Bass string!

[-Loco-]

My exams are over so over this christmas break im going to be writing and recording loads. My friend has a 5 string bass i think with a .130 on the bottom but I need something that'll hold Ab cause that's what my guitars tuned to, do you think this will be enough? i've not had a chance to try it yet but i imagine it's going to be very rumbly and i dont like playing bas the octave above because you just get loads of mid and no low end...tips? couldn't find much in the search

 

[egan.]

The 500lb elephant on drop tuning guitars down is that a 5 string bass tuned to standard is pretty close to the lowest note it can produce well and with a decent tone. I know there are those who disagree with me, but I'm pretty confident in that opinion. So anyway, back to your question, I would get some steels -- my preference is d'addario -- preferably in the 50-135 size range. The important thing is to get relatively stiff strings as this will make the bass much easier to play than if you use something very soft and flexible b/c it will sort of counterbalance the reduced tension.

 

[muckypup1]

It should be heavy enough, but then again, I've had so many heavy sets of strings and I still haven't been able to find the right set that will stay tight when I detune!

 

[mr.L.]

The 500lb elephant on drop tuning guitars down is that a 5 string bass tuned to standard is pretty close to the lowest note it can produce well and with a decent tone. I know there are those who disagree with me, but I'm pretty confident in that opinion.

Agree, unfortunately I often have to drop down to A due to guitar tuning, but all of my basses sound a lot better in B (even when using heavier strings in A).

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

The 500lb elephant on drop tuning guitars down is that a 5 string bass tuned to standard is pretty close to the lowest note it can produce well and with a decent tone.

Plus Ab0 is so close to the edge of human hearing that there's a reasonably number of people that can't even hear it properly. Standard B on a 5-string is something like 31.5Hz, A is 27.5Hz, Ab is 26Hz or something like that.

Personally, I'd say screw getting heavier strings - when your guitarist plays an 'A', either play a happy little harmony or play it an octave up (so you're playing the same note as the guitarist - the timbre of the bass will still give the impression that it's a lot lower though). And if he complains, remind him how difficult it would be to remove the headstock of a 5-string bass from lower intestine.

Steve

 

[muckypup1]

^^ This!

 

[plague_rider]

+1

Though i've got to say, my 5 string bass is tuned to G Standard at the moment and it handles the low G really well

 

[The Unavoidable]

Plus Ab0 is so close to the edge of human hearing that there's a reasonably number of people that can't even hear it properly. Standard B on a 5-string is something like 31.5Hz, A is 27.5Hz, Ab is 26Hz or something like that.

Personally, I'd say screw getting heavier strings - when your guitarist plays an 'A', either play a happy little harmony or play it an octave up (so you're playing the same note as the guitarist - the timbre of the bass will still give the impression that it's a lot lower though). And if he complains, remind him how difficult it would be to remove the headstock of a 5-string bass from lower intestine.

Steve

Ever heard God Among Insects? They tuned to F, with the bass tuned one octave lower. When I saw them live they were using a 6 string guitar and a 4 string bass, and you could clearly hear every note while it was crushing your face No idea about string guages though, but anyway it's def possible.

 

[Torniojaws]

I seem to remember GAI used E tuning (an octave below standard), not F. Not a big difference though

 

[StefTD]

there's a Warwick 4 string bass that's set up to F I think from the factory.
The lowest string is a .175 afaik. For Ab I would use some long scale or even better
extra long scale bass with .135 or .140, recorded some stuff in A some time ago
with a .130, worked ok, but it was an extra long scale bass, so I think that's the reason.

 

[The Unavoidable]

I seem to remember GAI used E tuning (an octave below standard), not F. Not a big difference though

The bassplayer said it was F when I talked to him after the gig, and Lord K confirmed it a few days ago. Not a big difference though


Either way, GAI fucking ruled!

 

[egan.]

Ever heard God Among Insects? They tuned to F, with the bass tuned one octave lower. When I saw them live they were using a 6 string guitar and a 4 string bass, and you could clearly hear every note while it was crushing your face. No idea about string guages though, but anyway it's def possible.

To be clear, I think what suicide is saying is that you aren't perceiving pitch that low. You can certainly feel an E0 but you'd be hard pressed to find many people who could reliabley detect the difference between 20.6Hz (E0) and 21.8Hz (F0).
I really do stand by my assessment. Yes you can get a bass to go lower and yes it will shake bowels, but between the glacial string recovery time and the action you have to set it to make it support the tones it really gets stupid pretty quickly IMO. The problem is guitarists can choose a scale length between 24-27 and basses are 30-35. Now a 40 inch scale bass....

 

[Zozobra]

Plus Ab0 is so close to the edge of human hearing that there's a reasonably number of people that can't even hear it properly. Standard B on a 5-string is something like 31.5Hz, A is 27.5Hz, Ab is 26Hz or something like that.

Personally, I'd say screw getting heavier strings - when your guitarist plays an 'A', either play a happy little harmony or play it an octave up (so you're playing the same note as the guitarist - the timbre of the bass will still give the impression that it's a lot lower though). And if he complains, remind him how difficult it would be to remove the headstock of a 5-string bass from lower intestine.

Steve

You sure about that?

A on 5 string bass would be 2 octaves below A440, making it 110hz.

?

Or am I missing something?

Oh, btw, hi, new to the forum, been lurking. Good stuff, I like.

Edit - that said I tend to agree. I play in drop A sharp, most of the time, and its a nightmare getting a bass to play well and sound good in that. I'm using a 160 with an extra thick core on it (so its a higher tension for the same gauge) and it rumbles nicley but has a gay hollowness to the mids and top.

 

[Zozobra]

Wait, nevermind, had a brainfart. A440 =/= A2. Thats 2 octaves down already, no? So...27.5,yeah.

Cant hear that very well on my sub in my room. Its there, but tailed off quite a bit.

 

[joeymusicguy]

did read the post but, blue steel strings rule

 

[NicholasDWolfwood]

You sure about that?

A on 5 string bass would be 2 octaves below A440, making it 110hz.

?

Or am I missing something?

Oh, btw, hi, new to the forum, been lurking. Good stuff, I like.

Edit - that said I tend to agree. I play in drop A sharp, most of the time, and its a nightmare getting a bass to play well and sound good in that. I'm using a 160 with an extra thick core on it (so its a higher tension for the same gauge) and it rumbles nicley but has a gay hollowness to the mids and top.

A 160 for A#? Are you kidding me? What scale does your bass have, 30"? I'm using a .130 on a 34" scale 4 string tuned to ADGC and it holds and sounds perfectly fine.

 

[PhilR]

Try not to lose sight of the fact that a vibrating string does not produce a perfect sine wave guys. Even tuned to standard E a string played through an amp with driven gain and equalization is a million miles away from the specific frequency of the lowest note. The fundamental is there, but buried amongst all the rest. Playing technique will prove far more important to this than raw theory. I use 130 gauge strings and I tune to C! I can turn that string down a LOT but sooner or later my over-hard picking style starts to get the better of me.

 

[plague_rider]

If you down-tune, play closer to the bridge, add a little more compression to the recording twill help with keeping it in check

 

[Zozobra]

A 160 for A#? Are you kidding me? What scale does your bass have, 30"? I'm using a .130 on a 34" scale 4 string tuned to ADGC and it holds and sounds perfectly fine.

34"

How do you deal with rattle on the 130? EQ it out? Play lighter/fingerstyle (the latter isnt really an option for me; it'd take me a while to get my finger picked bass technique up to the level that it can keep up with my picking on guitar), pick near the bridge? Does it even give you any rattle? Do you like it? How are your action and relief?

I'd like to not use a 160, but thats whats working for me; less its either the string bounces off the frets too much or the actions too high.

 

[muckypup1]

I play bass with it detuned down to C and B sometimes, it only has a 130 string! It still manages to sound thick, chunky and damn heavy!