• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Tuning down half a step - what's the point?

#63
The reasons that I was always given were:

1. It is easier for singers to sing in flat keys. I wouldn't know about this because I'm not a singer.

2. When you transpose everything down one semitone, the music sounds "heavier." This is what we mostly cared about when we were playing in our high school rock band.
 
#64
It is not pointless to me because I have good reasons for doing it.
First off I play a 5 string bass. Tuning a half step down allows me to easily access Db on the B string in the lower register without having to play open strings in my scale pattern. I wish that I could place C on the B string for the same purpose. Unfortunately that would mean having to detune a whole step on the B string. obviously that would be impossible due to too much flop.

And second reason: the strings become a lot more easier to manipulate which to me equates to easier playing.
 
#65
What's the big deal about it? Some bands tune different than others. Genres are vastly different across the board. If you grew up listening to bands that tune down a 1/2 step, you may prefer that tone. The reverse is true. A whole step down may be the case. Drop D, even. Victor Wooten does a lot of stuff in different tunings.

Pedal tones especially that are low Eb or Ab, if they are often enough and/or fast enough are just easier if that's the way they were recorded originally. Seriously, why the fuss?
 
#67
totallyfrozen said:
My 2 cents:
As I've said in another post elsewhere, I play with a guitarist who tunes down. That's because he plays chords on a guitar. I play individual notes on a bass. If he plays lower than my low E, I just use a 5-string bass. I don't need to tune down, I just play 1/2 step up or down as needed. I don't see any need for the bass to tune down. Let the guitarist be confused about what he's playing with his wacky tuning...we just need to play the right note at the right time.

Alternate tunings on bass just don't make much sense to me.
Click to expand...


It's not that simple at all. I don't see how so many people think you can just transpose a song that's played in a different tuning with a 5 string. For example how would you play a riff like the bass line in Schism where you have to hammer on open D to 10th to 12th fret super fast if your guitarist was tuned a half step down. How would you hammer on from the 4th fret of the A string to the 14th fret and 16th fret? It's impossible. Many songs are impossible to just transpose. You have to play in the correct tuning for your band unless you are playing all easy material.
 
#70
Sleeping Giant said:
The guitarist in my band wants us to tune down a semi tone. This seems to me to be completely pointless.

Does anybody know a real valid reason for it? Is it just so the guitarist can have slightly looser strings to make it easier for his solos?

I have been playing bass for 30 years and whenever I have heard of someone doing this I've thought it's just a waste of time.
Click to expand...

He got that from Stevie Ray Vaughn. SRV did it because of the incredibly thick strings he put on his guitar. It really doesn't make much of a difference for more typical gauges.

Tommy Shannon did it as well--probably because SRV was down-tuned all the time, and it made things easier.

I don't tune down when we are covering an SRV song and the guitarists insist on doing so. I can transpose just fine.
 
#71
BassmanSBK said:
He got that from Stevie Ray Vaughn. SRV did it because of the incredibly thick strings he put on his guitar. It really doesn't make much of a difference for more typical gauges.

Tommy Shannon did it as well--probably because SRV was down-tuned all the time, and it made things easier.

I don't tune down when we are covering an SRV song and the guitarists insist on doing so. I can transpose just fine.
Click to expand...

People were tuning down before SRV, Black Sabbath for one, Van Halen probably, too.
 
#72
Sleeping Giant said:
The guitarist in my band wants us to tune down a semi tone. This seems to me to be completely pointless.

Does anybody know a real valid reason for it? Is it just so the guitarist can have slightly looser strings to make it easier for his solos?

I have been playing bass for 30 years and whenever I have heard of someone doing this I've thought it's just a waste of time.
Click to expand...

IMHO, d-tuning is done for a variety of reasons. The type of music you play has a lot to do with it. For instance in urban gospel, most people (keyboardist) transpose everything to a flat key. Also most of those songs are written in flat keys. It makes it easier to navigate the fretboard and play the song correctly if you are tuned down to a flat key as well (even if you have a 5 or 6 string). It's kinda hard to hit that low Bb is you are using standard:D Another reason is skill level. This is a touchy subject because most people will not admit to it. But it is easier to play a song (if you are a novice) by mimicking the guitar players patterns and fingering. I see this all the time in indie bands, where the bass player is just starting out and doesn't know much, so he/she just copies what the guitar player is doing. However there are some people that just like the sound of a d-tuned guitar or bass. My basses are tuned to standard, but I will tune down if I'm playing a song that calls for it. I used to keep one bass tuned down to A just for church gigs, but it gets confusing going back and forth, so now I only tune down when needed.
 
#75
In the original post he states, "I have been playing bass for 30 years and whenever I have heard of someone doing this I've thought it's just a waste of time." So I would say that, yes, he has heard of this before.
 
#78
Just a note here... Looks like I've developed a burr on my E string's bridge saddle, causing me to break 2 strings right at the saddle in the last month. Best I can figure is that I've been changing tunings pretty often between E and Eb for different bands and the windings have worn a bit of a groove in the saddle. Yet another good reason to refuse this sort of guitarist/singer driven crutch.
 
#79
We like to play in standard tuning. Our guitar player is a professional, and always has three guitars tuned and ready to go. Two in standard tuning (one is the backup, in case of broken strings, etc,) and one tuned down 1/2 step, for songs that need to be tuned down 1/2 step, such as GNR, for example.
When I play bass to a song where he is tuned down, I simply transpose. How do I play the low Eb? Obviously I can't. I simply play it up an octave. Big deal. I do it smoothly, and no one has ever noticed. If they ever did, I suppose I could have another bass on hand. I'm not tuning my Jazz down. I like it in standard tuning, and I'm a total jerk.

Hey, at least I know it.

You got a problem with that?

:)
 
#80
My group also tunes down a half step to e flat, or b flat depending on what bass I play (4 or 5). It helps the singer and older rock bands as well as some newer ones already do this. I think it depends on the singer ultimately........my 2 cents. I'm not a singer (as my job in my band). I guess since I have no real formal vocal training I can't comment, although I can sing certain songs in certain keys but not others........so it makes since that tuning flat might aid a singer........
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back