tuning bass to drop C

[Zahahaha]

if im not wrong, theres a thread about this but hey, here goes nothing.
well, basically i tried tuning my bass to drop C but i found out that the string seems lose. its quite hard to strum it and it has buzzing sound.
Is there any way to tune it properly so that it doesnt buzz?

 

[alanchia]

It's expected the string to be sloppy since the E has to drop to 4 semi tones down.

If you need drop C often, have you look into getting a 5-string bass with low B instead?

I recall in the thread I was suggesting getting a low-B string to replace the E, and tune it up to C. Alteration of the guitar would be to cut the nut groove wider and deeper to accomodate the B string.

 

[Zahahaha]

icic. coz im currently i have a 4 string bass and i wanna use it 1st for the time being. i shud be using it for quite a long time. so, ill be buying 5 string bass maybe in a year time XD.

any other suggestion for 4 string bass?

 

[Labelkills]

Yup..thats what i did to my 4 string bass. I bought a 5 string set and used the lower thicker 4 strings and left out the thinnest string. the scale length of the bass can affect the tension as well. lastly i remembered taking some time to get used to playing with much thicker strings but its fun unless u prefer lighter thinner strings.:-D

 

[Pizzicato]

i had the same problem too, when playing Invincible by muse, have to tune to C. But instead i tune the D string to C, much closer, and it is at the right octave. you may want to play your bass riff / bass song an octave higher

 

[Labelkills]

haha yeah thats we normally do when we can't get the low octave but then again we won't be able to feel the "ummph" if u get what i mean. especially for us bass players:mrgreen:

 

[alanchia]

for this reason, that's why i've purchased a 5-stringer with low b. the songs i play usually require low notes lower than the low E.

 

[rock-fied]

Maybe if you post more of the specifications of your bass, we could help you more? In my case, my jazz bass had no problems tuning from standard to drop c.. though i'm sure drop c was the lowest it could handle.. So maybe you would wanna check the setup of your guitar..e.g. action and intonation for a thicker gauge of strings

Or like what many others have shed light on.. you can actually transpose the song to a different tuning, e.g. drop d..which of course is a different matter altogether

 

[lordie]

i used a 5er but i do drop C on it ;p. tuning the E string to C.

no issues with fret buzz, etc..etc.. coz my bass was set up to accommodate standard D tuning, and B remain the same, relief of the neck, etc..etc..

use a higher tension string, eg) DR Lo riders, i use DR Black Beauties.

but issues when go to standard tuning the intonation a bit out and the string i found a bit too stiff ;p.

 

[Revelt]

Uh... Get higher tensioned/thicker strings? I dunno if that'll work, but makes sense to me.

 

[Zahahaha]

so it works if i buy 5-strings string, and put it to my 4 string bass? so i just leave the last string out.
am i correct about wat u guys are talking about?

 

[alanchia]

yes, use B, E, A, D is what was suggested. my suggestion is simply use B, A, D, G.

you likely need to recut the nut groove and resetup bridge & intonation.

 

[Zahahaha]

ouh. lol. i dono how to do all this setting sia. im still damn noob although been playing bass for like 5 years. pathetic man.

 

[Revelt]

No. I meant get higher guage strings.

 

[alanchia]

let's summarize for ts:

1) replace E with B
2) replace E, A, D, G with B, E, A, D
3) replace E, A, D, G with higher gauge (thicker) E, A, D, G

any of the option, you will likely need to recut the nut groove and resetup bridge & intonation.

 

[engz]

i don't play many high notes on my bass, just the occasional lick above the 12th fret mark, so the high G string was pretty useless for me. was good for chord work but that was about it. i didn't have the quid to get a taranis *cough* lordie *cough* so i made my own one by doing what most ppl here have already recommended to you: get a 5string set and use the 4 thicker strings. i'm std tuned to BEAD however when i rock with beathesystem i do a CFA#D# tuning. it works for me, it may work for u =]

i'm actually trying to find a real heavy 4string gauge so that i don't have to waste a string everytime i change strings but the thickest i've seen so far is just 110, seems that 115 is only available in singles. a friend of mine has got good results with a 110 gauge tuning to drop C on his fender jazz, but i need mine to go the occasional low B so in my case i don't think 110 would work =\

whatever u do, u're bound to need to mod the nut slightly to accommodate the thicker strings.

i know i'm not saying anything new here. but just thought i'd say that this is what i did, and it worked for me =D

 

[lordie]

bleah...

the B E A D tuning should work really well especially for drop C, u just need to tune the B to C the, the E to A, etc..etc..

but u need to file down the nut a bit so that the string sits proper, as for the bridge. that depends.

 

[Zahahaha]

hmm... okaaaaay. im lost on the nut part. isit the one that is where u slot in the string?

for thicker gauge, wat brand ar?

 

[alanchia]

the nut is at the top part of your fretboard where the strings are slotted into the grooves. like the bridge, it sets the height of the strings (from the fretboard). as some of the strings are thicker than your typical standard setup, the thicker strings may not be able to slot into the grooves. thus there's a requirement to file it wider and/or deeper.

since alteration is made, you cant use back the normal E, A, D, G strings as the grooves may be too deep/wide. you'll have to replace the nut then.

best is to visit a luthier for opinion what is the best option based on the status of the guitar now.

 

[Zahahaha]

icic. so where can i see this luthier? any recommendation?