Tuning a bass

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michael Jones
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Garry Sharp said:
Yep, tied the knot yesterday :) Guess what - we were on television. The BBC decided they wanted to film a wedding in London yesterday (a jokey piece as the Charles one had moved a day) and chose ours :eek:

They filmed Robbie coming out of our house, followed her to the town hall, everything - ran a 2 minute piece on the 7 O'Clock news on the digital channel! We set the video and watched it when we staggered in from our reception in the early hours today :p When we get back from Barbados :rolleyes: we'll see if we can get the piece on the web somewhere, it was very funny (they did it like an amateur home wedding video)

(Oh, and relevance to the thread - had to tune the telly in to the right channel :D)
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Woohooo! I am going to tune my bass in reverse order in honor of the occasion! :D
 
Whoa, dang! This important and monumental thread almost went under!

May the bumps be plentiful and the bass in tune for evermore.
 
Do ya s'ppose anyone would notice, if I tuned one of my basses E, E, E, E? Silly question, I know, but I figured it needed asking. :)

Matt
 
It's funny, I just did a collab song for guitarhunny, and I was having problems getting in tune with her. I was certain that my bass was spot on, and the open string notes were in tune. But she put a capo on the 2nd fret, and I was about 15 cents off all around *sharp*. I think my intonation is out of whack, so I have to double check that. I wanted to do it last night when I got home, but I got a "Honey-do" list from the wife. She won't keep me from doing it tonight. I gave her hell the whole time I was doing things for her...
 
So when is Garry going to return and get his bass in tune?

Garry? Are you there?
 
He's away on honeymoon, chaps. Getting loved up and possibly without his bass altogether. :)
 
noisedude said:
He's away on honeymoon, chaps. Getting loved up and possibly without his bass altogether. :)
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Hi. Got back yesterday. From Barbados to 7 degrees F and driving rain :rolleyes: Well, at least I can tune my bass this evening.
 
I always said you were a lost cause ... oh wait, no, you said that.

So how was it?
 
Garry Sharp said:
Hi. Got back yesterday. From Barbados to 7 degrees F and driving rain :rolleyes: Well, at least I can tune my bass this evening.
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Yeah, right. Your pipes are cleaned and you don't have the strength to tune your bass! :p
 
Rokket said:
Yeah, right. Your pipes are cleaned and you don't have the strength to tune your bass! :p
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Well, let's just say I am a very healthy boy ;)

Noisedude it was awesomely fantastic. All over now :(
 
Yes, now we can get back to the serious business of tuning our basses.
 
Stringgauge and Tuning

Does the type of stringgauge you use have an effect on the tuning?

I tend to use 0.45s and they seem to hold the tuning very well, but I have to admit that I have not used other gauges for the bass, so...................

Good that this thread is still going, at least some things in life remain constant :D

Eddie
 
As a general rule, each string should be tuned to either E, A, D or G (for a 4-string bass) regardless of the gauge of the strings used.

Unless you inadvertently string it with g**t*r strings, in which case you really aren't advanced enough to begin tuning.
 
bass tuning fork?

Has anyone ever tuned their bass with a tuning fork? Just wondering if they made one big enough. Sometimes digital tuners annoy me with bass.
 
The V fret harmonic on the A would be an octave below concert 440. Plug the bass in, turn it on, and then, after striking the fork against something to make it ring, hold it over the pickup: you'll hear it through the amp.

I've never seen a fork lower than E 329, which is the D string at the XIV fret....
 
Reggie said:
Has anyone ever tuned their bass with a tuning fork? Just wondering if they made one big enough.
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I tried, but it kept slipping off the tuning pegs. :rolleyes:

Seriously, in the days before digital tuners (I am very old) we would tune a six string to pitch pipes and then the bass to the 6 string.
 
What the hell is going on in this thread???

I mean, how hard is it to tune a frickin' bass, already???


:p :D
 
I mean, how hard is it to tune a frickin' bass, already???

We haven't settled that, yet.
 
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