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Why are TBers so against drop or detuning?

#201
I play a fiver in drop C for 2 of my bands [with a low A or B]. Never really used to be into drop tunings, but that low key note comes in handy for all the music I play. Because all the songs are written in C, I can go back to that low note any time I want and it will be easy no matter where I already am on the neck. It's a common style of playing in Rock and Metal and I reckon even Funk guys could really use it a lot. I'd play in C standard, but I prefer that only 1 of my 5 strings needs to be that loose.
 
#202
For me the biggest thing is not having a consistent interval between all 4 strings when in a drop-d tuning. I also don't line the way my d and g feel a full step down. I also don't play 5 string, so if I need a d, c or b I play it on the a string, if necessary I play my e's higher to still go down to c. I like the way bass sounds tuned down a half step, but hate going back and forth, and don't think it's good for string longevity.
 
#204
guroove said:
A question from someone who doesn't do drop tunings, is why DO you do it? I know a 5 string is expensive, so I won't suggest you do that. When you do detune, do you drop one string, or more than one, or all 4? Do you detune all the strings the same amount?
Click to expand...

that depends on the tuning, theres a difference between drop tunings and standard tunings. for example, drop D is DADG whereas D standard is DGCF
 
#207
LC transplant said:
For me the biggest thing is not having a consistent interval between all 4 strings when in a drop-d tuning. I also don't line the way my d and g feel a full step down. I also don't play 5 string, so if I need a d, c or b I play it on the a string, if necessary I play my e's higher to still go down to c. I like the way bass sounds tuned down a half step, but hate going back and forth, and don't think it's good for string longevity.
Click to expand...

A string doesn't "know" what tuning it's in. It's just a piece of metal. How your bass is set up to accommodate a tuning is much more important to how it sounds vs. tuning down then up a measly half step. On my ex Brooklyn NS-2 I'd go from Eb/drop C# in our first set to E/drop D in our second set, same bass, same strings, no in-show adjustments necessary.
As others have said, if you (general you) are getting this hung up still on this topic, I feel pretty bad for you. :o
 
#208
Drop tuning is fine, it's awesome in fact. But if you're doing it to play certain songs on a 4 string there were written for a 5 string it would probably be better to get a 5 string bass if you can afford it. If not, drop tune and have fun. Screw what everyone else thinks.
 
#209
i really don't get what all the fuss is about. Drop tuning or detuning is no different to tuning to open G or something. It's just a different setup for your instrument to let you do different things. Currently on bass i use:
standard (EADG)
drop d / open d (DADG/DADA)
drop c / open c (CGCF/CGCG)
and on guitar:
standard (EADGBE)
drop d / variants (DADGBE/DADGAF/DADGA#F)
drop c / variants (CGCFAD/CGDGBE)
drop a (AADGBE)
drop g (GGDGBE)
none of these are any 'better' or more correct than any other. they are just different tools to create music with, no different to an assortment of pedals.
 
#210
timbledum said:
I've never really seen any alternative tunings except drop d (only the E string down to D), which i do all the time.Guitarists use it because they can then do a bar chord with one finger. It also has a different sound, and the process of using drop d creates different sounding lines because you accidentally use intervals you wouldn't normally use, and it (sometimes) sounds great. Because of this, guitarists design riffs expressly around that tuning using the open d and sometimes it can be near impossible to replicate using a 5 string.

I can instantly think of two songs that we play in drop d, one can easily be replicated with a 5 string as the only reason I play in d is because the song is in the key of d. However the other one has a riff that you need the open d, and the major 6th interval between the strings to play easily.

Case in point: killing in the name of by RATM. Can you play it with a 5 string? Sure! However I would argue that it was designed for and is easier to play in drop d.
Click to expand...

Amen, everything you said is spot on !
 
#213
@rockstarbassist: a string doesn't know what it's tuned to, but a piece of metal can be stretched with constant changes in tensioning, and guitars which are frequently retuned to different pitches tend to wear out strings faster, in my experience (15 years bass, 7 guitar). As far as flogging a dead horse, I got in on this thread late (my first post is on pg 6) but felt that my input was valid as I have spent a lot of time ping back and forth from d standard, to half-step down, to e standard. Drop d is a cheap shortcut solution to a nonexistent problem: modern metal sucks in any key.
 
#215
De-tuners are great. I only recently started using them, and for me they definitely make the 4's more practical within a cover context. I de-tune mine to either Eb or D depending on the playlist. Setting the DT to Eb is kind of nice, because it is pretty easy to further detune accurately to D by hitting the A octave harmonic and tuning to the fifth resonance; and those two de-tunings open up a lot of possibilities.

I don't really know if TB'ers are anti de-tuning. I also don't see the method as being totally a Metal thing. There are so many horn tunes in Eb in the cover literature that the de-tuned Eb makes a lot of sense. Provides some interesting new things to learn in terms of fingering as well!
 
#216
I can tell you this much, basses & guitars are built to be tuned to "Standard 440" tuning, I've been playing bass only for 33 years, leave that 4 string de-tuned to -D or lower for a year, then get a call from your favorite band needing a bassist, and they say "Oh, BTW, we play in standard 440, you'll need a new bass..
 
#218
Perhaps the drop tuning haters should talk to Justin Chancellor about his drop-D tuning....maybe he just doesn't know that 5'ers exist! :rolleyes:

Some songs will chug along on an open low-d and hit a different note intermittently, and it's a common technique in metal and some alternative. If it's what you PREFER to play with and it works for you, who the hell cares? I have people that tell me a foam mute under my bridge cover on my p-bass w/ dead rounds is dumb, that my neck pickup cover on my j-bass is pointless, and that a 2x15's cabinet is dated and ignorant when there are great cabs with smaller speakers and tweeters out there. But you know what? I never asked them to play my s***, so I don't need their opinion on it.

I'm an open-minded guy and jump on a good idea or concept when I see it (my Carvin BX500 class D amp is wonderful, I wouldn't trade it for any other SS amp). Music is an artistic concept and therefore open to differences in taste and perception. This isn't like science, as long as the concept isn't "what is louder?", it's about tone and personal comfort....both of which are taste-oriented. I have my Warwick Corvette tuned to drop-d because I don't need to go any lower than that and a 4-string neck feels MUCH more comfortable to my hands than a 5'er. I even like the tone of a drop-D tuned E string better, it's got some clank which I find a very usable characteristic in metal and hard rock music. Music is awesome because you get to do what YOU want, and what YOU like...nobody can tell you what to play, unless you have been signed to a major record label ;)
 
#219
I played in a metal band about a decade ago where we tuned down to C. I was using a Hartke XL-4 bass at the time, and between the aluminum neck and the EMG pickups/preamp - well, it sounded great, very focused. The only drawback was the songwriting. Every song ended up in C. I should have asked to play one of the songs in E. :)
 

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