Bought a Carvin B5 yesterday and I need to set it up so I can mimic a Drop B guitar with it. How should I go about this? It has EB Power Slinky's on it. Is it safe to tune the bottom 4 strings up with 50-135's on it or should I go for smaller strings and keep the 135 top?
5-String Bass and Drop B
- Thread starter gixxsta04
- Start date
egan.
daylightdies.com
I have a lot of fast hammer on riffs that use the open note like this:
C#--------------------
G#--------------------
E --------------------
B -0-2-3-0-3-5-0-5-7-
F#--------------------
B --------------------
H H H H H H
C#--------------------
G#--------------------
E --------------------
B ----------0-3-5-7-
F#-0-3-5-7-----------
B --------------------
H H H H H H
I'm a shitty guitar player so I have to use a lot of open notes and hammer ons to speed up my riffs. It's reasons like that I'd rather not transpose.
C#--------------------
G#--------------------
E --------------------
B -0-2-3-0-3-5-0-5-7-
F#--------------------
B --------------------
H H H H H H
C#--------------------
G#--------------------
E --------------------
B ----------0-3-5-7-
F#-0-3-5-7-----------
B --------------------
H H H H H H
I'm a shitty guitar player so I have to use a lot of open notes and hammer ons to speed up my riffs. It's reasons like that I'd rather not transpose.
gabriel g.
Member
AFAK the lowest string on a 5-string IS b. So you only have to translate your guitar riffing to the higher strings. I think its 2 steps higher on the other strings...
I know that the top string is a B. That is why I bought a 5er. What didn't register is the fact that I'd have to tune the lower 4 strings UP to acheive Drop B tuning. I think its still a better route than modifying a 4 string to fit a 135 set. Do you see why transposing with open notes on the 1-4 strings would make things difficult? There are some situations where I could never get to that note fast enough in BEAD tuning.
I do this with my 5-string. I use a 45 set. You will NEED to re-setup your bass as the tension from the bottom 4 strings being tuned higher than normal will put extra pull on the neck.
I'd stick with the .135 for the B string (I prefer the feel of a .130 myself for a Warwick B).
I love Ken Smith Rockmaster strings, they sound and feel good, last ages, and are cheap ($20)! You could go a 4 string set for the higher 4 strings, such as the SM-XL Slap Master-Extra Light, which is .040, .060, .075, .095....that's about a .005-.010 drop overall from standard, which should probably work for (B)-F#-B-E-A. There's lighter ones too, also the same in 5 string sets, but those have a .120 which is a bit too loose for a B imo.
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/Strings/stainlessteel.html
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/Strings/stainlessteelmulti.html
I love Ken Smith Rockmaster strings, they sound and feel good, last ages, and are cheap ($20)! You could go a 4 string set for the higher 4 strings, such as the SM-XL Slap Master-Extra Light, which is .040, .060, .075, .095....that's about a .005-.010 drop overall from standard, which should probably work for (B)-F#-B-E-A. There's lighter ones too, also the same in 5 string sets, but those have a .120 which is a bit too loose for a B imo.
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/Strings/stainlessteel.html
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/Strings/stainlessteelmulti.html
Thanks guys, I'm glad someone understands what I'm going for here. I might get a 4 string set of super or extra slinkys and run a 135 top. I wish I could find a tension calculator for bass so I could figure out what sizes I would need to retain standard tension.
