Drop G# tuning

[Bassist on the Run]

Good morning fellow bass players.

I have a slight dilemma, I've been asked to re join an old band I was in and there tuning is now drop G# I own two basses a Warwick streamer lx5 and a fna. I've tried tuning the low B to the desired tuning but islets a saggy as you like and when playing notes you can not distinguish them at all.

Any help advice etc will be greatly appreciated
Hope your all having a great bank holiday
Mark

[tonyxtiger]

You'll just need a heavier gauge of strings and maybe slightly higher action depending how hard you play.
There's also brands like Dunlop and DR who make stiffer strings particularly for drop tuning.
I play a four string in drop C# so I changed from standard 105-45 to 115-55.

Remember the tone will be different, typically a bit less punch and maybe some extra low mids but that's kind of the point.

Give it a try.

[Bassist on the Run]

That's great mate thanks I will give those a go

[Kev]

Multi scale instruments excel in this arena, particularly if you want to avoid extra thick strings and the more thuddy compressed sound that comes with them. Could be worth considering?

[Dood]

Have a chat with D'Addario (You can PM Andrew directly here - I think the user name is DAddarioUK) It's possible to get a set together with the gauges available that will set you up with the G# tuning. I think a 170 gauge will probably be a good figure to start at. Further more, D'Addario offer an online service that allows you to choose your gauges depending on tension too, so you can get a really even feel across the strings.

I agree with Kev too - if you are going for big low tunings (on occasion I've gone down to E) then those extra long scale length and strings designed for the job really do as Kev says, excel.