Taking a 4-string down to Drop C

W

wishtheend

New member
I currently am playing in a band that is drop C, and of course taking a normal set of strings down a whole set from Drop D is going to cause some serious loosness. I've tried a set of GHS Boomers where the lowest string is .115 and It's doing much better, but I'm thinking it could stand to be a little tighter on the tension. You see, I play alot of fast metal things that need me to do alot of quick rhythm picking (lamb of god, dillinger escape plan). I'm playing an ESP Viper-254 bass (EMG pickups).

Would it just be best to get a 5-String and tune it like the guitar would be (C-G-C-F-A) or should I just slap a 5-string set on this four string (dropping that high string)? Another question would be, when I put that thicker set of GHS Boomers (the .115), the string is thicker than the slot it rests in on the bridge. Do any of you know if it's common to have those filed out so thick guages could rest? And would anything else needed to be done to my bass if I decided to just throw a 5-string set (dropping the highest string) ?

Thanks for any info you guys can give.
 
wishtheend said:
I currently am playing in a band that is drop C, and of course taking a normal set of strings down a whole set from Drop D is going to cause some serious loosness. I've tried a set of GHS Boomers where the lowest string is .115 and It's doing much better, but I'm thinking it could stand to be a little tighter on the tension. You see, I play alot of fast metal things that need me to do alot of quick rhythm picking (lamb of god, dillinger escape plan). I'm playing an ESP Viper-254 bass (EMG pickups).

Would it just be best to get a 5-String and tune it like the guitar would be (C-G-C-F-A) or should I just slap a 5-string set on this four string (dropping that high string)? Another question would be, when I put that thicker set of GHS Boomers (the .115), the string is thicker than the slot it rests in on the bridge. Do any of you know if it's common to have those filed out so thick guages could rest? And would anything else needed to be done to my bass if I decided to just throw a 5-string set (dropping the highest string) ?

Thanks for any info you guys can give.
Click to expand...

DO NOT put a 5 string set on your bass. The low "B" string will be too big and too muddy sounding to use for a "C" string. That's a bad idea. Just get a heavy guage 4 sting set (try a 110) and string it up. You can file the nut if you feel you must. Another thing to keep an eye on is the neck. Adjust the truss rod so you action remains level and you don't have dead buzzy spots. When you tune low, the stress on the neck is dramatically reduced and that could give you a slight bow in the neck.

The tricky part about playing with low tunings is that YOUR TOUCH MUST CHANGE. You've got to adapt. You can't play the same way. You have to be more gentle and far more precise when you play loose strings or you will get a loose, noisy, not well defined sound no matter what gear you are using.
 
Zed10R said:
DO NOT put a 5 string set on your bass. The low "B" string will be too big and too muddy sounding to use for a "C" string. That's a bad idea. Just get a heavy guage 4 sting set (try a 110) and string it up. You can file the nut if you feel you must. Another thing to keep an eye on is the neck. Adjust the truss rod so you action remains level and you don't have dead buzzy spots. When you tune low, the stress on the neck is dramatically reduced and that could give you a slight bow in the neck.

The tricky part about playing with low tunings is that YOUR TOUCH MUST CHANGE. You've got to adapt. You can't play the same way. You have to be more gentle and far more precise when you play loose strings or you will get a loose, noisy, not well defined sound no matter what gear you are using.
Click to expand...

Well, if it's safe to file down the nut, I'm just going to buy a thicker guage set and tune it. Problem is, the heaviest set I've found is .115 and it sounds fine when tuned to D, but when I do that extra drop, it seems a tad too loose. And no worries about the neck, I always readjust and set intonation after restrings. Thanks for the info.
 
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