuning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[planbbassist]

So he doesn't have to tune down an octave for it. This might start a fight.

 

[saustindavis]

Why would you want to be in such a band? Another chugalug metal band just like every other metal band... Play in whatever tuning you want, as long as you hit the right notes. I would suggest branching out from just playing the root note or following the guitarist for everything. Hit a minor third or a sixth every once in a while and you will be surprised at the texture it adds.

 

[planbbassist]

I'm in that band because it's better than not playing music at all (WV isn't very friendly to my kind of music) and I don't follow him, it's just him playing in the same tuning as me masks about everything I do.

 

[GypsyMan]

I just looked on the map, isn't Welch in Hatfield territory?

Got a lot of family in WV. Nice to meet ya.

 

[planbbassist]

Yeah, dead in it. I live a stone's throw away from the courthouse all of that went down at.. Funny, I've got family spread out across Texas. Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.

 

[jumbodbassman]

i would have assumed it meant tuning the b string down to an a so all strings down a whole step.

 

[planbbassist]

I wish that's what the guy meant.

 

[GypsyMan]

Funny, I've got family spread out across Texas. Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.

Hilarious,
With the internet the world is a mighty small place!

Have you thought of trying some blue grass? As I get better I start getting interested in different Genres of music.
I remember the wonder in my mind of the music echoing through the mountains; when I lived on my grandfathers farm.

 

[planbbassist]

I grew up on the stuff so I'm afraid I'm burnt out on it. Somewhere around high school, a friend handed me The Mars Volta's second LP "Frances the Mute" and I've been walking down that musical road ever since. Very hard to play that music around here though. I could play every week in a bluegrass group with my family but I would never be happy with it.

 

[GypsyMan]

My understanding of drop D tuning is:

E --> D
A --> G
D --> C
G --> F

I don't do it though, So I'm probably wrong.

 

[GypsyMan]

I grew up on the stuff so I'm afraid I'm burnt out on it.

Yeah I only had the privilege of staying on my Grandad's farm during the summers helping out. So I didn't have a chance to burn out on it.

I'll look up The Mars Volta's second LP "Frances the Mute"

I'm always interested in listening to something new.

Thanks,
Jim The Gypsy

 

[jabsys]

My understanding of drop D tuning is:

E --> D
A --> G
D --> C
G --> F

I don't do it though, So I'm probably wrong.

That would be D standard, drop D is DADG.

To me drop A on a 5 would be AEADG, standard tuning with the B dropped to A.

 

[GypsyMan]

One last question, and sorry for hijacking your thread!

Does your family get paid to play Bluegrass?

 

[AgIdoc]

That would be D standard, drop D is DADG.

To me drop A on a 5 would be AEADG, standard tuning with the B dropped to A.

this is what i think as well

 

[JP Morin]

My understanding of drop D tuning is:

E --> D
A --> G
D --> C
G --> F

I don't do it though, So I'm probably wrong.

generally in "drop" tuning you drop the first or two biggest string down from one step

So on a 4 string bass :
in "Drop D" tuning, instead of the std. EADG you'll have D A D G (Tool and some of Rage against the machine songs are tuned like that)

So on a 5 string bass, Iwhat I've learned to be "drop A" tuning generally is :
A D A D G (Korn are tuned like that as a ref.) but I may be wrong on this... of course if you want you can drop only the B string to A...

I'll suggest you to ask your guitarist to tell you how are tuned all the strings on his guitar so you could match with him : it will be useful on open string riffs as they are very frequent in metal... I've played in metal bands for many year and that's what I always did up to now...

 

[planbbassist]

I'm not sure but they do travel around playing sometimes. I haven't been on the best of terms with them since my musical detour into "devil's music".

 

[planbbassist]

generally in "drop" tuning you drop the first or two biggest string down from one step

So on a 4 string bass :
in "Drop D" tuning, instead of the std. EADG you'll have D A D G (Tool and some of Rage against the machine songs are tuned like that)

So on a 5 string bass, "drop A" tuning generally is :
A D A D G (Korn are tuned like that as a ref.)

of course if you want you can drop only the B string to A but it will not be the so called "drop A" tuning...

I'll suggest you to ask your guitarist to tell you how are tuned all the strings on his guitar so you could match with him : it will be useful on open string riffs...

He tunes A-E-A-D-G-B-E but all down an octave so it's in the bass range.

 

[JP Morin]

I've just edited my first post... lol

as I said personnally I would follow him... but I read somewhere that the bassist from meshuggah uses a weird kind of tuning, he drop his lower string only to low G to match some low guitar riffs one octave down but the rest is tuned more std. and higher so it's not all fluffy... that could be an alternative...