Daft 5er question....

[Newfoundfreedom]

..... But here goes anyway. As my old highschool teacher used to say. The only daft questions are the ones you don't ask. 

I've never played a 5 string in my life. I don't think I've ever even picked one up, so please forgive my ignorance.

Why is the bottom string on a 5 string bass tuned to B? 

Presumably it's that way to mirror the 5th string on a guitar, but the only reason that guitars are tuned that is to enable the playing of chords (I may be wrong about that too), which is something we don't generally need to do, certainly not down at the bottom end. 

Wouldn't it make more sense to tune the low string to C? That way you're keeping the intervals and box shapes consistent across the neck. Unless you desperately need a low B, then it just seems to make more sense to me to tune to C? 

Is this something anyone does? 

If I decided to dip my toe (or fingers as it were) into the world of 5ers, is there any reason I can't tune to CEADG? Given that it's only a semitone higher I can't see as it would make a massive difference to string tension or pressure on the neck. 

 

[Happy Jack]

Not sure I follow ... the Low B means that the step up to the E string is a 4th, the same as all the other steps. That's what makes a 5-er such a doddle to play.

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

2 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Not sure I follow ... the Low B means that the step up to the E string is a 4th, the same as all the other steps. That's what makes a 5-er such a doddle to play.

 

Oh yeah. Absolute brain f@rt moment. 

I don't know what I was thinking. 

I told you it was a daft question. 

 

Oh well. I'll leave the thread here just for comedy value. 

[Silvia Bluejay]

The next step down in a bass is a low F#, and up is a high C. I remember @Dood once owning a 7-string tuned F# - B - E - A - D - G - C, I think? Looked and sounded awesome.

[Newfoundfreedom]

29 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

The next step down in a bass is a low F#, and up is a high C. I remember @Dood once owning a 7-string tuned F# - B - E - A - D - G - C, I think? Looked and sounded awesome.

Wow. Is low F# even audible? I wouldn't fancy my cabs chances down that low. 

[Maude]

20 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Wow. Is low F# even audible? I wouldn't fancy my cabs chances down that low. 

Indeed, more F art than F sharp. 

[chris_b]

Basses are tuned in 4ths. Which also why a 6 string bass has a top C instead of a B. I know a 4 string player who always tunes low C F Bb Eb.

There are so many different tunings being regularly used these days that you can use which ever one is comfortable for you.

[Dood]

1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

The next step down in a bass is a low F#, and up is a high C. I remember @Dood once owning a 7-string tuned F# - B - E - A - D - G - C, I think? Looked and sounded awesome.

I still do too! My Shuker Guitars custom 7 string is indeed tuned that way! It has clocked up over ten years of service and still going strong. 

43 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Wow. Is low F# even audible? I wouldn't fancy my cabs chances down that low. 

Yes! Though you are absolutely up against physics and some technical thinking is required to get the best out of these very low tunings. Only recently I was "chatting" to someone in a Facebook thread who wanted me to believe that their speaker cabinets (described in the thread) were easily capable of producing the fundamental frequencies of the low B string at a volume equal to the rest of the frequency range. I didn't respond to the comment but I did go in to great detail why that wouldn't be such a good idea on stage anyway.

So, here's the thing - very few speaker cabinets (for bass) can even get anywhere near those fundamentals - speakers will just flap about wasting energy (as heat instead) with no real volume, clarity or.. point. So onstage, I get rid of all the sub frequencies - the 1st and second harmonics and the equivalent note over tones are where the volume is. You still "hear" the note as being that low, but you rely on overtones (that are contained within the note) to get the quality, timbre and volume. So, an HPF on my cabinets. I don't use speaker simulations in my signal path so, it's an EQ'd DI straight out to front of house which is left to do all the heavy lifting. My usual gig this year has included a great PA with big subs and that would have done a great job of dealing with the full breadth of sound that this bass can deal out. (it was designed especially for the job rather than just strapping low strings on any ole bass to see what happens.)

Finally FOH, well, to sit in the mix the sound gets tweaked some more, but the net effect is some really nice low frequencies that don't boom but provide depth. The low string isn't about being louder or bassier than anyone else, just like my keyboard players left hand piano register. 

22 minutes ago, Maude said:

Indeed, more F art than F sharp. 

See above. Yes, when done badly, low tunings sound ghastly, mushy, incoherent and not at all adding anything to the overall sound. Done well, it's no different from hearing a piano player "go low".