why do people insist on drop tuning?

[squish_man24]

nah i just don't like loose floppy detuned strings. :poke:

then set up your bass so it's not floppy...
Mine is basically permanently set up in drop d (DADG) and there is nothing wrong with the way it plays since I set it up to be like that

[bbl]

How about 1/2 step down (Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)?

Our band does it and I love it. When I'm learning a cover that's tuned to concert pitch, I'll play it on my bass that's tuned 1/2 down. Then when our band plays it, we adjust and play in the same "position" as the orginal.

It has forced me to learn a lot more keys and positions.

[brake]

Four strings were enough for Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. They were enough for Charles Mingus, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. Four strings were enough for John Entwistle, Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones. I'll never play in any of those leagues, but, given the evidence, I'd say that four strings ought to be enough for me.

 

 

 

The fact that you would limit yourself to a 4 string because other people didn't feel the need to use them is kind of sad. Sorry, but it is.

[Thumper]

My '79 Franken-P/J is tuned and set up BEAD. I'm not a fan of fivers, though more power to those who like them.

[Kindness]

The fact that you would limit yourself to a 4 string because other people didn't feel the need to use them is kind of sad. Sorry, but it is.

 

 

Those types of posts are usually (1) ignorant (2) looking for a fight or (3) poorly worded. I'm willing to bet it's #3 for Isaac. I've listened to his music and I've interacted with him on the board, he doesn't strike me as someone bound by convention, ignorant or looking for a fight.

[bbl]

The fact that you would limit yourself to a 4 string because other people didn't feel the need to use them is kind of sad. Sorry, but it is.

 

 

The fact that you think a player that sticks to 4-strings is "limiting" himself is sa...

 

Well, you get the point. I think isaac is just saying that there's ample evidence to support his claim that he doesn't need anything more than 4-strings. Nothing wrong with that. Others want 5+ strings, or just 1 string. Nothing wrong with that either. To each his own. I didn't interpret any superior attitude from isaac. He didn't refer to any other preference (of anyone else here) than his own.

 

Now, I'm not looking to start a fight either, but... do you really think that players who stick to 4-strings are limiting themselves?

[Roger in the sky]

The fact that you would limit yourself to a 4 string because other people didn't feel the need to use them is kind of sad. Sorry, but it is.

 

 

if you read that again you might see that it was a rebuttal of the claim "anyone who dosen't play 5 or 6 strings is a pansy"

[brake]

T Now, I'm not looking to start a fight either, but... do you really think that players who stick to 4-strings are limiting themselves?

 

 

 

Yes. You can't get a low B or a high C out of a standard tuned 4 string bass.

[brake]

if you read that again you might see that it was a rebuttal of the claim "anyone who dosen't play 5 or 6 strings is a pansy"

 

 

 

 

Gotcha. My bad.

[ezweave]

 

if you read that again you might see that it was a rebuttal of the claim "anyone who dosen't play 5 or 6 strings is a pansy"

 

 

Indeed!

 

I think it's stupid to make sweeping statements about something that is clearly subjective.

 

However, I have found that all of my five strings and every six I have played that uses a low-B string always has a "booming" B... it's always louder and deeper, maybe less musical sounding. That's mainly why I don't use my five much anymore. (Yes, you can adjust for this, but four is fine for me... taste and all.) You can always tune a four string whichever way you prefer (BEAD - EADG - ADGC, etc).

 

I'd add this (from Shadrach off of Paul's Boutique):

 

 

Only 24 hours in a day

 

Only 12 notes a man can play

 

 

[bbl]

Yes. You can't get a low B or a high C out of a standard tuned 4 string bass.

 

 

In my musical context, I don't see that as "limiting." I don't need those notes. It's like saying a 7-stringer is limiting himself if he doesn't play a 9-stringer.

 

The only way any instrument can limit a player is if it doesn't allow him to express what he wants to express.

[isaac42]

 

The fact that you would limit yourself to a 4 string because other people didn't feel the need to use them is kind of sad. Sorry, but it is.

 

 

Way to miss the point.

[isaac42]

Those types of posts are usually (1) ignorant (2) looking for a fight or (3) poorly worded. I'm willing to bet it's #3 for Isaac. I've listened to his music and I've interacted with him on the board, he doesn't strike me as someone bound by convention, ignorant or looking for a fight.

 

 

Poorly worded in what way? All I said was that four strings on a bass have been sufficient for several centuries, and that they ought to be sufficient for me. So far, that has been the case. Consider the possibility that the problem doesn't lie with me at all, but with the prejudices of others.

[isaac42]

if you read that again you might see that it was a rebuttal of the claim "anyone who dosen't play 5 or 6 strings is a pansy"

 

 

Precisely.

[Kindness]

Nor did I judge anyone who uses a pick, or plays 5, 6, 7, 8, or 12 strings. I said four were enough for me. You might work on not reading into what people write.

 

[elsongs]

Four strings were enough for Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. They were enough for Charles Mingus, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. Four strings were enough for John Entwistle, Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones. I'll never play in any of those leagues, but, given the evidence, I'd say that four strings ought to be enough for me.

 

 

Nothing wrong with playing only four strings. If your lowest note is "E" then that's all you need. But if you need to go any lower then don't half-ass it.

[t3ch]

Yes. You can't get a low B or a high C out of a standard tuned 4 string bass.

Even if I had a high c I'd never use it. And I rarely use the low B on my fiver, so I just stick with a 4-string.

To each their own, not everyone is playing music that requires that much fretboard room. Actually, if I DID have that much, it would probably actually hinder me because I wouldn't know what to do with it all

[Rocknrumble]

I'd like to go back to the original question: "Wouldn't a 5 string be easier?"

Sometimes, but not always. If you're pedalling on the low D, drop tuning is much easier. For an example, look at the bass line for Hangar 18 and I doubt you'll find a 5 string easier.

[REMUS]

do they like the floppyness of a e string dropped to D or worse yet C:freak: isn't it easier to get a 5 string or tune BEAD? ive even seen people who drop down the B to A:freak: it has to end:mad:

 

 

are you a bloody idiot?

 

if they need those notes and that's how they want to play, that's why people drop tune.

[Super Bass]

are you a bloody idiot? if they need those notes and that's how they want to play, that's why people drop tune.

 

 

 

Don't think I've chimed in here yet. I only play 4 stringers tuned to EADG, for the first year or two when I started I tuned down half a step. I don't anymore.

 

I don't really have a use for a 5'er or more, although I would like one. Also, I don't really have a need to tune down. I think my basses do their jobs well enough tuned standard.

[Renfield]

For traditional {censored}, no question, but, man, if you ever do any solo composing, you definitely need to try some "weird tuning". It really opened me up musically and made stuff so much more fun.

+13

[Renfield]

my band plays in drop-c (CGCF). i use a BADG pack of strings and bring the b up instead of taking the E down. it works for me.

 

 

This is what I did when I needed to detune beyond simple Drop D. When I had a bass set up strictly to be in Drop D, I had a slightly heavier E string on it, so it was actually tighter than E normally would have been. This is only an issue if you do nothing to correct it. There are options out there, whether one chooses to explore it or not.

[Renfield]

i dont like the floppyness of the detuned E string and i dont have money or else i would get a 5er. i play in a church band right now and a B string would be so useful.

Actually, a church player friend of mine uses 5'vers and all detuned one full step to A. He said it has something to do with either the other instrumentation in the group, keys, the music, I don't really know, I just know he does it and does use heavier strings as a result. His basses feel great, and not at all floppy.

[isaac42]

There is both your question and answer. Whether something is "sufficient" for one musician has no bearing on whether it is "sufficient" for another. Above you referred to it as "evidence," which is also bunk if we are to believe:

 

 

Sorry, but I don't see it. It was hawkhuff's "pansy" post that was judgmental, not mine. Four strings were enough for all of the musicians I mentioned. Beyond that, I stated that they were enough for me. The only implication was that I was implicitly denying that any of them were pansies, or that I am. brake didn't seem to grasp that, and you don't seem to, either. I can only guess that you and he are reading into my post an implicit condemnation of those who choose to play with more strings. Roger in the sky's explanation brought brake around. Are you with me, now?

[isaac42]

I'd like to go back to the original question: "Wouldn't a 5 string be easier?" Sometimes, but not always. If you're pedalling on the low D, drop tuning is much easier. For an example, look at the bass line for Hangar 18 and I doubt you'll find a 5 string easier.

 

 

I'd have to say, not for me. I've played some 5 and 6 string basses, and two issues immediately hit me. One, the string spacing is too narrow. I'm sure that there are basses with wider spacing, but I haven't played them. The other is that they don't feel like my Rics. I've played a lot of basses, and I always come back to my Rics, simply because of the way they feel.