Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

[gvis]

I play guitar but I am not a bass player. I've had a $300 Ibanez 4 string sitting around for three years, I played it for a few months back then and changed it to D standard, and now I would like to start using it for home recordings, which I've only recently started up again.

I had changed it to D standard back then to match my occasional drop D tunings on my guiutars and to give it more range on the low end. My current song writing covers from hard rock to occasionally some modern metal styles (though not really some specific category or band).

I'm looking for a setup that both gets me a range low enough to cover more modern styles but also sit well with my guitar setups, which alternate between E standard and drop D. Sometimes I use D standard.

Should I leave my current D standard setup and just get it professionally set up around it? I don't recall the string gauge changes I'd made, but I did go up in gauge based on internet guidance. No floppiness issues, but I was left with some fret buzz a tech needs to sort out.

Or should I go to drop C? My concern is that it won't match up well with my guitars. For example, if I were in drop C and a song was based around drop D, would I lose the impact I seem to hear when chugging the bass around an unfretted low string versus that string being fretted up a whole note? I hear a difference between unfretted and fretted. Does that come across in recordings? What do most bands do?

If fretting doesn't matter, I'd thought it would be a benefit to have the C available for getting the 2nd note out of the usual 3 chord rock and roll progression, versus going up the strings to get it and being stuck with an octave higher, etc.

Thanks for the help.

 

[gvis]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

Not sure why I didn't think of this, but is getting it set up for D standard with enough low string gauge to drop to C when needed a good option? Again, I'm no bass player; still learning.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

Hell, i don't even like playing in drop D on bass, the fatty becomes too rubbery IMO. To drop it all the way to C you are going to be playing a rubber band and it will sound a little off intonation-wise if you do not get it properly set-up to be played that way.

Rage used a lot of drop D but their bassist had his bass set-up for that so it would not buzz and also have proper intonation up and down the frets. C is a whole new ballgame. You will need to compensate somewhere (basic physics) which could include moving the Low string bridge or saddle position. Many times custom tunings require custom instruments.

 

[gvis]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

Thanks for tips SnakeAces. Way back I had tried to set up myself for standard D, using thicker gauges and re-intonating. And, while it really wasn't too floppy, the low string was a little odd sounding, which I had thought was due to my poor bass setup experience.

I dropped it off with a tech last night but didn't think to ask these questions. He seemed to think he could make it work, and we didn't discuss how it fits with other instruments because I didn't ask. I posted here hoping to get some opinions, because he won't start until next week.

I just got off the phone with him and agreed it makes more sense to use standard D and drop to C when needed. He will use a low string gauge that allows for it.

For some reason I thought D and C tunings were common nowadays on 4 string basses. Or do most people just use 5 string instead? I can't remember why, but back then my research suggested avoiding a 5 string, at least for a beginner. Not sure why else.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

If you are changing to substantially heavier strings, you ought to have a new top nut installed. This will need the string slots to be further from the fingerboard surface to clear the frets and wider so as to accommodate the strings. The truss rod will almost certainly need adjusting to compensate for these changes.

As the tuning drops, you may find that your passive pickups struggle to do justice to the bottom string.

One common solution to getting a lower than normal note out of your lowest string is the Hip-Shot D-Tuner. This is available is numerous formats including the Jin-Ho Gotoh style tuner that appears on your Ibanez.

 

[gvis]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

If you are changing to substantially heavier strings, you ought to have a new top nut installed. This will need the string slots to be further from the fingerboard surface to clear the frets and wider so as to accommodate the strings. The truss rod will almost certainly need adjusting to compensate for these changes.

As the tuning drops, you may find that your passive pickups struggle to do justice to the bottom string.

One common solution to getting a lower than normal note out of your lowest string is the Hip-Shot D-Tuner. This is available is numerous formats including the Jin-Ho Gotoh style tuner that appears on your Ibanez.

Thanks! I did ask the tech to keep the nut in mind, having been through that with guitars. Maybe the passive pups had something to do with the odd low string even at D. Almost as if it were just not there. Seemed in tune, just less pronounced. I will look into the hip shot solution.

 

[BlueTalon]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

For some reason I thought D and C tunings were common nowadays on 4 string basses. Or do most people just use 5 string instead? I can't remember why, but back then my research suggested avoiding a 5 string, at least for a beginner. Not sure why else.

Actually, bass playing infancy is the perfect time to introduce a 5-string. I can't think of any good reason why someone would have recommended a beginner bass player to avoid a 5-string, and I say this as someone who mostly plays 4-string basses. If you're talking about getting a second bass, and you're not a bass player, the choice that seems most obvious to me is to get a 5-string. If you have a B string, you'll never have to worry about dropping to D or C.

Another alternative, if you don't want a 5-string, is to have a 4-string set up for BEAD tuning. Again, you'll never have to worry about drop tunings, and whether they'll work or not.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

+1

Years of playing only four strings lock the player into a set of moves and assumptions. Retuning BEAD retains the known moves whilst changing the available pitches. Adding an extra string introduces new possibilities. The earlier that a learner gets in to this, the easier it is to break habits.

 

[SlowGrind93Z]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

110s , 115s, if i dont want the low c to be flobby , get a 120 or 125. Most basses can fit up to a 115.

 

[jaybonitrane]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

You could drop C with whichever gauge is not floppy in your opinion...put capo on first fret to play drop C#...put capo on 2nd fret to play in Drop D...take capo off to play in Drop C.

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

I've only had my Fender P-Bass for one day but I have dropped its tuning to C and back to standard E with no issues

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

I say dedicate a bass to D standard. I did that with one of my short necks, and it's a great instrument to have on hand. I suggest using the heaviest gauge strings you can find (110's or 111's, I think), and setting up the bass with more relief and higher strings than normal. I use the bottom four strings from a light-gauge five string set for mine, however I can do that because it's a short neck. I think that doing that on a standard scale bass would make for too much tension.

 

[constant mesh]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

The scale length determines your tension, and lower you detune your string, the lesser the tension. I wouldn't recommend going lower than D on that fact alone because it will sound wobbly. 110's should be enough for D tuning.

But for anyone playing a bass along with guitarists who use drop C for example, I say tune that bass to C standard, this way your articulation will remain somewhat consistent.

 

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

If you can find a set of strings that will have a larger core wire than standard, that's going to play a role in keeping that string at a usable feel in lower tunings. I've detuned a number of .105s and they can get down to C fairly well, but depending on your playing technique, that may or may not be easily doable (as in, I know a lot of guys that can make a .110 rattle at standard E tuning, they're playing so hard).

 

[DeathMetalRob]

Re: Drop C or D Standard for 4 String Bass?

Simple. Keep the guitar and bass tuned the same, octave lower of course.

If you have a bass that has a string through bridge, you're going to be limited to gauge size.

However, seeing as you're only going to D you'd want .110 for the D string and then regular .080, .060, 040 - ( or similar ) it depends on your playing style.

If you want to go lower than that, it's easy, just buy thicker strings - you'd need to raise the bridge saddles a bit but, that's easily done.