What gauge for open C Major tuning on a 5 String

[Marco Schwarz]

Hey, OP. Thanks for asking this question. I play a lot of guitar in open C and have often thought how I might tune a bass to compensate. Out of pure laziness, I might play a 5 string in standard tuning, and capo the first fret for C. On a 4 string, I might go up a gauge on the two lower strings so I could play CGCG.

I look forward to seeing what solution works out for you. And don't mind the haters.

On a 4 string, I might go up a gauge on the two lower strings so I could play CGCG.

That is what I've done the last years, worked pretty good with my standard dDarrio 45 to 120 set. That's what I have experienced. I didn't feel any hate, just found interesting how controversal that question is discussed.

 

[Marco Schwarz]

Hey, OP. Thanks for asking this question. I play a lot of guitar in open C and have often thought how I might tune a bass to compensate. Out of pure laziness, I might play a 5 string in standard tuning, and capo the first fret for C. On a 4 string, I might go up a gauge on the two lower strings so I could play CGCG.

I look forward to seeing what solution works out for you. And don't mind the haters.

BTW, I assume OP means me, but what does OP mean?

 

[matante]

Good point regarding the scale length. A Long scale set won't work with a 35" Bass?
The low C with a .120 string would be 38 lbs, which a thought was a good starting point. Unless the String is too short though of course...

The winding on long scale bass strings is about 37 inches long, but a bass with a 35" scale needs strings with a winding length of at least 37.5". These are called either extra long scale or super long scale. To make it more complicated, some companies make strings longer than this and they just call it "long scale".

There's a sticky at the top of this section that tells you how long the strings are from each manufacturer. As a heads up, extra long scale strings are easy to find as sets but not as easy to find as singles. If you don't want to go custom but want to buy singles, your best bet for buying them as singles will be companies like DR or GHS. A lot of their strings are longer than 37.5" by default even though they're advertised as long scale.

 

[HelpImaRock]

BTW, I assume OP means me, but what does OP mean?

Yes, Original Poster.

As I'm sure you've found elsewhere on the internet, guitarists and bassists are weird. There's a wide spectrum ranging from "everything should be in standard tuning and anything else is cheating" to "it's all good". People will hate on alternate tunings, pedals, differing string types and gauges, capos, picks, and anything else you can think of. I think it's very nice of you for calling it "controversial".

 

[micguy]

The OP is in Germany so that might be why he is hesitant. He also will need extra long scale since he's buying a 35" scale bass. That complicates things a little bit more. Maybe that's why he is discouraged. I don't know.

35” is no problem - the challenge with strings at this point is finding strings that won’t wrap around the E tuner on 34” FSO’s - manufacturers have increased winding lengths in response to 35” being out there, making the situation tougher on 34” scales.

As to Germany, I can’t speak to that on strings specifically, but Germany is a first world country; I wouldn’t expect it to be much tougher than the USA - I’ve done live sound in Germany for a dozen events, and never had the impression that gear was any more difficult to get there.

 

[Marco Schwarz]

So, after all the discussion and what I took away from it, a reasonable choice based on GHS Singles would be the following:
(correct me if I´m wrong)

 

[micguy]

26711815[/URL], member: 36253"]The winding on long scale bass strings is about 37 inches long, but a bass with a 35" scale needs strings with a winding length of at least 37.5.

I have a Lakland 35” scale bass in my shop. It has strings with 36.5” winding on it (I measured them). The windings clear the nut (they’re long enough) by 3/8ths of an inch. It’s a typical FSO - a lot of basses have the same geometry.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

the issue here is that the tuning the OP is talking about would result in very inconsistent tension across the neck, if you used a "normal" gauge set of strings and simply retuned.

Makes sense, thank you!

 

[ole Jason]

Open tunings on bass do offer all the same advantages as guitar but they only really make sense if you're playing in a way that utilizes those advantages. If you're doing all this only to play conventional bass lines you may be disappointed jumping through hoops to get a string set that works but may introduce setup issues that will be need to be ironed out. I'd love to hear what you come up with though, alternate tunings are something more bassists should play around with IMO.

 

[Marco Schwarz]

Open tunings on bass do offer all the same advantages as guitar but they only really make sense if you're playing in a way that utilizes those advantages. If you're doing all this only to play conventional bass lines you may be disappointed jumping through hoops to get a string set that works but may introduce setup issues that will be need to be ironed out. I'd love to hear what you come up with though, alternate tunings are something more bassists should play around with IMO.

I´m using that tuning for 15 years now, tbh Devin Townsend made me walk down that road. To me there are two things that make it preferrable to standard tunings. The patterns for youre fingers are the same across the board (for all major and minor chords). In standard tuning you have to use different frets from string string when playing scales. And as long as you are are building you´re chord structures around the root note you can let open strings ring while playing somewhere on the neck, what gives you much more atmosphere. From a guitarists point of view the much better aproach as far as I can tell.... I´m using a 25,5" guitar with 10-52 strings and I love the feel of that setup. Unfortunately bass is a little more complicated as I´m just learning.
However my goal still would be to transfer that tuning to my new bass, as my riffs are using a lot of those ringing strings. Trying to play my stuff in a different tuning would challenge me quite heavily
I have to admit that with the 34" PJ bass I´m using currently the string definiton and the overall tone is not really satisfying. That´s why I´m looking for a longer scale and a bass with soapbars. And I´m too cheap to get a dingwall

 

[Marco Schwarz]

One thing you could do, just to get your feet wet (and adjust for preferred tension later, ordering custom sets from Pyramid as suggested), is buy a 6-string set, from which you'll discard the second-lowest (the E string), with the following gauges:

25~30
40
60
80
100
120~130

Tensions will be nicely balanced (check them against the aforementioned Stringjoy calculator), but lighter than suggested above (30~35 pounds), but not at all outside the range of what is commonly used (more or less like a 095 low E on a standard long-scale bass, or a 100 on a short-scale one). Plus, it will have some of the familiar sound of detuned strings in metal.

Here are some sets with the above specs:
Galli RSB30125 Rock Star (RSB61) Bass Electric 6 string
https://www.thomann.de/de/marleaux_bass_strings_6.htm
Medina BE156N MAGMA E-Bass Professional Series light (30-125
Pyramid 982 Nickel Plated Steel Bass 027/126 6-String, 47,90 €

All sets are long scale. The idea ist good, but I'm still looking for extra long scale strings (maybe even Singles If necessary).

 

[michael_t]

All sets are long scale. The idea ist good, but I'm still looking for extra long scale strings (maybe even Singles If necessary).

"Long scale" strings by most manufacturers nowadays are 37"-37.25" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which should be long enough on a 35" scale as long as they're top-loaded; you would need "extra long" (38" winding) only if you need to put them thru-body.

 

[Marco Schwarz]

"Long scale" strings by most manufacturers nowadays are 37"-37.25" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk), which should be long enough on a 35" scale as long as they're top-loaded; you would need "extra long" (38" winding) only if you need to put them thru-body.

Great Input, thanks man!

 

[HaphAsSard]

Great Input, thanks man!

If it turns out you do need super-long scale strings after all, this set is:
Pyramid 899 Stainless Steel Super Long Scale 027/126 6-String, 57,90 €
(It is also stainless steel, and you may prefer nickel-plated steel but, again, good enough for an experiment in not depending on singles. The discarded E can be saved for an extra standard-tuning bass, or given to a friend, and the total cost may end up similar to that of a custom set assembled from singles. It doesn't hurt to have an overall view of options out there.)

 

[Marco Schwarz]

If it turns out you do need super-long scale strings after all, this set is:
Pyramid 899 Stainless Steel Super Long Scale 027/126 6-String, 57,90 €
(It is also stainless steel, and you may prefer nickel-plated steel but, again, good enough for an experiment in not depending on singles. The discarded E can be saved for an extra standard-tuning bass, or given to a friend, and the total cost may end up similar to that of a custom set assembled from singles. It doesn't hurt to have an overall view of options out there.)

Thanks a lot