Down half a step

[russtufella]

Just got a new singer and he has asked us to tune down half a step from standard. I don't have a problem with this, l'm just curious to how many other bands do this.

[Paul S]

I do it for my Bon Jovi tribute and did it for a former band.  Bon Jovi band I use a 5 string, so the low B needs to be a good one!  

Out of laziness I have always kept a couple of basses detuned and a couple at concert pitch but this may change since acquiring my new Jake 5 that I am finding hard to put down.

[ambient]

It's just a change of key, so E would be Eb. I wouldn't down-tune I'd find it weird playing a B and hearing a Bb. I'd rather just transpose and know that I'm playing a Bb instead of a B, if you see what I mean  .

Edited March 26, 2018 by ambient

[John_P]

I dep for a band that have just started doing half the set in Eb.    Don’t ask me why they don’t drop them all - I asked and received a confused look.  

I just take two basses and swap (as do the guitarists).     

As long as you aren’t using thin string that will get a bit flappy it’s fine.   

[spencer.b]

13 minutes ago, ambient said:

It's just a change of key, so E would be Eb. I wouldn't down-tune I'd find to weird playing a B and hearing a Bb. I'd rather just transpose and know that I'm playing a Bb instead of a B, if you see what I mean  .

Transposing will work for some stuff but rock tunes in E assuming you've got a 4 string will sound weak 

[upside downer]

We've tuned down half a step for a couple of years now and it's not an issue for either myself or the guitarist. Our singer reckons it helps him out as we play some screeching vocal stuff from the likes of Led Zep and AC/DC.

[PawelG]

Hendrix, SRV, Metallica to name a few.

[russtufella]

I've just started to play a 5 string so I 'm not sure if would be best to tune down or transcrbe our set list.

[lojo]

Yep , and I used to have a five string to cope with some songs . Now I use the pitch shifter on my amp , down 1/2 or full tone with the press of a button 

[mep]

Been doing this for years.  No problem. Done to help vocals. 

[dmccombe7]

Do this in my Rock / Metal band and have done it quite a few times with various rock bands. Also tuned down for a Grunge style band that liked the sound of the deeper tone. They even had 7 string guitars. I ended up buying a 5 string because it was needed for them but they didn't last too long and i moved on to something more suited to me.

Dave

[steantval]

Most if not all of Thin Lizzie stuff is a semitone out.

[T-Bay]

We do this all the time, never played live in standard tuning.

[BrunoBass]

Not on bass in my band, but I tune down half a step for my solo acoustic stuff - it’s easier on my voice.

[A.G.E.N.T.E.]

Been doing that for years. I only play on a originals band nowadays, but by the time the band was put together, i was also playing on a black sabbath tribute band and i tuned  half step down. So, i started composing all musics and bass lines this way. And yes, the guitar is standard ...7 string

[MoonBassAlpha]

Wichita lineman is a classic example. It's a pain playing along with it in standard, half a step down, and all the chords just fall under the fingers. Glen down-tuned.

[ead]

We do just enough songs in E_b tuning to make it worth taking two basses one tuned E the other down a semitone.

[casapete]

Done this for a long time with one of my bands - I just keep a down tuned bass only for those gigs, no problems.

[peteb]

3 hours ago, PawelG said:

Hendrix, SRV, Metallica to name a few.

I believe that most of the classic Metallica stuff (Black album, etc) is in concert pitch

3 hours ago, russtufella said:

I've just started to play a 5 string so I 'm not sure if would be best to tune down or transcrbe our set list.

If you are playing rock stuff you will probably find it better to tune down. 

[chris_b]

Eb? Good for me.

That's just one fret down on my bass.

[peteb]

3 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Eb? Good for me.

That's just one fret down on my bass.

Depends what you're playing mate - a lot of rock stuff depends heavily on bouncing off open strings (Slither by Velvet Revolver is a good example). 

A mate of mine (a good player) has ended up installing a d tuner to the E string of his 5 string Ray so that he can get the open drop D for a lot of the 90s alt metal / grunge stuff he plays. 

[chris_b]

19 minutes ago, peteb said:

Depends what you're playing mate - a lot of rock stuff depends heavily on bouncing off open strings (Slither by Velvet Revolver is a good example).

I've just worked out Slither, in D, and works pretty well played down on the 3rd fret.

But I get your point that open strings can be a "get out of jail" card if you're playing with a riff mad guitarist.

[PawelG]

6 hours ago, peteb said:

I believe that most of the classic Metallica stuff (Black album, etc) is in concert pitch

Yes, I didn’t mean they did it for all of their songs. I believe they tuned down for live performances, starting in the 90’s.

[lojo]

Yes some songs are half tone out and get put into an easy key for the players , in the bottom level covers band world , 2 good examples are Supersition and Sweet Child.

I think the OP here is talking about the singer changing it for their sake , potentially making it more awkward for the players , if transposing doesn't come easily on some songs ?

[stewblack]

Band I just joined play two tunes requiring a low E flat every once in a while. I've been taking a second bass detuned to rehearsal and swapping out. However I've just decided I prefer my back up bass to be tuned the same as my number one in case of emergencies and I don't want to carry three to gigs so the low E flat is no more. It's not been an issue, only a couple of songs after all.