Questions for you wacky musicians, you.[views:3288][posts:28]________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:08pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] Coupla questions for all'a you folks that tune down. Bass players: Those of you that are playing five and six stringers, if you're in a band that tunes down LOW (C or B, or lower), do you tune down to match your "E" string to the guitar, or do you just shift it over to the B string and play that to match the guitar player's "E" string - or do you ignore the tuning and just transpose on the neck? Guitar and bass players: When you're playing super-low (again, C, B, or lower), are you using heavy gauge strings? If not, is "flappyness" a problem for you? |
| ______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:11pm - blue ""] i kind of dont understand the bass question. i play bass tuned to C right now, so i tune the bass up a half step. but if theres one thing that is for sure: if you tune down, youd better used heavier strings or itll suck big time. |
| ________________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:14pm - whiskey_weed_and_women ""] tune down and use heavy gauges |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:17pm - brad weymouth ""] cwaf tunes to B. It's not a problem if you keep it in that tuning and have it intonated and adjust the neck so it doesn't buzz out. Flappyness is a problem with my gut, not my bass. I play pretty fast and actually find it easier to play fast bass when tuned down. http://forums.returntothepit.com/bandsmp3.php?id=480 that's an example of my ferocious speed picking, note the unfloppyness |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:18pm - brad weymouth ""] i don't use heavier strings, in fact, i found it sucked using heavier bass strings. So Blue and WWW are wrong. 100% wrong....fact |
| ______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:18pm - blue ""] whiskey_weed_and_women said:tune down and use heavy gauges dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. |
| _______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:18pm - Hoser ""] We tune down to C and I use DR .11's Heavier strings will definitely help, but I see no reason at all to go heavier than .11's unless you're playing a Baritone. Heavy strings are most definitely harder to bend and get clean pinch harmonics out of as compared to the standard 8-10's that most metal guitar players favor. All guitars should ba adjusted to the guage string that you're using, to include the truss rod and Trem (particularly if you're playing a Floyd Rose.) If the guitar is not adjusted around the string guage that you're using, it'll end up being improperly intonated and sounding like shit no matter what you do. If you change the guages around frequently, you'll end up with all sorts of differences in intonation and problems as the tension on the neck will be so sporadic that the guitar doesn't know whether you're trying to fart or shit. If you're tuning down, get a heavier set of strings that you like and always use the same brand, same guage and don't switch....because once you switch, you're back at ground zero. I have been playing DR roundwound .11's for years and I rarely have to dick with my intonation, truss, or trem unless the humidity and heat of summer start fucking with my guitar as they usually do. Even when that happens it only requires a few minor adjustments. Good Luck. |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:19pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] blue said:i kind of dont understand the bass question. i play bass tuned to C right now, so i tune the bass up a half step. but if theres one thing that is for sure: if you tune down, youd better used heavier strings or itll suck big time. Exactly my point - I'm used to playing a 5-string against a guitar tuned to E or D at the lowest, so I use the B string for a lower range, playing inverted 5ths against the bass note the guitar is playing, that kind of thing. But I'm guessing a low G is kind of excessive, so if the guitar player is tuning to C I might tune up to match, and if he's playing in B I'd stay where I'm at. Am I making any sense? |
| ________________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:21pm - whiskey_weed_and_women ""] blue said:whiskey_weed_and_women said:tune down and use heavy gauges dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what helps strengthen my fingers :spineyes: |
| ______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:21pm - blue ""] yeah, that makes sense. if the band is in E or D, chances are im going to keep the bass tuned to B and work with it. |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:23pm - brad weymouth ""] DestroyYouAlot said: Am I making any sense? yeth |
| _____________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:29pm - xanonymousx ""] blue said: dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what do you mean by "set up"? i'm brain dead today. |
| __________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:29pm - largefreakatzero ""] We tune to C# and I use D'Addario 11's. Our bass player does not seem to have a problem -- not sure what he's using for strings. |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:36pm - shamash nli ""] i have a les paul and tune to c# using 10 gauge strings. sounds great. if i tuned any lower i'd use heavier strings. i think thats the limit i've found on gibson's. any lower and it sounds like mud. it still lets me bend notes easily. i think iommi used 8's or 9's even |
| ______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:38pm - blue ""] xanonymousx said:blue said: dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what do you mean by "set up"? i'm brain dead today. having the guitar intonated so the action is nice and low and there are no dead frets. |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:38pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] brad weymouth said:DestroyYouAlot said: Am I making any sense? yeth Well, Jethuth Critht! [img] |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 3:40pm - brad weymouth ""] thtop it! [img] |
| __________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:16pm - niccolai ""] 5 string bass is normally tunes BEADG which is the same as B standard on a guitar. D standard on a 5 string bass is ADGCF C standard is G C F Dsharp Asharp and B is just normal BEADG 5 string bass tuning. If you havea light guage set of string, it's possible to tune up all your strings one step from BEADG to CGCFA otherwise normal C standard tuning on a five string bass involves you matching the 4 higher pitches strings to the guitarists 4 top strings. IE CGCF and the thick B string would be dropped 2 steps to A |
| __________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:17pm - niccolai ""] blue said:xanonymousx said:blue said: dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what do you mean by "set up"? i'm brain dead today. having the guitar intonated so the action is nice and low and there are no dead frets. thats just action. intonation means the bridge saddles are set at the proper place so that when you fret E on the fifth fret, you get a perfectly tuned A, ect. The bass was intonated to C standard when I sold it to Destroy YouAlot, so that shouldn't be an issue at all unless he messed with it. I played in C standard on that bass when I was in Terminally Your Aborted Ghost. I believe the strings on it were elixir 50-130 Have you changed the strings sense you bought the bass? also, yes, switching to thicker string will reduce some of the string floppyness. the thicker the string is, the stronger the string tension and the tighter the string. on those 34 scale 5 strings, thick string guages are a must. |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:26pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] niccolai said: otherwise normal C standard tuning on a five string bass involves you matching the 4 higher pitches strings to the guitarists 4 top strings. IE CGCF and the thick B string would be dropped 2 steps to A I understand how I could do it, I'm asking how other people set up. niccolai said: Have you changed the strings sense you bought the bass? Believe it or not, no - but I've only been playing to record at home, other than a few side projects here and there. |
| ______________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:29pm - blue ""] niccolai said:blue said:xanonymousx said:blue said: dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what do you mean by "set up"? i'm brain dead today. having the guitar intonated so the action is nice and low and there are no dead frets. thats just action. yeah, im starting to get lazy on gear threads. i hate typing out all that shit just to find what i typed was an incoherent mess. thats weed for ya. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:33pm - niccolai ""] DestroyYouAlot said:niccolai said: otherwise normal C standard tuning on a five string bass involves you matching the 4 higher pitches strings to the guitarists 4 top strings. IE CGCF and the thick B string would be dropped 2 steps to A I understand how I could do it, I'm asking how other people set up. niccolai said: Have you changed the strings sense you bought the bass? Believe it or not, no - but I've only been playing to record at home, other than a few side projects here and there. Word. When I setup I tune the 4 trebble-most strings to the guitarists' tuning and the bass string accordingly. You're probably due for some new strings, I've had elixirs last me two years and still sound good though. which is probably close to how old those are. perhaps a thicker guage would be best. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:34pm - niccolai ""] blue said:niccolai said:blue said:xanonymousx said:blue said: dont forget to set the guitar up after too, mister i can fit a baseball between the strings and the fretboard. what do you mean by "set up"? i'm brain dead today. having the guitar intonated so the action is nice and low and there are no dead frets. thats just action. yeah, im starting to get lazy on gear threads. i hate typing out all that shit just to find what i typed was an incoherent mess. thats weed for ya. awww skeet skeet motha fucka |
| ________________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:34pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] blue said: yeah, im starting to get lazy on gear threads. i hate typing out all that shit just to find what i typed was an incoherent mess. thats weed for ya. Wait, do I need weed to play in B? I don't understand. Can I get this at Guitar Center? |
| ____________________________________ [Oct 20,2006 4:36pm - anonymous ""] i always used and use still an 11 or 12 light jazz guage string. they're great. no floppy and flapping going on. we tune to b by the way |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 21,2006 9:42am - diamond_dave ""] i used to use .13's but since i play lead now, i've switched to .11's...Ernie Ball not even slinky...i think they are .11-.46 or .48 i replace the .18 with a wound .18-- that always seems to be the loosest string. It takes care of the "flappiness" and since i play mostly power chords it gives me a better tone. oh yeah, we play in B standard. the biggest difference i notice with thicker strings is you definitely get better bass response with heavier bottom strings. for me it's not a biig deal though, because i can pretty much dial it back in, plus i dig the vintage sounding tone i get from thinner strings. |
| _________________________________________ [Oct 21,2006 12:13pm - spaldino@werk ""] i used to play a 5 string tuned down to drop A. the b string was tuned down and the rest of it, from the would be E string, to match the guitars would be A and so forth. i used medium-lite or whatever blue steels as they were expensive, but not elixer expensive. i had no problems with "flappiness" and playing fast finger style was of no problem either. |
| __________________________________________________ [Oct 21,2006 12:44pm - the_taste_of_cigarettes ""] I use the D'Addario XL110s. I've tried using other gauge setups, and frankly they sound way too "thick" when they come out of the amp. Our music asks for a more traditional, even sounding guitar tone, so I stick with a regular gauge of strings even though we tune one whole step down on everything. This makes it sound slightly out of tune, too, and puts less stress on the neck. |
| ___________________________________________ [Oct 21,2006 1:45pm - DEATHAMPHETAMINE ""] I tune down to D and use ernie ball heavy bottom light top strings 10-52 which eliminates flappiness and allows for bending. Now i just need to learn how to play. |