Is it possible to do this??

[wes_jett2008]

Just currious if tuning up the 5th string on a bass is safe(IE wont break)...Im talking about tuning it one up to a C,the tuning im talking about would be C,C,G,C,F.

Reason I ask if because a song me and my friend play is tuned to drop c...well on a 4 string the low string is obviously C,BUT the song was made with a 5 string bass...so were not sure what to tune it too.I tuned the 5th string to C in powertab and everything sounded right....so will it break or am I just all wrong in the first place??


thanks for any help.

[Thonk]

Why would you want two C's?

Tune GCGCF. You don't HAVE to use the 5th string because it was written that way.

[wes_jett2008]

yeah but he insists on playing the song the right way.....I guess what we really need to know is what tuning the real one is in then.

like the first part is

-----------7--------
----7---8----8----7
0-0----------------

the 0's are played on the 5th string and sound wrong in powertab in anything other than C.We have seen the guy play the song and thats how he does it.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

How many strings are you playing on?

If you are playing on a five string bass, you don't need to drop tune anything. Just transpose it to the correct frets. Fret one on the B string equals C, so you can just play that instead of having to tune CCGCF--which is the dumbest way to tune anything--just to play some open notes. There is really no point in having two low C's.

What is the point in having a five string bass if you are just going to drop tune? This is one reason why people purchase five string basses.

Capiche?

So, you can do something like this:

F|-----------------------------|
C|-----------------------------|
G|-------------------7---------|
C|-----------7---8------8---7--|
C|--0---0----------------------|

----C---C----G---Ab--D--Ab--G--

G|-----------------------------|
D|-----------------------------|
A|-------------------5---------|
E|-----------3---4------4---3--|
B|--1---1----------------------|

Or however other way you would like to play it.

[Akira]

If you for some reason insist on keeping Drop C then tune GCGCF. Having C doesn't seem too useful.

[EADG]

Or tune it BCGCF and don't use the B, but that's stupid too.

[flea_slap_god]

isn't the point of having a 5 string so you dont have to tune down? or is that just me?

[jon_slaps_bass]

How many strings are you playing on?

If you are playing on a five string bass, you don't need to drop tune anything. Just transpose it to the correct frets. Fret one on the B string equals C, so you can just play that instead of having to tune CCGCF--which is the dumbest way to tune anything--just to play some open notes. There is really no point in having two low C's.

What is the point in having a five string bass if you are just going to drop tune? This is one reason why people purchase five string basses.

Capiche?

So, you can do something like this:

F|-----------------------------|
C|-----------------------------|
G|-------------------7---------|
C|-----------7---8------8---7--|
C|--0---0----------------------|

----C---C----G---Ab--D--Ab--G--

G|-----------------------------|
D|-----------------------------|
A|-------------------5---------|
E|-----------3---4------4---3--|
B|--1---1----------------------|

Or however other way you would like to play it.

you could transpose it, but then you lose the ability to go from the open c and hammer on say the 10th fret.
isn't the point of having a 5 string so you dont have to tune down? or is that just me?
he isn't tuning down, he is tuning to C which is higher, To thread starter, tune your bass to C starting on the B string. C,F,A#,D#,G# now you have a C and you can play your bass like you usually would, I don't like tuning my bass so its not in fourths between strings.

[wes_jett2008]

Well im not the one playing the bass,its my friend and were both stumped on how to tune it....Actually we found that leaving the bottom string on B and then tuning the other 4 to drop c it sounds just fine so I guess that will work.


edit: I guess what im really trying to figure out is how to make the 0's on the B string sound matched up with the guitar which is dropped to c too.

Here is what im talking about BTW,this is my tab I made..maybe you guys can get a better idea of what im talking about. http://www.doorstep.co.uk/~wes_jett2008/Animal%20my%20tab.ptb

[EADG]

you could transpose it, but then you lose the ability to go from the open c and hammer on say the 10th fret.
.


Yeah but this song doesn't have a hammer on from open C to the 10th fret to my knowledge.




he isn't tuning down, he is tuning to C which is higher, To thread starter, tune your bass to C starting on the B string. C,F,A#,D#,G# now you have a C and you can play your bass like you usually would, I don't like tuning my bass so its not in fourths between strings.


He shouldn't have to tune up or down, that's what Flea is saying. He has a 5 string and all of the notes are playable in standard tuning, still in 4ths.

[SüP]

Is that the main riff to "Animal I have become" by Three Days Grace?

Update: Looking at your power tab file...it is.

I thought it was just played in standard tuning. Such as:

G|-----------------------------|
D|-----------------------------|
A|-------------------7---------|
E|-----------7---8------8---7--|
B|--0---0----------------------|

[EADG]

Is that the main riff to "Animal I have become" by Three Days Grace?

Update: Looking at your power tab file...it is.

I thought it was just played in standard tuning. Such as:

G|-----------------------------|
D|-----------------------------|
A|-------------------7---------|
E|-----------7---8------8---7--|
B|--0---0----------------------|



No, I think the Powertab is for CGCF. In the video he uses a 5 string though.

[wes_jett2008]

Yeah to my knowlege it is in drop c,cause thats what the guitar is in...my friend is a newbie and the bass so he's not to great at transposing or anything,He looks at a tab and plays it...thats why we have to have it tuned...maybe the real song does'nt use the 5th string...Im pretty sure it does though.

[EADG]

Judging by the video the bassist plays it on a 5 string in standard.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

Yeah to my knowlege it is in drop c,cause thats what the guitar is in...my friend is a newbie and the bass so he's not to great at transposing or anything,He looks at a tab and plays it...thats why we have to have it tuned...maybe the real song does'nt use the 5th string...Im pretty sure it does though.

Just tell him to leave it in standard and transpose it to a different position. He will thank you later because it will help him in the long run. You can't be a n00b forever! Err...you can, but that's besides the point.

[FunkMetalBass]

Doesn't the bassist for Three Days Grace use a tenor 5 dropped?

So C,G,C,F,Bb?

It doesn't matter.

Thread starter, tune it B,C,G,C,F and forget about the bottom string. It would be completely retarded to use it and would probably sound better by ignoring it. I don't even think the guy uses it in the song. But then again, whatever.

I stopped caring half way through writing this.

[wes_jett2008]

err thanks for the help I guess.....we'll just mess around and find out how it to do it I guess,Might go the dont use the 5th string route.

[White_Summer]

they play in C, and the bass is tuned as such, i believe he tunes up, so that he is in sync with the guitar

[EADG]

Ok then.. maybe tune up to C F Bb Eb Ab?


It won't hurt your bass. Rly!!

[Akira]

People get way too hung up on tunings sometimes. Just try to play it in standard, and if fingerings are really awkward try changing it.

[Jeronimofesto]

I can play the entire song on my standard tuned 5 string, not a big deal. It doesn't matter how it is tuned, there is only one right note to play. So it doesn't matter if you play an open C or the first fret on the B string. Either way, it is a C. I can tab out the whole song (BEADG) if you still have trouble trying to figure it out.

[wes_jett2008]

If you could please do it,It would help my friend out cause hes really not getting much of this lol....Hes a bass newb.

Only thing he understands is to tune it and play it like the tab says.I just want him to sound matched up with the guitar.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

If you could please do it,It would help my friend out cause hes really not getting much of this lol....Hes a bass newb.

Only thing he understands is to tune it and play it like the tab says.I just want him to sound matched up with the guitar.

You should have just forced him to switch it to a different position and helped him out along the way.

Putting it in a different position is one of the easiest things you can do. I mean, if you don't know the fretboard too well it might take a while, but, still, it is relatively easy.

[Jeronimofesto]

Three Days Grace
Animal I Have Become
Tuning BEADG

G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------5--------------5--------------5--------------5--------------5----
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3
B-1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1-----------

G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------5--------------5--------------5--------------5--------------5----
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3
B-1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1-----------

G-----------------------------------
D-----------------------------------
A----------5--------------5---------
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-------
B-1-1------------1-1----------------

G|---------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------5--------------5----|
E|---------------------------------3-4---4-3------3-4---4--|
B|-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4---1-1------------1-1-----------| Repeat as needed

G---------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------
B-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4--4-6-6--6-6-6--6-9-

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------3-3-3-4-----------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4-------------------- x 3

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------------------------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4---6-4-3------------

G-----------------------------
D-----------------------------
A----------5--------------5---
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-
B-1-1------------1-1----------

G|---------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------5--------------5----|Repeat as needed
E|---------------------------------3-4---4-3------3-4---4--|
B|-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4--4-4-4---1-1------------1-1-----------|

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------3-3-3-4-----------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4-------------------- x 5

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------------------------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4---6-4-3------------

G-----
D-----
A-----
E-----
B--1--

G-----------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------6-----------------------------------
E-4-4--4-4-4--4--------5---5-4-------------------------------
B---------------6-6--6-----------1-1--1-1-1--1-4-4--4-4-4--4-

G-----------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------6-----------------------------------
E-4-4--4-4-4--4--------5---5-4-------------------------------
B---------------6-6--6-----------1-1--1-1-1--1-4-4--4-4-4--4--

G-----------------------------
D-----------------------------
A---------------------5-------
E-4-4--4-4-4--4---3-4---4-3---
B---------------1-----------1-

G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------5--------------5--------------5--------------5-------------5-----
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4--4-3-
B----------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1-----------
keep repeating as needed

G---------------
D---------------
A----------5----
E------3-4---4-3
B-1-1----------- rest

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------3-3-3-4-----------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4-------------------- x 3

G--------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------
A---------1-1-1-1----------------------------
E--------------------------------------------
B-1-1-1-1---------4-4-4-4---6-4-3------------


G---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------5--------------5--------------5--------------5-------------5-----
E------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4---4-3------3-4--4-3-
B-1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1------------1-1-----------

G---------------
D---------------
A----------5----
E------3-4---4-3
B-1-1-----------

G---------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------------------
A-------5-----------5-----------5-----------5-------
E---3-4---4-3---3-4---4-3---3-4---4-3---3-4---4-3---
B-1-----------1-----------1-----------1-----------1-



I hope that is at least enough to get you started. I know it isn't perfect, but it is close.

[wes_jett2008]

thanks alot man,that will help him out alot...i hope anyway.


thanks again :)

[eburton04]

just tune your bass to whatever you think will be best. for my last band we had songs in C and D and instead of tuning back and forth i tuned my bass C-D-G-C-F (mainly because in one of our songs we switched from d to c, and so i just thought it would be easiest to just tune that extra string that i didnt use often to c. so yeah)


anyway i dunno if that helped. but yeah like these other guys said you dont HAVE to retune that shizzz

[Pluperfect_Arson]

just tune your bass to whatever you think will be best. for my last band we had songs in C and D and instead of tuning back and forth i tuned my bass C-D-G-C-F (mainly because in one of our songs we switched from d to c, and so i just thought it would be easiest to just tune that extra string that i didnt use often to c. so yeah)


anyway i dunno if that helped. but yeah like these other guys said you dont HAVE to retune that shizzz

d00d, you didn't even have to downtune for your band. You could have just left it in standard seeing as you wrote it out as a five string.

It is a good thing people are taking advantage of having the low B.:rolleyes:

[EADG]

d00d, you didn't even have to downtune for your band. You could have just left it in standard seeing as you wrote it out as a five string.

It is a good thing people are taking advantage of having the low B.:rolleyes:



He can use whatever tuning he wants. If you think only your way is right, you belong at TalkBass.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

He can use whatever tuning he wants. If you think only your way is right, you belong at TalkBass.

No, I was talking to the guy before me; not the threadstarter.

EDIT: You changed your post.

I am not trying to be a dick about it. I just think it is a bit ridiculous. What's the point in downtuning when you already have notes lower than the ones you need?

Not to mention that going from C to D in string tunings is just completely weird.

[EADG]

I am not trying to be a dick about it. I just think it is a bit ridiculous. What's the point in downtuning when you already have notes lower than the ones you need?

Not to mention that going from C to D in string tunings is just completely weird.


Sorry, thought you were talking to TS, should pay more attention.


Anyway the point:

- it's easier to follow the guitarists in the same tuning
- if you use the open string a lot it could make the song easier to play
- you can use the open D and C notes as drones while playing higher
- the notes as open strings will sound different than fretted notes
- you will have different harmonics.


Why do you care if it's weird anyway? You dont have to use it.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

Sorry, thought you were talking to TS, should pay more attention.


Anyway the point:

- it's easier to follow the guitarists in the same tuning
- if you use the open string a lot it could make the song easier to play
- you can use the open D and C notes as drones while playing higher
- the notes as open strings will sound different than fretted notes
- you will have different harmonics.


Why do you care if it's weird anyway? You dont have to use it.

Yeah, I have already taken all of those points into consideration. It is just that having an open C and D limits the use of the bass. You lose notes on the low end since you can achieve the note of a D by fretting fret two on C. I know open and fretted notes sound different, but it really isn't going to make that much of a difference. I, actually, liked fretted notes more.

I don't have a problem following guitarists when they are in drop D and I am still in standard. Even when they downtuned lower than that, I just stayed in standard. I learned to transpose while playing and whatnot. When they go into A standard is when you have to think about tuning down. :p

I am, by no means, against downtuning because I do it often, but I maintain the fourths across the strings. I would rather just have all of my notes and learn to overcome the obstacle than resort to alternate tunings.

[EADG]

Yeah, I have already taken all of those points into consideration. It is just that having an open C and D limits the use of the bass. You lose notes on the low end since you can achieve the note of a D by fretting fret two on C. I know open and fretted notes sound different, but it really isn't going to make that much of a difference. I, actually, liked fretted notes more.

I don't have a problem following guitarists when they are in drop D and I am still in standard. Even when they downtuned lower than that, I just stayed in standard. I learned to transpose while playing and whatnot. When they go into A standard is when you have to think about tuning down. :p




That's true, you do lose the lower notes but when tuned down to C you're usually playing heavier music.. and heavier music tends to be in minor keys. Therefore not much use for the B note anyway.

I like the sound of an open string. It's really hard to describe way. If playing hardcore or metal, it just sounds so much more powerful.

[Jody LeCompte]

I'm going to skip over the entire thread and say why not just play your first fret B which would be a C...

[Pluperfect_Arson]

That's true, you do lose the lower notes but when tuned down to C you're usually playing heavier music.. and heavier music tends to be in minor keys. Therefore not much use for the B note anyway.

I like the sound of an open string. It's really hard to describe way. If playing hardcore or metal, it just sounds so much more powerful.

I play heavier music, but my band is in standard minus one song that is in drop D for the guitars.

We wanted to be one of those bands that stays in standard while maintaining heaviness. I think that we might end up doing some alternate tunings, though, for the hell of it.

I know what you mean about the sound of an open string, and I will agree with it sounding more powerful. :)