Who uses open tunings on bass?

[Les Fret]

I play around with open tunings from time to time. They give you extra options for chords and harmonics and just generate new ideas. In this track that I recorded today on my Moon jazz bass I use an open CGCG tuning (from low to high), hence the title "Can't Give Cats Gum"

Who else uses open tunings? and why? Curious about your thoughts.

 

[Les Fret]

No one interested in open tunings?

 

[Bob_Ross]

By "open tunings" I'm presuming you mean the same general concept as open tunings on guitar, where the instrument is tuned to a particular chord rather than a (semi-)symmetrical stack of intervals...right?

Since at least 80% of the time I'm using bass as a monophonic instrument -- playing single-note lines rather than chords/simultaneities -- the idea of tuning the bass to one specific chord has very little appeal to me personally.

otoh, I've always been curious about non-standard tunings for bass, and have done some experiments with both stacked 5ths (aka 'cello tuning) and reciprocal inverted 5ths (aka Chapman Stick tuning). I've also on rare occasions dicked around with my 8-string octave-course bass by de-tuning the string pairs to something other than octaves.

But no open chords, sorry.

 

[Les Fret]

By "open tunings" I'm presuming you mean the same general concept as open tunings on guitar, where the instrument is tuned to a particular chord rather than a (semi-)symmetrical stack of intervals...right?

Thanks. Yes, as you can see in the video I am using CGCG tuning there. It doesn't necessarily have to be a chord though. Can be any combination of tones basically. Sometimes I use DADF# or BADG or other tunings. You can also call it alternate tunings since it doesn't have to be an open chord.
As said it can generate new ideas, new chord possibilities, new intervallic lines and new harmonics etc.
I don't mean the general down tuning tunings.

 

[Groove Master]

Michael Manring ;-)

 

[Les Fret]

Michael Manring ;-)

Yes I know! He uses many open and alternate tunings. But I got it more from guitar.