Tuning a bass

[Garry Sharp]

My trombone had one less worry when I stopped playing it

As trombone parts are written in the bass clef, and are difficult to play in tune, then obviously we are still on topic.

Padding the thread or getting too far off topic is missing the point IMHO

 

[lbanks]

But ice might not be too good for a bass. It's water based, so when it melts, at the very least it'll corrode the strings. Or it'd get into the cavities, and short the electronics. Overall, I'd say ice is a bad idea.

I meant "I like vice". Sorry.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I'm listening to the Feral K

Great pipes, but can she tune a bass? [back on topic]

Seriously, sounds good. The bee-ay-double ess needs to be mixed louder in the first cut....

 

[Garry Sharp]

The bee-ay-double ess needs to be mixed louder in the first cut....

You reckon?? Crikey, I thought I had overdone it as it is. Tuning OK though?

 

[Unsprung]

One day last week, I happened into the local pawn shop, mostly killing some time during my running around and seeing what kinds of guitars, basses, keyboards and amps might be available. I noticed that they had a double bass sitting off to one side of their display, and after noodling on a couple of acoustic guitars, decided to give the double bass a try.

The first thing that happened was, I couldn't find ANY stops, to be able to play some of the bass lines I was wanting to. So I decided to find the "fifth fret," to make sure the double bass was actually in tune. That was almost a mistake, as I didn't find the "fifth fret" until I was quite close to the body. I mean, I've played a double bass before, at a store in Indianapolis, and it was only a matter of noodling on the fingerboard, just a bit, until I had a good sense of where the stops were, relative to the frets on a guitar bass.

The pawn shop owner, a player himself, was getting a bit of amusement, from my "inneptitude" on the double bass, when I happened to notice, with my being 6' tall, where the headstock was, in relation to my height. At that point, I asked him "this isn't a full size bass, is it?" He's like "nope, it's a 3/4 sized bass," at which I laughed, and said "no wonder I was having such a time findig the stops!" So I guess the next time I encounter a double bass, and want to play it, I need to pay attention to it's height, relative to my own height, to know where I should look for the stops, so I don't try to play things way out of tune.

Matt

 

[Rokket]

You reckon?? Crikey, I thought I had overdone it as it is. Tuning OK though?

I forgot to listen for the bass, I was into the groove, though, so does that count? Your wife's voice is addictive!

Anyhow, getting it back on subject, my bass is screaming now that I put new strings on it, adjusted the truss rod and fixed the intonation. I wonder if I was to play with a group now if the guitar player would notice I was in tune?

 

[Garry Sharp]

Rokket man you got so many fuken' chiclets you don't need to be in tune...they'd be out, not you

 

[Rokket]

Rokket man you got so many fuken' chiclets you don't need to be in tune...they'd be out, not you

LMAO! It's funny that you should say that! One of the things I like to say to newbies trying to pad post counts and get a high rep is that it doesn't make you a better muscian!

And sometimes a guitar player just has to admit the fact that his guitar might be the fault!

 

[ace516]

ye-yea

hey .. did you guys answer the question to how to tune a ukele?

 

[Rokket]

hey .. did you guys answer the question to how to tune a ukele?

I thought it was answered. I'd have to go back and read through all of this to find it. As a matter of fact, I think I posted a link to a site that has tunings for all 4-string instruments. Maybe that was another thread....

 

[lpdeluxe]

hey .. did you guys answer the question to how to tune a ukele?

Did you mean, "ukulele?"

In any case, that's the subject of another thread, unless you are asking about tuning a bass ukulele, which we covered several pages ago.

Without, however, coming to any useful conclusions.

 

[Rokket]

Did you mean, "ukulele?"

In any case, that's the subject of another thread, unless you are asking about tuning a bass ukulele, which we covered several pages ago.

Without, however, coming to any useful conclusions.

Ok, so now the mission parameters have been set. We have a fully stocked and fully functional internet, it's time to get busy....

 

[Garry Sharp]

Without, however, coming to any useful conclusions.

If anybody wants conclusions, maybe we should start coming to some at around page 98, 99? We are still very much in the early stages here. Haven't even addressed "why" tune a bass yet, never mind "how".

Of course if you remember the famous graduate level philosophy exam question, which was one word - Why? - there were three answers.

The third rate answer was umpteen pages on the meaning of life etc.
The second rate answer was "Because"
The first rate answer was "Why not?"

Glad to have cleared that up

 

[Rokket]

Ooops! I was going to look up tuning a Uke bass.... I completely forgot because I was transferring my niece's karaoke cassette to CD last night. I am going to see if I can get a tidbit of it posted (have to worry about copyright laws). Her voice is incredible!
Celine Dion? No problem! Mariah Carey? Sure! Ashlee Simpson? BITE your tongue!

But I digress.... tuning a bass and it's possible ramifications on the ecological balance of a musician's environment on the next 60 minutes...














huh?

 

[lpdeluxe]

If anybody wants conclusions, maybe we should start coming to some at around page 98, 99? We are still very much in the early stages here. Haven't even addressed "why" tune a bass yet, never mind "how".

This is an important aspect of our larger responsibility here: Life is a journey, not a destination. A song is not a race. Nobody cares if you get the end before everybody else in the band. Actually, they DO care, but not in a way that you want to know about. But you're the bassist, so by definition, when YOU get the end of the song, the song is over. Are you listening, drummers? Got that, guitarists?

Live deeply in the moment. Count those KHz while you tune each string.

OOOoooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[crazydoc]

Maybe you experts on bass tuning could help me out. I've got this bass that is going slower and slower, and the song is getting lower pitched and out of tune.

 

[crazydoc]

I tried changing the batteries, but that didn't help. Then I tried lubricating the mouthmotor, but still no luck.

 

[crazydoc]

I thought there might be a trimpot on the circuit board, but couldn't find one.

 

[crazydoc]

I even tried a hack I found on the internet, but still no luck. Different tune and even programable, but just as slow.

 

[crazydoc]

So any ideas? How do I tune this bass? (As we move right back on topic.)