Members mikejcurtis Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I just started in a new band. I've always liked the way my guitar sounds when I tune it to Eb ala SRV or Jimi, this new bass player I have though says he's never encountereed that before and if he tries to detune his bass to match me, he says the strings are too flabby and it looses the punch. My question is did Noel Redding and/or Tommy Shannon tune thier basses to Eb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bassius Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 yes they did. (ie crossfire, SRV) your bass player is a wuss. welcome to the forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 If he's getting his bass "unplayable" by just detuning half a step, something is amiss on his end. I"m not sure if Noel did, but most if not all transcriptions I see from Tommy have him at least with his E string at Eb, with the other 3 standard, if not his whole bass half step down. Just tons easier w/ that open Eb and not having to fret 11th-E string or 6th-A string. Some will disagree b/c we like to have pissing contests here, but yeah, he should be able to drop half a step and not effect anything major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikejcurtis Posted June 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Damn it! That's what I thought! Crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Damn it! That's what I thought! Crap. Tell him we think he's a big sissy. Should help. Btw, I used to have a girl-friend from Orono, Maine. Random, but just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 dude... i tune my 5 stringer to A or F#... that's respectively 1 and 2.5 steps down from an already very low B... now, that is tuning {censored}ing low... lower then 98% of the bass players will ever go... Eb? that is laughable. it's an almost unnoticable difference in tension and the punch will be unaltered unless his bass is a freakin' Harley Benton or something. ... so, to put it in very few words... you bass player is a freakin' wuss. kick him in the dick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikejcurtis Posted June 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 We got some fine women here! A lot of dorky college athlete types too. Makes for a great place for a handsome and dashing guitar player such as myself (JUST KIDDING about that last sentence!) I'm going to stand my ground and tell hime to tune the hell down and let's get that heavy sound goin'!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Yeah, Eb should be a walk in the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 My old band played everything 1/2 step down - I tuned all my basses that way even my 32" scale bass. Never a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 i don't like tuning down at all. a large part of my style is reacting to the bounce of the strings and a detuned bass doesn't have the boinginess i like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassandgolf Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 or use a 5 string and transpoae... what a concept! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldivor Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Thicker strings can also help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbl Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Just ask him to buy a heavier string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 or use a 5 string and transpoae... what a concept! Although I play a 5er quite a bit, I also have 4 strings set up for Eb - in my experience, an open Eb on a 4 string sounds better than a fretted Eb on a 5er... Plus, some songs are a real bastard to play on a 5er that way, and still sound good - while they're a slam dunk on a 4 string tuned down... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Regarding the OP - dropping down a 4 string a half step to Eb tuning should be no trouble at all... I use GHS Boomer mediums, and it's no trouble at all - not at all floppy, either... He will have to make a minor truss rod adjustment, and set his intonation accordingly, to make things proper - but neither is a big deal... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Regarding the OP - dropping down a 4 string a half step to Eb tuning should be no trouble at all... I use GHS Boomer mediums, and it's no trouble at all - not at all floppy, either... He will have to make a minor truss rod adjustment, and set his intonation accordingly, to make things proper - but neither is a big deal... - georgestrings Yeah, if even that. On my Mod I've gone from standard E to drop D to full Eb w/ no adjustments and no intonation issues. 'Course that's on a graphite neck, but still... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbl Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 When I joined my band and found out we tuned to Eb, I was a little bit indignant. Then I realized that I wasn't the lead singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rpsands Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I usually just transpose Eb and D songs to the 5'er these days, though that's a lot of work. Someday I'll keep an drop D and an Eb bass handy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members db. Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Geez, it's only a 1/2 step down. It shouldn't be a problem unless something is screwy with his bass setup. I tune my short scale to Eb and it rocks, so I'm not sure what your bass player is talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 My question is did Noel Redding and/or Tommy Shannon tune thier basses to Eb? no offense dude, but i'm guessing you aren't Jimi Hendrix or SRV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I used to tune down to Eb for my first two years of playing bass. No problems with it. I just prefer tuning to E now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JacieFB Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 I'm in the Eb club, myself, for a couple of reasons. First of all, it encourages me to sing a hair lower...stretch my range the other direction. Even the higher stuff, it kinda takes the ice off of the high notes. Secondly, I am a fairly light touch guitarist and I do like the feel. My bassist hasn't complained yet. When I played bass as my main instrument, we usually played in standard, although we went down to drop D and it wasn't a problem. Well, it was aparently a problem for my guitarist to play real guitar chords. If your bassist is like a lot of us, he may want to do a setup on his instrument and make sure it is intonated properly. But it really isn't that big of a deal. Okay...until you go to learn a couple dozen covers that are in standard. That's kind of a PITA, if you ask me. But it's easier on the strings than it is on the vocalist, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikejcurtis Posted June 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 no offense dude, but i'm guessing you aren't Jimi Hendrix or SRV Jaco, man I thought you had passed away too?!? You don't need to get pissy miss God, I don't think I said I was Jimi or Stevie, I just said I like the way it sounds and I've written all of my songs in that tuning. I can do it in E, but it doesn't sounds as good and it's a bit harder to sing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted June 9, 2009 Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 Jaco, man I thought you had passed away too?!? You don't need to get pissy miss God, I don't think I said I was Jimi or Stevie, I just said I like the way it sounds and I've written all of my songs in that tuning. I can do it in E, but it doesn't sounds as good and it's a bit harder to sing. i'm just messin, buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikejcurtis Posted June 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 9, 2009 i'm just messin, buddy! Juss messin back man! You're cool, I'm cool, we all cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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