I used to do a similar thing with an old Squier Bronco, in a setup which I affectionately nicknamed the Barry Tone. Can't remember exactly which tuning I settled on in the end, but it was achieved by buying a bunch of single strings in weird gauges to try and approximate a guitar-like sound for a muppet like me who couldn't actually play a guitar. In the end though, it was just a bit awkward and I reverted back to a regular 30" EADG short scale bass setup instead.