String gauge for drop Bb

[Call Me Jack]

Whats a good string gadge for playing in drop Bb on a 4 sting?

Some Chevelle cover are coming up. =)

[Jake=Suck]

with standard strings(EADG) 110 on E(Bb)and it will still be pretty loose, with heavy strings(BEAD) 128 or so and it should be alright.
I think thats about right but i wouldnt take my word for it.

[edgebass5]

tuning up to the F on the standard E of a BEAD set might be a bit too tight though.... I would think your best bet would be to get a standard B string, then take the A D and G strings from a standard set and drop them down as needed. Maybe just buy a 5 string set and throw out the E string? Sounds weird, but it might be your best bet....

Are they in drop B or drop Bb? Drop B is already crazy low, but drop Bb is ridiculous :lol:

[edgebass5]

Now I'm second-guessing myself... are we talking B F# B E tuning, or are we talking about B E A D tuning....????

[Jake=Suck]

i thought he meant Bb F Bb Eb

[Akira]

I think he plays B F# B E.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

Threadstarter, which song are you playing in specific?

I just called my friend, so that I could give you an answer to your question, and he said that their most famous album was tuned to drop B for the majority of the songs, but he also mentioned that they have used a million and a half different tunings--the majority of which are in drop.

Dropping it down a fourth will cause the strings to be ridiculously loose, but you might want to try out what edge said. I am not really sure how to go about doing this seeing as I use a six string, and I don't ever have to drop tunings. :p

[Call Me Jack]

The clincher is what i had in mind. But also some stuff thats tuned higher like the red (C# F# B E)

[PietroCrespi]

No matter how hard I try, I can't ever get the intro to the Clincher right.

But yeah... isn't the Clincher in A# D# A# G?

[Jeronimofesto]

No matter how hard I try, I can't ever get the intro to the Clincher right.

But yeah... isn't the Clincher in A# D# A# G?

I just tune down my B string a half step and leave all the others the same for that song. To TS, buy a 5 string set and use the BEAD strings and you should be fine. Then tune it Bb E A D and just transcribe the tab to those. I makes it easier than tuning every string differently.. for me at least.

[Call Me Jack]

No matter how hard I try, I can't ever get the intro to the Clincher right.

But yeah... isn't the Clincher in A# D# A# G?

the enharmonic equivelents are Bb Eb Bb G.

[Pluperfect_Arson]

No matter how hard I try, I can't ever get the intro to the Clincher right.

But yeah... isn't the Clincher in A# D# A# G?

What the Hell kind of drop tuning is that?:confused:

Shouldn't that be A# E# A# D# / Bb F Bb Eb?

I have never seen a tuning that tunes a fourth then to a fifth and on to a minor second. That just seems completely unconventional.

[FunkMetalBass]

Oops.

/had a.... brain fart??



Chevelle had some really weird tunings on their last album. Pete actually used a baritone electric guitar tuned down to get a really low sound.

A baritone still uses the guitar's |4th|4th|4th|3rd|4th| intervals though. I wouldn't call a drop a "weird tuning."

[The JoZ]

They didn't use any 'weird tunings' they used Drop Bb.

Although, in the video for The Clincher, Joe is seen playing a 5 string bass which makes me think he used Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb for the tuning.

This is what I'd recommend you do, buy a 5 string set, tune it to BEAD then drop them all half a step.

Screw transcribing, just drop everything.

The Clincher is definetly a cool song though, and worth playing.

[Jimothy the 33rd]

It's like they're limbo-ing with their guitars...

(8)How low can you go..

[The JoZ]

You guys talk about Bb being really low and stuff, but you're not even close.

The Deftones pull out G# on their self titled album.

In Flames uses G on a song on Reroute to Remain.

Limp Bizkit used F# on "Nookie"

Meshuggah have 8 string guitars that play in friggen F. That's right, F. As in, one step above normal bass low E.

Bb is low, but it's nowhere near insanely low.

[EADG]

You guys talk about Bb being really low and stuff, but you're not even close.

The Deftones pull out G# on their self titled album.

In Flames uses G on a song on Reroute to Remain.

Limp Bizkit used F# on "Nookie"

Meshuggah have 8 string guitars that play in friggen F. That's right, F. As in, one step above normal bass low E.

Bb is low, but it's nowhere near insanely low.



Pussies.


Jaquo III-X, Jean Baudin, Garry Goodman, and Stew McKinsey all use a low C# string. That's beyond an octave lower than a normal bass E.

[Son of Magni]

They didn't use any 'weird tunings' they used Drop Bb.

Although, in the video for The Clincher, Joe is seen playing a 5 string bass which makes me think he used Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb for the tuning.

This is what I'd recommend you do, buy a 5 string set, tune it to BEAD then drop them all half a step...

Yeah, that's what I'd do. Also I'd want the B string to be around 130 or thicker...

[pitchfork]

135 b string and use heavies for the rest.

Its spelt gauge btw gadge just sounds like fadge and thats kinda wrong.

[The JoZ]

Pussies.


Jaquo III-X, Jean Baudin, Garry Goodman, and Stew McKinsey all use a low C# string. That's beyond an octave lower than a normal bass E.

And how much use does that C# actually get?

All of the other groups I've mentioned have written songs based of those respective strings.

I know about the subcontras and their barely-audible-if-audible-at-all C#, but how much use does the string actually get?

[EADG]

And how much use does that C# actually get?

I know about the subcontras and their barely-audible-if-audible-at-all C#, but how much use does the string actually get?



For ERB players like Jean and Stew, I'd imagine very rarely. For Jaquo III-X, it would be used often since he plays a 4 string tuned C#0-F#0-B0-E1. He was the one who invented the C# string so I would imagine that he planned on using it.

The string is definetely audible, as long as it's not dead. A dead C# string just makes a weird thudding sound.

[EADG]

I just had a pretty sweet idea:

I call it the "sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-contra bass". It's a 9 string tuned B#-E#-A#-D#-G#-C#-F#-B-E, with the highest string being the open E on a 4 string.

I just need someone to make string gauges up to .800... Conklin maybe?

[The JoZ]

For ERB players like Jean and Stew, I'd imagine very rarely. For Jaquo III-X, it would be used often since he plays a 4 string tuned C#0-F#0-B0-E1. He was the one who invented the C# string so I would imagine that he planned on using it.

The string is definetely audible, as long as it's not dead. A dead C# string just makes a weird thudding sound.


I thought Jean only played a 9 string, thus not giving him a C# as a standard string?

As far as Jaquo goes, is that the only bass he plays? If so, just what do his songs sound like?

[EADG]

I thought Jean only played a 9 string, thus not giving him a C# as a standard string?

As far as Jaquo goes, is that the only bass he plays? If so, just what do his songs sound like?



No, you're kind of... 2 years ago on Jean. He has three 11 strings (Joust, Hideous Claw, and Lava), and a 12 string (Sheep) these days. All of them have a C# string (the 11's are all tuned C#-Eb, and the Sheep has a high Ab string). Aside from those, he also has a 4 string (believe it or not), a 5 string with an extended fretboard, and a fretless 6 string. Check www.jeanbaudin.com for pictures of all of his basses.

Jaquo III-X plays lots of basses. He plays regular basses in 4, 5, 6, and 7 string models. Here's a list of his equipment: http://www.jauqoiii-x.com/JK_pages/JK_equip.html

He did however recently put out a cd called "The Low C# Theory" which I believe only uses the subcontra bass. I've heard some of the songs and it actually sounds pretty good, although definetely different. His website might have some clips.

[Akira]

I have always wondered: how do you pronounce Jaquo III-X?

[One Groovin Clown]

Jaw-ko-3-X