Four string with BEAD?

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1425393530' post='2706844']
contrary to popular belief it is no longer the 60s or 70s
[/quote]

In my head it's still the 70's. Any date after 1979 just looks [i]wrong[/i].

As for BEAD, the only argument against it is the absence of the G and I never use [i]that[/i] one except for jaunty faux-Disco octave climbs, which is to say, seldom if ever these days, the demand for Disco being seemingly restricted in the main to those professional engagements where weasel-featured children slide across the dance-floor on their knees and fat wallflowers weep into their Bacardi Breezers.

If that's the sort of gig someone wants to play with their ugly five-string talent-crutch, far be it from me to cast aspersions; just don't expect me to like it. [i]De mortuis nil nisi bonum.[/i]
[i].[/i]

Edited March 3, 2015 by skankdelvar

[discreet]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1425413867' post='2707134']
[i]De mortuis nil nisi bonum.[/i]
[/quote]

Good advice. [i]Ars longa vita brevis[/i].

Edited March 3, 2015 by discreet

[wateroftyne]

A friend of mine uses BEAD on a '63 Precision. It sounds great.

[Bottle]

I converted my Squier P/J to fretless and at the same time, restrung it with the bottom four strings out of a five-string set. Tuned it to BEAD as an experiment. It sounds awesome. Had to re-file the nut and adjust the truss-rod, and a bit of neck shim to get the action really low, but it works well

Give it a go

[KingBollock]

I've been thinking about this recently. I have a five string set with a .125 B, that aren't very old, I only replaced them because I won a set of Elixirs. I have been coming up against a lot of stuff in C, C# and D, that is proving to be awkward on my five string. How bad an idea would it be to put the bottom four from the five string set on my four string and tune the whole lot up a tone? I don't mind the strings being tight, I just don't want to turn my bass into a medieval ranged weapon.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1425414898' post='2707150']
Good advice. [i]Ars longa vita brevis[/i].
[/quote]

[i]Sic transit Gloria Gaynor[/i]

[KingBollock]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1425419310' post='2707238']


[i]Sic transit Gloria Gaynor[/i]
[/quote]
I take Ginger tablets for it, but is hear Quells work well.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I used to have a 5 string . Unfortunately , I started gigging again,and had no proper time to master it. I wasn't too bad, but just never felt like I could use it in a band situation ,without sounding like les Dawson. I tried b-e-a-d on my steinberger , which is sturdy enough to take the pressure IMHO .
However, it doesn't feel right, and I can see myself getting another one , while offloading one of my 4 strings.The B string does sound great and make a difference IMHO .

Edited March 3, 2015 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[KingBollock]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1425418376' post='2707212']
I've been thinking about this recently. I have a five string set with a .125 B, that aren't very old, I only replaced them because I won a set of Elixirs. I have been coming up against a lot of stuff in C, C# and D, that is proving to be awkward on my five string. How bad an idea would it be to put the bottom four from the five string set on my four string and tune the whole lot up a tone? I don't mind the strings being tight, I just don't want to turn my bass into a medieval ranged weapon.
[/quote]
Sorry for quoting my own post but it got lost at the end of the last page. I am considering having a crack at it tonight and would like to know I'm not going to regret it.

Edited March 3, 2015 by KingBollock

[alyctes]

I have an Ibanez SR300 (super thin neck and all) tuned BEAD. Works fine. But I have no use for it

[BigRedX]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1425419563' post='2707245']
I tried b-e-a-d on my steinberger , which is sturdy enough to take the pressure IMHO .
[/quote]

I don't know what you mean by this. Unless you are changing from a very low tension EADG set to a much high tension one for BEAD, then the B string is always lower tension than the G string it is replacing.

[discreet]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1425419310' post='2707238']
[i]Sic transit Gloria Gaynor[/i]
[/quote]

[i]I superstes erit![/i]

[Ed_S]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1425418376' post='2707212']
I've been thinking about this recently. I have a five string set with a .125 B, that aren't very old, I only replaced them because I won a set of Elixirs. I have been coming up against a lot of stuff in C, C# and D, that is proving to be awkward on my five string. How bad an idea would it be to put the bottom four from the five string set on my four string and tune the whole lot up a tone? I don't mind the strings being tight, I just don't want to turn my bass into a medieval ranged weapon.
[/quote]

That's the exact setup of my 'C bass' right down the the strings. It's a Squier VM P and it's not caused any problems to keep it in C/F/Bb/Eb. I added a badass and a quarter-pounder to get the feel and sound I was after, but didn't have to do anything structural other than widen the nut slots a little (cheated and unused an old set of the same strings as files so the sizes were perfect) and adjust the truss rod. Regularly gig with it and it's fine.

[hairychris]

Can't see a problem with BEAD on bass if you use the right strings and tweak the EQ.

[amnesia]

It works for me.

I've just had my Warwick LX restrung to BEAD. I use it for 2 specific songs at the moment, but I could use it for a few more if I chose too without too much difficulty - mainly to make the guitar change worthwhile live!
Do I miss the G string? Nope, not in the slightest. I've gone to the BEAD tuning because I need the lower notes, not the increased range.

The strings I used came straight off my Dingwall ABZ that came strung BEAD from the factory.


Best advice I can give you...give it a try and you will like it or not.

[graham1945]

Hi all, thanks for the feedback, all (or most of it) very useful.
Just a few reasons for asking. I already have several fivers and have been playing fivers since 1972. At present I'm in a Motown/northern soul band and find that I very rarely find myself using the G string and thought that the addition of a simple P bass, with a nice wide neck, and strung BEAD might be a good option, just so long as there are no technical issues. Looks as though there aren't, so it's P bass here I come! Thanks.
Cheers
Graham

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1425425668' post='2707358']


I don't know what you mean by this. Unless you are changing from a very low tension EADG set to a much high tension one for BEAD, then the B string is always lower tension than the G string it is replacing.
[/quote]

Yeah, I said it wrong what I meant was; apparently a lot of people either change the nut, or have it readjusted on the e part of the nut to fit a b string in.
With the steinberger I have, there doesn't seem to be a need to do it , as the neck is very tense. There is a little looseness which didn't bother me.)
Cheers

[mcnach]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1425397063' post='2706917']
Surely, from a tone and playability point of view, a good four strung BEAD is better than a cheap five string?
[/quote]

define better.

I don't see getting a decent 5-string being significantly more expensive than getting a decent 4-string. Five string bases are not rare anymore, and there's nothing magical about a bass with an extra string... The low B is thicker, generally lower tension, so you need to make sure your bass setup is better: things you can get away with with thinner strings you can't with a thicker lower tension one that vibrates a lot more widely... But it's nothing special, really.

[mcnach]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1425425668' post='2707358']
I don't know what you mean by this. Unless you are changing from a very low tension EADG set to a much high tension one for BEAD, then the B string is always lower tension than the G string it is replacing.
[/quote]

This. Another common misconception. BEAD is usually quite a bit lower tension than EADG, so if anything you have to loosen up the truss rod to restore relief.

Nothing wrong with BEAD, in my opinion, by the way. I don't use it because I use the G more than I would a low D. I do have a Hipshot D-tuner on my E on a few of my basses for drop-D tuning (lots of RATM, some RHCP and other stuff), as it's handy... but I don't miss the low D. I've had a few good 5-string basses but I didn't need them enough to make me ditch my 4-string ones that I prefer either, but if I did need the low B, I'd go 5-string. I can't lose that G string

[mcnach]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1425492903' post='2707912']
Yeah, I said it wrong what I meant was; apparently a lot of people either change the nut, or have it readjusted on the e part of the nut to fit a b string in.
With the steinberger I have, there doesn't seem to be a need to do it , as the neck is very tense. There is a little looseness which didn't bother me.)
Cheers
[/quote]


but it's nothing to do with tense necks or whatever (what do you mean by that?) The B string is (can often be) wider than the slot for the E unless you use an unusually thin B string, so you need to widen up the slot a touch. If you didn't, then it was wider than necessary before, but as long as the string doesn't rattle about in the slot it wouldn't have bothered you.

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1425430123' post='2707387']
[i]I superstes erit![/i]
[/quote]

[i]Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant.[/i]

There, I've said it.

[AntLockyer]

I've got one of my basses strung BEAD hardly use it but when I do it is pretty good. Aparently a lot of session guys in Nashville do this anytime they need to play lower than E

[MacDaddy]

I heard if you have a reverse headstock it's better for the B, as more of the string is unwound. Not sure of the truth of it though.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1425552068' post='2708431']
I heard if you have a reverse headstock it's better for the B, as more of the string is unwound. Not sure of the truth of it though.
[/quote]

It ought to make the string slightly more compliant. Not sure that this is a good thing as on the whole low B strings tend to feel a bit too "loose" compared to the others.

[miles'tone]

If you have a 24 fret bass, you'll only be trading it's highest 5 notes to get those lower 5 with the added Brucey bonus of being able to fret a low E for a different flavour.
Those lower 5 are much more useful to a bass player imo
(well,this bass player anyway)