Tuning Guitar Wit Bass??

[eMopNKiD]

Hey tanxx 4 lookin at my msg at the 1st place, but the other time i went to a gig n i saw the guitarist tuning his guitar to the bass..how do they do that??i mean could anyone of u tell me which fret of the bass they use to tune with the guitar??thanxx a lot...

 

[PaulChoo]

geez

the 4 strings of the bass are to the same tning of the top 4 strings of the guitar dude.

 

[Ragus]

Or rather, the bottom 4 strings of the guitar, depending which way you look at it.

If playing in a band, it's better for the musicians to tune to each other's instruments instead of each to their own different tuners, as some tuners do give different readings.

 

[guitar_phreak]

If u're not into weird tunings or you're not using a baritone, then your guitar should be tuned EADGBE or BEADGBE for 7 strings (perfect 4th intervals with a 3rd on 2nd string B)

A standard bass would be EADG or BEADG (5 string) or BEADGB (6 string).. so ..do the math and tune from there...(ps: any more strings and u're being fancy!!)

Agree, that they shld tune to each other. I'd rather tune to keyboards though if given the choice, coz they're the most precise in my mind...

Then again, tuning is like an expression...u can always tune ur guitar differently, or 1/6th a step down from the rest to create some out of this world sounds...

 

[squidospyder]

Minor correction: so called 'proper' tuning for 6 string bass should be BEADGC from thickest to thinnest (to avoid confusion on which string is 1st or whatever). Some bassists i've come across do prefer tuning 6 string basses to BEADGB or even EADGBE, most of whom are also guitar players or ex players. Easier to visualize guitar chord shapes and apply guitar knowledge etc (that is if they're tapping or sweeping or vaccuming etc) Other than that BEADGC keeps the 'patterns' intact esp when transpositioning scale shapes etc. If you're a bassist you should know...? But of course those who DO choose to play 6 string basses have their own fave tunings, tenor bass or some sick tuning to facilitate that crazy tapping tune. Unfortunately fact is most who choose to play 6 string basses use only 3 strings 99.9999999% of the time. Looks waay cool. Heavy. Their choice.

Anyways back to topic, if you're gonna be 'unprofessional' enuff to tune onstage while plugged in, ask the bassist to play the 12th fret harmonic on the corresponding string for your referrence. Eg tune the guitar thickest E to bass E string 12th fret harmonic. A to the A 12th fret harm. etc blah blah. Ya and it won't be so easy if your bassist drops D or drops whatever; you got to know your math after all and what tuning he/she/it uses. Tuning to a keyboard would be much more fun especially if your bassist uses flatwounds or he too didn't tune his bass beforehand! All that said, an intro to what relatively cheap (esp if you share with your bandmates) electronic tuners are for: Tuning.