Best 4 string for BEAD?

[ToLo]

Try as I might, I just can't get on with a 5 string bass. I'm therefore intrigued to know what people use for a 4 string bass tuned BEAD? Would you consider a multiscale 4 string essential for BEAD, or could you get away with a regular 34 inch scale bass?

I don't really want to have to faff around mod-ing the hell out of the tuning peg and/or nut to take a B string gauge. There don't appear to be many 4 string multiscale options out there outside of Dingwall. I'm not a huge fan of the Dingwall sound - plus they're very expensive!

If anyone has any experience with these I'd be keen to find out more about these:

• Ibanez SRMS800

• G4M 972 Fanned Fret Bass Guitar

 

Let me know if there are any other basses I should check out (preferably on the more affordable end of the spectrum).

 

[ezbass]

Plenty of 34” scale 5 strings out there (‘Ray5 for example) so a 34”, 4 string, tuned BEAD, shouldn’t be an issue. Avoiding smaller tuner capstans will remove any need for alterations there (Fender/MM/etc type). However, widening of the fret slots will probably be required, as all 4 slots will be taking a thicker string than intended, unless you go for a gauge that is light enough to negate this small modification.

[BigRedX]

48 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Plenty of 34” scale 5 strings out there (‘Ray5 for example) so a 34”, 4 string, tuned BEAD, shouldn’t be an issue. Avoiding smaller tuner capstans will remove any need for alterations there (Fender/MM/etc type). However, widening of the fret slots will probably be required, as all 4 slots will be taking a thicker string than intended, unless you go for a gauge that is light enough to negate this small modification.

 

And maybe a slight slackening of the truss rod as the low B is quite a bit lower in tension than the G.

[ezbass]

34 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

And maybe a slight slackening of the truss rod as the low B is quite a bit lower in tension than the G.

Good point.

[Doctor J]

Short answer: It's more about having the right strings than a longer scale bass. 34" is fine.

 

Long answers in here

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/462156-death-core-bass-in-f/#comment-4698604

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/473406-longer-neck-for-fender-p-bass/page/2/#comment-5369697

 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/461893-a-standard-adgcf/#comment-4694130

 

Edited November 15 by Doctor J

[BigRedX]

It also depends what sort of a low B sound you want. Some down-tuned styles seem to require a loose floppy string, others don't.

 

IME If you want a nice balanced feeling and sounding low B you need the right strings coupled with a stiff neck and a tight well-made neck/body joint (or through neck construction). Also look at lowering the pickups slightly from what is usual with a standard 4-string bass. The fatter the string the more likely it is to be influenced by the deadening effects of the pick up magnets. Finally I always go for a slightly heavier than standard string for low B. 130 would be a minimum for me - ideally 135.

[Skybone]

Best bass for BEAD?

 

A P bass (or variation thereof).

Edited November 15 by Skybone

[uk_lefty]

I strung up a bitsa P bass BEAD and it worked fine. My head couldn't handle it but the bass could! 

[Bolo]

16 hours ago, Skybone said:

Best bass for BEAD?

 

A P bass (or variation thereof).

STRONG disagree. But forums are for opinions, so there's that.

 

A bridge pup or mm bucker sound tighter when going that low.

[Sibob]

PM’d you.

 

Si

[Kev]

Anything well built and. crucially, well set up will work, preferably with hum buckers.  Getting a "good" B is 99% about making sure the neck and bridge are set up optimally.  String gauge is preference, scale length is a huge 2nd to setup.  

 

I currently use a StingRay and Alpher bass in B.  I left 5's behind back in 2019 in favour of drop tuned 4's, never looked back.  Realised I never liked using a G string and felt much more comfortable on a narrower neck, so made total sense.

[Jackroadkill]

Didn't Sandberg to al Olli Riedel signature that was made for BEAD?

[Grassie]

I had my old G&L Tribute Kiloton strung BEAD for a while. 34in scale plus gurt humbucker style pup near the bridge combo worked a treat. 😊

[Obrienp]

On TalkBass a few people were posting about using a Nordstrand Acinonyx BEAD and that it works. If that is really true, I would have thought any full scale 4 string would be fine, as it is going to benefit from greater string tension than the 30.75” Acinonyx.

[andruca]

I've done it so far with many of my 4 strings: Jazz, my Yamahas (SBV-500, SB500S). I even punked the crap out of a (30.5" scale) Epiphone Viola strung BEAD for years, it just worked. 100% pick,with plenty of crunch and compression.

 

Just pick a 4 string you like and start with that. As others point out, experiment with string gauges for a low B with authority. Just consider a bridge pickup always helps with low B articulation.

Edited Monday at 20:52 by andruca

[andruca]

On 17/11/2024 at 00:18, Jackroadkill said:

Didn't Sandberg to al Olli Riedel signature that was made for BEAD?

 

There was also the Ibanez Paul Grey (Slipknot) signature ATK. Basically an ATK-300 with widened nut slots.

Edited Monday at 20:57 by andruca

[PaulThePlug]

Ibby SR300, 305, 306...

[Rolf]

I have my parts P-bass strung in BEAD and it works good. I also have a Hipshot d-tuner so I can go down to A, it's a little floppy with a .130, a .135 would be better.