andybassdoyle

Thanks guys, very interesting going over what's been said here. In the last week or so I've restrung the Stambaugh with Elixir 105-32s and it was a much improved position. However in order to put some context around it I then tried the strings on my 33 ACG as well - wow! My conclusion from all of this was: improvement from better strings but still only in the context of what the bass itself will actually deliver. So I've left the Elixirs on the ACG which have put it into the stratosphere. Stam has gone back to B-G with some fresh d'addario XLs on it and it sounds awesome too - completely different behaviour with the heavier guage. The tone I'm getting from it now seems much more consistent with it's pedigree etc. I think the only thing that I can conclude here is that some basses are specificially designed or just by luck work with this higher tuning. Some are not, only way to be sure is to check it out in advance. I'm now wishing I never let the Alembic MK go........... Thanks, Andy

bought Clone Theory from Ivan, all good. Great coms and the thing turned up almost before I'd paid for it! Well packed and in excellent condition although I can't find any theory enclosed. It just seems to be some kind of chorus pedal. On well, I will have to source my evil army some other way.

Agreed, the heavier strings seem to work better. I think part of my problem has been that I've moved back from 6 to 5 and having established what works for me well on a 6 it has seemed counter-intuative to go to heavier strings... Anyhow, have got some 105-32 on now and whilst they are a bit old and knackared this has definately helped 'ground' things a little and thicken up the top end. I've got some elixirs on a spector that sound great so going to give that a try shortly. Great to have the feedback on this, please keep it coming. The notes might not be great but at least the tone will be!!

BTW points noted on technique although this is a lost cause for me....

Thanks guys. It certainly feels intuative that the string mass might be an issue - there's a lot less going accross the neck with E-C that B-G. I've wandered between light and medium, perhaps I should try something a bit heavier. Cheers

Hello Folks, I'm hoping to tap into the collective BC knowledge base (no pun intended) here. Does anyone have experience of tuning a 5 string E-C instead of the regular B-G? I've tried this on a few basses now over the years and, with the exception of an ACG that I've recently received from Alan C (that I'm still getting used to), I'm struggling to find one that works well tonally with the higher tuning. Case in point is a Stambaugh I've just traded through BC. It's a truely awesome bass in playability, looks, comfort - killer in fact. Tone is great B-G but when I've restrung it (and adjusted the set up of course) it looses mass in the sound and the top end thins out in a way that just doesn't work for me. I've been trying to find something that I'm comfortable with for a while now (and let's face it, lots of us like to try new stuff anyway) but I'm starting to realise that I'm struggling a bit. It's not the quality of the basses either as I've tried Alembic and Warwick to name just a couple, same kind of results. Boom B-G, plip E-C. You might think that a 6 would be the answer and to some extent this is true, the only problem being that we're then into bigger bass territory. Not an issue for me as such as I've got hands large enough to cope but I don't tend to use the lower string and would much prefer to have a small more navigable neck without the extra baggage of the B (I find I can drop manually with the tuner or use a hipshot detuner to cover my really low needs). Anyways, hopefully you get the picture, be really interested if anyone has some experience or insight into this that you could share. Cheers, Andy

Is that a dingwallwall?

Sure was and it's a beaut design Think the whole single cut thing is a bit like marmite, which I also like