Tuning a bass

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michael Jones
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lpdeluxe said:
He sells and repairs bluegrass instruments. He has done a lot of work on various instruments of mine over the years. Every Saturday the local pickers get together in front of his shop and play.

But we have gotten far afield from our main focus here, which is tuning the bass.
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Ah, so he came across one that he hadn't seen before, that's all. Makes sense.
 
lbanks said:
I would tune one of the subs to the fundamental, then tune the other to the tuned sub. Then make that string slightly sharp. Just enough to get a slight vibrato. Then I tune the first sub slightly flat.
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That's good to know. So if I pick one up and the subs aren't in tune, I would know it's supposed to be like that and not mess with the tuning!
 
lpdeluxe said:
Now that I have had time to digest the cosmic implications of a 12-string bass, I must expand my question:







Is his bass EVER in tune with itself?

I have owned 3 12-strings over the years, and 2 of them were perversely unwilling to be tuned, and those were g**t*rs, which, everyone knows, are a snap to play compared with bass. I mean, you learn the three "holts" on the neck, and you've got it.

The third one was a 1967 Rickenbacker 366/12, and I strung it with what were heavy gauge strings for an electric 12: .011 (E) - .52W (low E). The only problem arose the first time I restrung it. Following my usual habit, I took all the strings off, only to watch the bridge, tailpiece and nut all fall off on the floor. Did you ever try to string up an axe while you were simultaneously holding the R tailpiece, the bridge, and the nut in position? It is a fortunate thing that I had the strength of character to continue -- a lesser mortal might have chucked the whold catastrophe into the closest rubbish tip [that's for Mr #]. I persevered, and eventually I got 2 strings strung and reasonably tuned, and from there I was able to string it the rest of the way. I swore a mighty oath, scorching the air in my studio, that I would never take off all strings at the same time, and thereafter I didn't. I eventually gave it to my stepson for his birthday, with the admonition "don't do what I have done."

But it was all worth it, when, about a year after this incident, I stopped by the local shop where I bought my Dobro 21 years ago (am I getting old?). The ordinarily mild proprietor was staining the atmosphere a deep shade of blue with his language, and I approached his work bench to find out the cause.

There on the g**t*r rest was a Ric 12, with all the strings off.

"How the $#^$% do you get these things back together?" he inquired. "Gee, I don't know," I replied. "Mine never gave me the least bit of trouble."

For that, and a few other indiscretions, I will surely fry in Hell someday, but the look on his face was worth it.
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Nice story lpdeluxe

Sorry for the late reply, you know I am one of those folks who does not have his own pc, but I do have my own bass, in fact I have two, but I need to come here more often to learn about how to tune them :D

Rokket, I like you new Avitar, well new............... :D you tend to change them evey 5 to 6 days eh ;)

Eddie
 
timmerman said:
Nice story lpdeluxe

Sorry for the late reply, you know I am one of those folks who does not have his own pc, but I do have my own bass, in fact I have two, but I need to come here more often to learn about how to tune them :D

Rokket, I like you new Avitar, well new............... :D you tend to change them evey 5 to 6 days eh ;)

Eddie
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Yeah, I get bored and change it. This one will probably stay for awhile...

At least it's in tune! :D :cool:
 
I'd love to stop and chat, but

I have been invited to Palestine to settle long-standing differences between the parties, and it may take awhile.




Oh. I just re-read the letter, and it's an invitation to a surprise birthday party in Palestine, TEXAS.

OK, I'll be back sooner than I expected, and then we can get these basses in tune.
 
lpdeluxe said:
I have been invited to Palestine to settle long-standing differences between the parties, and it may take awhile.
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They're eagerly looking for somebody capable of getting two fretless basses in tune with each other, as an indication of the ability to fulfil this particular task.
 
I'd rather try to solve the Mideast peace problem, thank you very much.
 
lickylicky.jpg




Anyone else went higher than 6 strings?

E,A,D,G,C,F# <-- to stay on topic ;)

I cant play guitar that well so I got it to be able to put down the chords on my tracks... tastes good too.
 
mr_coffeekiller said:
lickylicky.jpg




Anyone else went higher than 6 strings?

E,A,D,G,C,F# <-- to stay on topic ;)

I cant play guitar that well so I got it to be able to put down the chords on my tracks... tastes good too.
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I see that you tuned from E. The short time that I played a 6, I tuned from B:

B E A D G C
 
Please excuse my being a complete moron. I missed out the B

B, E, A, D, G, C, F#

it's a seven string, muh
 
Cheers, though the flack for not being a 'bassist' anymore is quite brutal!
 
mr_coffeekiller said:
Cheers, though the flack for not being a 'bassist' anymore is quite brutal!
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Eh, they'll get over it. Too many people have an old fashioned view of what a bass is all about. "It's strictly rhytm"... pffft, that's narrow-minded thinking, IMO. Just because it's got more than 4 strings, doesn't mean it's not a bass...

I could only imagine what they were saying when the 5-string first came out...
 
I've always had the view of "as long as you do the instrument justice, it doesn't matter what you play". I know there's fundamental flaws with that but... um... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Does anyone know how Jean Baudins (not sure it's him) 11 string is tuned?
 
mr_coffeekiller said:
I've always had the view of "as long as you do the instrument justice, it doesn't matter what you play". I know there's fundamental flaws with that but... um... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Does anyone know how Jean Baudins (not sure it's him) 11 string is tuned?
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I can email him and ask him. He sent me this the other day about his 9 string:

hi eddie,

it's tuned from low to high:

F#, B, E, A, D, G, C, F, Bb

You can let those guys know that both the videos were taped through a
shitty digital camera (one that takes pictures) and in no way a proper
recording.

Also, dynamics via tapping isn't too controllable.

Thanks for signing up.

there's some music up at http://www.myspace.com/jeanbaudin and
www.nuclearrabbit.com

thanks again.

- jean


I have been emailing him a bit, and subscribed to his newsletter. If there is anything relative to this thread, I will post it...
 
I highly recommend clicking on the links he sent me. Some really cool stuff in there...
 
mmmm. Such a nice tone on most the stuff there. He really manages to cut through the mix without loosing the bass.

*goes off to do some tweeking*
 
mr_coffeekiller said:
mmmm. Such a nice tone on most the stuff there. He really manages to cut through the mix without loosing the bass.

*goes off to do some tweeking*
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A lot of it is just his bass. He's got some amazing chops. I am a true fan. And that's really saying something, if anyone knows me...
 
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