snaredrum Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Hi - i'm new here, so be gentle! The bass player in my band wants to downtune, to BEAD if possible - the problem is, she plays a short scale bass. What's the lowest you've managed to play without flub on a short scale? I know the strings will have to be crazy thick, obviously. anyway, hello again and thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 The reason I don't like short scale basses is because of the flub on the bottom string even at standard tuning. I would imagine that down tuned that low, the E string would behave like a floppy elastic band, but why not try it and see, you can always retune if it's no good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaredrum Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 thanks for the reply, bert! the E on a short scale is kinda tricky, but our bass player controls it with a slightly thicker string. i'm guessing (ha!) that the principle would be sound if i just used crazy thick bass strings and kept downtuning all the way to B we'll see, i guess. luckily i'm the guitarist so it won't be my guitar that explodes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) Hey snaredrum, welcome. I would second whats been said above. i have a short scale bass i occasionally use, and I would say the lowest tuning I've for without the 'flub' is F# or G. Thats to say, even at standard tuning it's pretty flubby... Yes thicker strings will help (although its more to do with tension than thickness, but broadly speaking thicker strings have higher tension) - i would also suggest using something like the [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/DR_Strings_Lo_Rider_Stainless.html"]DR Lo-Rider strings[/url], and get a 45-130 5-string set and just use the bottom 4 strings. LoRiders are designed for down-tuning, so should carry a bit more tension low down than most... (edit for typo) Edited March 1, 2013 by brensabre79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 To offer useful advice we really need some more information. Firstly what is the actual scale length of the bass? Traditionally short scale has been around the 30" mark, but for those not so accurate with their descriptions anything under 34" (standard long scale) can be described as short scale. Secondly what is the actual make and model of the bass? IME the biggest obstacle to getting a good sounding low B string is in the construction of the neck and the neck joint. Unfortunately the majority of short scale basses are at the budget end of the market and their construction are simply not up to the task of getting a good sounding and feeling B string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 It's also not that easy to find short scale strings let alone different gauges. Had a hell of a time trying to find decent strings for my Danelectro Long Horn. Ended up with a set of Rotosound. Haven't looked for ages though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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