billy carr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2013
- Messages
- 265
What's the best way to set up a stingray for a drop b tuning? What strings would be best? I'm new to the bass.
Question stingray drop b tuning
- Thread starter billy carr
- Start date
sanderhermans
Well-known member
Drop D works fine if you use one gauge thicker strings. But drop B??? I guess try using the thickest strings you can find for a bass guitar or use a 5 string set and only use the thickest 4 strings. Better yet buy a 5 string bass to achieve these low tones.
If you are firm on 4 string then you should use verry thick strings to ensure you keep enough tension on the strings but then the nut should propably be adjusted for thicker string gauge and reset your intonation.
If you are firm on 4 string then you should use verry thick strings to ensure you keep enough tension on the strings but then the nut should propably be adjusted for thicker string gauge and reset your intonation.
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Hhhhmmnnn ......
"Drop" usually refers to a 2-semi-tone drop, usually "drop D".
Sooooo ..... *hopefully* ..... "Drop B" *might* mean a similar
drop ..... just 1 or 2 semi-tones from CFBbEb or from C#F#BE.
The above is reasonably do-able. The low string is a normal
B-string. The FBbEb is the rest of the BEAD set cranked up
one semi-tone, which is a minor tension increase. Or you can
use the normally "ADG" strings for either FBbEb or F#BE. The
tension on those three will be slightly reduced but very good.
I play CFBbEb at times, using a normal EADG set, and the one
string that *could* stand some improvement is the E tuned to
C, but you will be using a B-string there.
Acoarst if the OP is actually about a drastic downtuning PLUS
a drop on the low string then there's no "best way" to execute
a really hopeless idea :-(
You're new to bass so be advised that while a geetar can be
slack tuned cuz there's a bit of tension to spare. This is not
so [or, at best, barely so] with bass geetars. A *proper* bass
has a 42" scale, so a 34" scale bass geetar is already quite
compromised and so barely an OK candidate for downtuning.
Whereas a tenor geetar is at it's "native" scale length, thus it
is not "pre-downtuned" at EADGBE and so has decent margin
available for slacker tuning. Technically, even a 42" scale bass
is shorter than it should ideally be [calculating from the violin
as a base line], so slacking a 34" bass more than very slightly
is pretty much a losing proposition.
Hhhhmmnnn ......
"Drop" usually refers to a 2-semi-tone drop, usually "drop D".
Sooooo ..... *hopefully* ..... "Drop B" *might* mean a similar
drop ..... just 1 or 2 semi-tones from CFBbEb or from C#F#BE.
The above is reasonably do-able. The low string is a normal
B-string. The FBbEb is the rest of the BEAD set cranked up
one semi-tone, which is a minor tension increase. Or you can
use the normally "ADG" strings for either FBbEb or F#BE. The
tension on those three will be slightly reduced but very good.
I play CFBbEb at times, using a normal EADG set, and the one
string that *could* stand some improvement is the E tuned to
C, but you will be using a B-string there.
Acoarst if the OP is actually about a drastic downtuning PLUS
a drop on the low string then there's no "best way" to execute
a really hopeless idea :-(
You're new to bass so be advised that while a geetar can be
slack tuned cuz there's a bit of tension to spare. This is not
so [or, at best, barely so] with bass geetars. A *proper* bass
has a 42" scale, so a 34" scale bass geetar is already quite
compromised and so barely an OK candidate for downtuning.
Whereas a tenor geetar is at it's "native" scale length, thus it
is not "pre-downtuned" at EADGBE and so has decent margin
available for slacker tuning. Technically, even a 42" scale bass
is shorter than it should ideally be [calculating from the violin
as a base line], so slacking a 34" bass more than very slightly
is pretty much a losing proposition.
Last edited:
sanderhermans
Well-known member
Must agree with gollem on this one. I use drop D in my band and even that is pretty low for bass imo. I use 105 or 110 size for my lowest string that i tune in e at home and in d for the band. But i still get alot of string buzz in drop d, even with 2 string gauges heavier than normal. So altough i use drop d tuning myself i wouldnt neccesarily recomend it to others. For lower notes than e, a 5 string is still the best option imo.
If you want strings to properly set it up for Drop B and keep it there, then I would try this as a starting point:
.130 B (36 lb)
.090 F# (38 lb)
.070 B (41 lb)
.055 E (45 lb)
These tensions are pretty close to those of a normal 5 string:
.130 B (36 lb)
.100 E (38 lb)
.080 A (43 lb)
.065 D (50 lb)
.045 G (43 lb)
But you'll probably have to file the nut to get that .130 in there, so think twice before you do that. If you're going to use multiple tunings and retune a lot then the custom string gauges might not be worth it. Personally I like to set up my guitars with my ideal string gauge and then keep the guitar in that tuning. So if you're going to do that it's great to have it set up properly. You can get individual strings at juststrings.com.
.130 B (36 lb)
.090 F# (38 lb)
.070 B (41 lb)
.055 E (45 lb)
These tensions are pretty close to those of a normal 5 string:
.130 B (36 lb)
.100 E (38 lb)
.080 A (43 lb)
.065 D (50 lb)
.045 G (43 lb)
But you'll probably have to file the nut to get that .130 in there, so think twice before you do that. If you're going to use multiple tunings and retune a lot then the custom string gauges might not be worth it. Personally I like to set up my guitars with my ideal string gauge and then keep the guitar in that tuning. So if you're going to do that it's great to have it set up properly. You can get individual strings at juststrings.com.
