5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

[crguti]

I'm currently using a 5 string bass tuned to BEADG and when I play regular songs in standard tuning I barely use the 5th string. Now I'm playing with a band that tune in drop-C and I've been using the 5th string a lot more. I would like to tune down my bass to match the guitars, so the new tuning should be CGCFA.

I tried to tune it down but the string were to floopy, so my question is, What string gauge should I use?

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

What bass is it? Whats the scale length?

 

[crguti]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

^ my bass is custom made by a Norwegian Luthier (Listerud tottem - #948, 6th picture)

it has 24 frets and the scale lenght is 87 cm (34").

 

[dd12939]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

That is such a beautiful bass.

 

[Spewnz]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

tune it up to c not down.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

tune it up to c not down.

This sounds like your best option.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

IMO, it would be a shame to inflict such string tension changes on a one-off bespoke instrument.

Why not cheat with technology? e. g. A Whammy pedal or a Roland VB digital modeller device.

For ultimate low register naughtiness, right down to C, consider a Chapman Stick.

 

[Hellion]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

Totally off the topic, but damn, those are pretty basses.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

What's wrong with C standard? Easy as pie, sounds great (better than B standard on a 5 string IMO), and you won't need to learn any new patterns, so it will be a seamless transition for you.

 

[Jeremiah]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

Yeah, if you're trying to tune down to the C below your low B, that's nearly a whole octave down - pretty much impossible to get that to work on a 34" scale; no wonder the strings are getting floppy

AFAIK, the standard tuning for a Chapman stick only goes to Bb one semitone below a 5 string bass, and that's with a 36" scale.

Going that low is probably below the threshold of human hearing, I'm not sure if even a really big pipe organ ever plays that low - a grand piano only goes down another couple of notes below a standard 5-string bass tuning.

So yeah, tuning up to C sounds like a better idea, you could probably use one gauge lighter than you are at the moment, maybe keep the bottom string the same, if it's not currently a very heavy gauge.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

I tune down a lil from time to time, so I'm not a fuddy-dud about down tuning. Thing is that a big part of it is scale length. You can only tune down so much with a given scale length before it becomes un-intelligible mud. In fact my problem with most 5 strings is that the scale is not long enough to cleanly produce the low B.

So IMO, leave well enough alone.

Luke

 

[Bass_Medic_05]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

IMO, it would be a shame to inflict such string tension changes on a one-off bespoke instrument.

Why not cheat with technology? e. g. A Whammy pedal or a Roland VB digital modeller device.

For ultimate low register naughtiness, right down to C, consider a Chapman Stick.

Nice bass!

 

[crguti]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

I've been thinking about it, and i'm gonna get a new bass to down tune it.
NBD very soon.

 

[tonello]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

Nice. That's a beautiful looking bass. Anyways, yes that should work. I know a lot of jazz bassists that tune their 5 strings to EADGC or EADGB (most like to tune to C becuase it makes the bass more linear across the strings). So I don't see why that wouldn't work.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: 5 strings bass tuned to drop-C

The OP specified tuning to work with down-tuned guitars.

Tuning a five string bass guitar up a semi-tone simplifies playing positions.

Going EADGC runs the risk of the guitars and bass all competing for the same frequency ranges.

Sticking with BEADG creates challenges for playing in unison with guitar parts that involve pull-offs to open positions.

In my opinion, to tune the instrument CGCFA is to think too guitaristically (if that is a real word). Bass is a function.

Finally, for what it is worth, British maker Overwater used to offer an extra long scale four string bass tuned down to C. A specialised instrument such as this might be a better solution than altering your number one bass.