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5 or 6 string bass with 8 string guitar?


Daor667
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Hi guys,

It's been a while since i've posted on here...

i've bought myseld an 8 string ESP guitar and have dropped the lowest string to an E

Tuning is as follows : E B G D A E B E

Now... i have a couple of 5 strings but not sure how to tune and am contemplating a 6 string to cater for the lowest note and tune G D A E B E

Does anyone have any suggestions/tips/expierience with anything like this??

I've heard alot of good things about the Dingwall's for this...

MUCH appreciated!

Cheers
Andy :)

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[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1137939' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:40 PM']If you are tuning a 6 string bass then keep it in 5th's.
Low to high:
F# B E A D G
or
B E A D G C[/quote]
That will be 4ths but if I had to have six strings that's how I'd tune it too.

Edited by EssentialTension
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[quote name='Daor667' post='1137948' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:48 PM']wow

Thanks for the prompt replies guys

on your low to high recommendation F# B E A D G would you say dropping the F# to an E would be ok so i match the 8 string guitar work?[/quote]
I'm not qualified to answer that because I use four strings and don't match the guitarist(s).

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[quote name='Daor667' post='1137948' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:48 PM']wow

Thanks for the prompt replies guys

on your low to high recommendation F# B E A D G would you say dropping the F# to an E would be ok so i match the 8 string guitar work?[/quote]

Theres no problem with that, but you can lose pitch definition.

Also, F# keeps learned paterns correct (IMO)

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i suppose it's just how i've always played...
i'll write some music and often match the guitar parts in elements and experiment in different passages to add the power to the music..
i've always tuned to match the guitars.

btw we're a technical melodic thrash metal band

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[quote name='Daor667' post='1137948' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:48 PM']wow

Thanks for the prompt replies guys

on your low to high recommendation F# B E A D G would you say dropping the F# to an E would be ok so i match the 8 string guitar work?[/quote]

I don't know why you would need to actually go down to an E an octave lower than a regular E string. You can match the guitar on a standard tuned
five string(or four) if you want,you don't need to double the guitar lines an octave or two lower.

I always keep my instruments in standard tuning and have never had any problems.

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[quote name='Doddy' post='1137966' date='Feb 23 2011, 12:05 AM']I don't know why you would need to actually go down to an E an octave lower than a regular E string. You can match the guitar on a standard tuned
five string(or four) if you want,you don't need to double the guitar lines an octave or two lower.

I always keep my instruments in standard tuning and have never had any problems.[/quote]

+1

I suspect that dropping an extra octave is just going to result in mush.

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[quote name='Blademan_98' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:40 PM' post='1137939']
If you are tuning a 6 string bass then keep it in 5th's.
Low to high:
F# B E A D G
or
B E A D G C
[/quote

thats 4th, not 5ths.
i tune my 6 sting bass B E A D G C, i had an 8 string bass tuned F# to F and never ever used the F# string in over 2 years. faaaar to deep i think.

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[quote name='petercullenbassist' post='1138014' date='Feb 23 2011, 01:07 AM']thats 4th, not 5ths.
i tune my 6 sting bass B E A D G C, i had an 8 string bass tuned F# to F and never ever used the F# string in over 2 years. faaaar to deep i think.[/quote]

It's 5ths if you are descending from the high C :)

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It would be possible to tune down to the EXTRA low E, but it'd be nigh on impossible to find a cab that could actually produce such a low frequency. Also you'd need some crazy high gauge string to have any kind of reasonable tension. I use a .152 for low A, which is nice and tight for a 35" scale bass. So you'd need what.. at least .200 gauge? I would recommend just using regular old E to match the guitars, so you could very well get away with a 4 string if you wanted to. But, as with all musically related things, do whatever you like with it :)

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