View Full Version : is there any reason for alternate tunings on bass?
hot_rats!
01.10.04, 11:24 AM
I can't think of any good reason for an alternate tuning on bass, besides tunings in a metal band and the guitarist is drop D, so the bass plays the exact same thing he does.
guidedbyechos
01.10.04, 11:37 AM
well if you considering a band like papa roach for instance hte guy plays on the bstring even tho the guitar is in standard and its easier to hear it. So to make it stand out I guess.
Originally posted by hot_rats!
I can't think of any good reason for an alternate tuning on bass, besides tunings in a metal band and the guitarist is drop D, so the bass plays the exact same thing he does.
Why wouldn't there be any reason to use alternate tunings. Drop D, Eb are both really common for bass. It's like saying there's no reason to use alternate tunings on a guitar. Bass isn't always about playing the root notes and backing the guitar. You can play counter melodies and driving bass lines. Hell the guitar can even be the one backing the bass instead of the other way around.
guidedbyechos
01.10.04, 1:51 PM
Originally posted by Crash
Hell the guitar can even be the one backing the bass instead of the other way around.
like primus
avenger86
01.10.04, 2:12 PM
Originally posted by guidedbyechos
like primus
Hell in Primus every one of them is just soloing! Especially when Tim Alexander was the drummer....damn was he good...
Iced Guardian
01.10.04, 2:51 PM
Originally posted by avenger86
Especially when Tim Alexander was the drummer....damn was he good...
He rejoined the band! :D
The User
01.10.04, 3:31 PM
even if youre not playing chords on bass (which you might be), alt tunings can make playing easier. you dont have to retune, but you can.
hot_rats!
01.10.04, 5:42 PM
Why wouldn't there be any reason to use alternate tunings. Drop D, Eb are both really common for bass. It's like saying there's no reason to use alternate tunings on a guitar. Bass isn't always about playing the root notes and backing the guitar. You can play counter melodies and driving bass lines. Hell the guitar can even be the one backing the bass instead of the other way around.
i understand bass is not limited to playen what the rhythm guitar plays. but i still dont see how an alternate tuning would help with leads/melodies.
Originally posted by hot_rats!
i understand bass is not limited to playen what the rhythm guitar plays. but i still dont see how an alternate tuning would help with leads/melodies.
If you're tuning down or tuning up you're changing the range of the instrument. That would be the most basic reason for using an alternat tuning. Things like drop-d or Eb, even E#. Those tunings allow you to play notes that wouldn't otherwise be available.
Another reason to use a different tuning is to make it easier, or just plain possible to play certain things. Bass isn't limited to playing a single note at a time, chords are not unheard of on bass and alternate tuning can give you the ability to play certain notes together that you could not physically reach in standard tuning. Even if chords aren't your thing alternate tunings will still move certain notes closer together and alter the way a scale would be played. If it's a slow line it's you may be able to move all over the neck but if you need to play it faster the ability to play in 1-2 positions instead of 3-4 would make it significantly easier. And then there's always drone notes, tuning certain strings to different notes, playing that string open and then playing other notes over top of it.
Really there's just as much reason for a bass to use alternat tunings as there is for a guitar to.
hot_rats!
01.10.04, 10:02 PM
And then there's always drone notes, tuning certain strings to different notes, playing that string open and then playing other notes over top of it.
that sounds like a great idea. especially for a 2or3 piece band.
Wayjurn
01.10.04, 11:48 PM
http://www.sweetestcoma.net/avarice/Displacement%20-%20My%20Own.mp3
That's why you play in alternate tunings.
That is my old band which I played bass in. I had a five string tuned to ADADG low to high, and it was fun coming up with stuff like you hear in the second chorus and the outro.
PS, the guitars in that band were typicall tuned DADGAD but for this particular song it was normal dropped D.
Dan the Man
01.26.04, 1:30 PM
Plus it's easier to solo on bass if you tune down because it's more comfortable to bend.
mayonaise
02.04.04, 4:11 AM
the most advantange tuning Ive made on bass was drop D, both guitarists in my band use "open tuning" but im in standard, I dont care much for tuning guitars/basses in other ways then standard
RUSHFANnLV
03.03.04, 2:02 PM
Listen to Remedy Lost (greyskulls band). The bass player plays a 5 string and doesn't use standard tuning. I'm a standard tune kind of guy but I can see the benefits of alternate tuning .
www.remedylost.com
doingtheunstuck
03.03.04, 3:04 PM
it's pretty much been covered already as to why... but i just wanted to back that up. the bassist in one of my old bands had two bases he'd use, one tuned down a half step and one that was tuned in fifths.
with the one down a half step, he was able to do more bends (which was definitely interesting in a hardcore band)... and the one tuned in fifths was used a lot for bass power chords...
another cool thing about the fifths tuning was when casey would get bored and start playing music originally written for the violin, just a little bit lower:D
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