Bass Setup / Drop Tuning Question

[jeffCARTEL]

I'm a bass player, and I play in Db/Ab/Db/Gb; everything dropped a half step, then the E dropped another whole step. I'm having issues getting my setup correct. I've taken it to be setup twice, and to a couple different guitar techs. Noone can get this thing to sound right.

When I play in Eb/Ab/Db/Gb, everything sounds great, but when i drop that Eb down to a Db, i'm having intonation issues. The open and 12th frets sound great, and are intonated at a perfect Db, but my 5th, 7th, and 9th frets are all registering sharp. I play with a pick, and rather harshly..is this caused by fret buzz? If so, what adjustments can i make to fix this? If not, help..i'm clueless.

 

[adouglas]

Tuning an E string down three steps will result in incredibly low string tension. Flop, flab, fretboard slap.....

A 5-string bass will solve your problem quite nicely. Is that an option for you?

 

[Dargin]

What gauge strings do you use? You'll need a thick set for that kind of tuning.

 

[Brian]

Jeff - Great to see you on the forum. You are playing with Power Slinkys right? I can send you thicker gauges to try out. A .115 or a .125 on the E string would provide increased tension suitable for drop tuning.

Lets welcome Jeff to the forum. Here is an awesome picture of Jeff's band Cartel playing live on the Ernie Ball Stage on this past year's Vans Warped Tour. They are getting huge and the sky is the limit for these guys.

 

[jeffCARTEL]

Tuning an E string down three steps will result in incredibly low string tension. Flop, flab, fretboard slap.....

A 5-string bass will solve your problem quite nicely. Is that an option for you?

I don't really have the means to sell all my 4 strings for 5 strings. So it's not really an option.

 

[jeffCARTEL]

Jeff - Great to see you on the forum. You are playing with Power Slinkys right? I can send you thicker gauges to try out. A .115 or a .125 on the E string would provide increased tension suitable for drop tuning.

Lets welcome Jeff to the forum. Here is an awesome picture of Jeff's band Cartel playing live on the Ernie Ball Stage on this past year's Vans Warped Tour. They are getting huge and the sky is the limit for these guys.

Brian -

Holy ****. Thats a great picture. Definitely a keeper.

If you'd be willing to send something thicker that'd be great. I've been playing the power slinkys you sent. They sound near perfect, but i'm still having some issues when i'm picking pretty hard. It's pretty slight, but when i hear recordings of live shows, i notice it.

Big ups to Brian, and everyone else at EB. You guys have been more than great with everything.

 

[sloshep]

Jeff - Great to see you on the forum. You are playing with Power Slinkys right? I can send you thicker gauges to try out. A .115 or a .125 on the E string would provide increased tension suitable for drop tuning.

Lets welcome Jeff to the forum. Here is an awesome picture of Jeff's band Cartel playing live on the Ernie Ball Stage on this past year's Vans Warped Tour. They are getting huge and the sky is the limit for these guys.

Welcome to the forum Jeff.
Make sure that super sized E string doesn't get stuck in the nut and cracks it. Nobody likes having a cracked nut when playing bass. Have a guitar tech make sure the nut grove is large enough.

 

[PocketGroove82]

I'm betting that ultra floppy "Db" string is what caused the girl to crowd surf!

But really man, try a 5string.
Db is a B strings bread and butter.

 

[boomer074]

Welcome Jeff I love your band, you guys rock.

 

[jeffCARTEL]

I'm betting that ultra floppy "Db" string is what caused the girl to crowd surf!

haha.

 

[rhythmCity944]

i tune my stingray 4 down to the same tuning you use...i found at first it didn't work right but after a few months of letting the neck set in, the bass seemed to take the low C# pretty well. I just tune the bass string slightly flat (barely) and that allows the intonation to be right for the rest of the neck My neck has very little bow in it and the bass string is set just slightly, not much, just to allow for more aggressive playing without buzz...i use the 45,65,85,105 strings...

 

[Baird]

I just played the Cartel tunes from MySpace for my 11 year old and now he is making me go to the mall to buy the CD. Thanks!

Very cool stuff.

My kid says Cartel is even better than Simple Plan which WAS his favorite band if that means anything!

 

[Caca de Kick]

I play with a pick, and rather harshly...

I just watched a bunch of youtube live videos, and you do play quite harsh...almost like a guitar player approach to bass. (please don't take that the wrong way). I honestly can't see how you'd get good intonated notes thay way hitting them that hard.

You do have to be more delicate dropping the E that much lower, it's much easier to pull out of tune. Use a heavier E. What do you have now? 105? 110? Is it nickel or stainless? I feel stainless strings are more taught and don't bend out of tune as easy as nickels.

 

[mike not fat]

Hello Jeff,

I'm playing a Bongo in DGCF and i use .65 - .130 (the 4 biggest strings of a regular 5 set). I don't have any intonation problems, even tunning the D down to C in some tunes.

I mostly play with fingers (rarely with a pick), so I have a very low action, without buzzing. If you play with a pick, try to get your strings higher using the bridge, to avoid buzzing.

To get the bigger strings in the nut, i did small adjustment with fine sandpaper for the A and G strings (others fitted in without a problem).

i'll follow the others advice and go on youtube to hear what you play !

MNF

 

[jeffCARTEL]

i put a 115 on the e, and it seems to keep the intonation better. havent tried it live though.

 

[mammoth]

welcome to the forum dude!

+1 to heavier gauge here!