Four String
Posted on : 17-09-2009 | By : admin | In : Uncategorized
0
Four String
 |
 Four 3 4 4 4 Violin String Adjuster Fine Tuner  US $4.39
|
 Four String Cigar Box Guitar with Piezo Pickup US $189.99
|
 SPECTOR PERFORMER BASS BODY 4 STRING four US $10.50
|
 SPECTOR PERFORMER BASS NECK FOUR STRING FRETLESS 4 US $25.12
|
 FOUR STRING BASS REPLACEMENT TUSQ GUITAR NUT US $5.00
|
 Vintage 4 four string Harmony Banjo 1960s USA SWEET US $59.99
|
 Epiphone Four String Precision Bass US $149.99
|
 DR Neon Medium Electric Strings All Four Colors 10 46 gauge US $38.29
|
 DR Neon Medium Heavy 11 50 Electric Guitar Strings All Four Colors US $38.29
|
 VINTAGE FRAMUS GERMAN MADE FOUR STRING BANJO US $399.00
|
 Four String Guitar Bass Bone Nut New High Quality US $4.27
|
 Squier by Fender J Bass 4 Four String Electric Guitar US $199.99
|
 Ibanez SDGR Four String Bass Guitar US $249.99
|
 Cort Gb34 Active Jazz Bass Four 4 string New P Bass US $285.00
|
 Guitar Electric Bass Four String 43 Inch US $225.00
|
 Deluxe Four String Cigar Box Guitar US $199.00
|
 VINTAGE RARE METAL FRAME SNAKE SKIN FOUR STRING BANJO US $300.00
|
 JS Bach Inventions Transcriptions for 2 Four String Electric Basses CD ROM US $14.65
|
 Four 1 8 Violin String Adjuster Fine Tuner Black US $4.18
|
 Four 1 2 Violin String Adjuster Fine Tuner Black US $4.18
|
 Four 1 8 Violin String Adjuster Fine Tuner US $4.18
|
 Vintage Harmony Four String Banjo With Case US $299.99
|
 hand madesolidwood 9 5 8 Song Ukulelefour strings US $99.00
|
 NEW Peavey Millenium AC BXP 4 Four String Bass TRANS BLACK US $349.00
|
 NEW Peavey Millenium AC BXP 4 Four String Bass TIGER EYE US $349.00
|
 Washburn Shadow Series WP4 Four String Bass Guitar w Case US $265.00
|
 Four String Bass Grove Guitar Apron New US $14.99
|
 ESP B Series B 1004 Four String Bass Guitar Natural Satin US $999.00
|
 Dean Edge 10A PJ Skull New Active 4 four string bass Free Setup Custom Graphic US $279.00
|
| The Best Watches |
I am curious about the tuning on a 5 string bass versus a four string bass?
I have just started playing bass and play some songs in drop d and c# on my basses. I was thinking about buying a 5 string but am confused about the tuning of it. I know most people tune their 5 string b e a d g, but if playing music that is in c# or drop d, won't I have to put it in a different tuning? What I am trying to get at is I want to get away with needing only two guitars. A four string I will keep in standard, but I would like to be able to use the other one to play drop d and c# stuff. Can I do this with a 5 string without changing the tuning?
I have a five string (B,E,A,D,G) and I have a 4-string with a Hip-shot drop tuner on the E string. I can flip it and the low E goes to drop D.
The drop D tuning (D,A,D,G) provides two things. One, obviously, is that it allows you to grab two half steps lower than the E. This is handy for some rock tunes that are in Eb (some guitar players simply tune their whole guitar down one half step). An example is "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains. It's in Eb, so I use drop D so I can grab the Eb and I don't have to retune the whole bass or reach for my 5-string.
The second thing that drop D tuning can provide (which also is kind of obvious) is that you can use the low string for an open D. For tunes in D, you can hit the low D and then do other things such as other lines, riffs, triads, whatever... on the other strings while the D sustains. It's really the same thing as if you were in the key of E, but the drop D allows you to do the same sort of thing in the key of D. I played a lot with a guitar player who used drop-D on his guitar, so it made a lot of sense to drop D on my bass.
OK, I guess there's one more thing about drop-D, the octave is "different". In standard tuning, you can 3rd fret of the E string and 5th fret of the D string for an octave. In drop-D tuning, you get the octave on the same fret for the same two strings. This can give you some fingering opportunities you otherwise wouldn't have.
What I like about the 5-string is that I don't ever re-tune it. Sure, you can, but if there are a significant amount of tunes where I need that low D (or lower) and I don't want alternate fretting, I'd rather use the 5-sring. Plus, it gives you more fingering options further up the neck. It's just adding 5 half-steps below the E, but it's adding another string higher up the neck. I find the 6th fret (F) particularly handy, rather than having to go all the way back down to the first fret on the E string.
I guess I wrote a book here, because I wasn't totally confident what you were getting at, but you sound as if you are benefitting from using your drop D (or C#) so that you can play and sustain that open string. A 5-string in standard tuning won't help you with that. So, there are cases where a standard-tuned 5-string can't "replace" that drop-D on a 4-string. But, if you just need the D to play it (not sustain it and do fancy stuff), the 5 string will be great.
At the moment, I am in a cover band where I just use one bass, my 4-string with the hip-shot tuner. I recommend trying to stick to just one bass on stage if you can. It will make your show go a lot smoother without having to change. But, if your guitar player has to do it, that will give you an excuse to bring your arsenol to the stage.
Check out www.talkbass.com for more bass chat.
