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BEAD Tuning


Chienmortbb

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14 minutes ago, jbu09 said:

Is this as do-able as it sounds? I assume nut adjustment but will regular 4 string take the tension ok?

There's next to no difference in tension, the nut slot widths needing to be changed is the main issue. They don't tend to sound the same as a 5 due (I assume) to the lack of extra wood.

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I am not bothered to much by the tome change. Of course the bigger neon will affect tone ( the neck has more effect on the tone than the body in my opinion). However it is just BEAD tuning as my guitarist wants to tune down. 

The more I think about it, the more a 5 appeals. I almost bought am Ibanez 5 a few weeks ago.

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3 hours ago, jbu09 said:

Is this as do-able as it sounds? I assume nut adjustment but will regular 4 string take the tension ok?

 

3 hours ago, BreadBin said:

There's next to no difference in tension, the nut slot widths needing to be changed is the main issue. They don't tend to sound the same as a 5 due (I assume) to the lack of extra wood.

Actually there is a reduction in tension. The G string on a bass tends to have the second highest tension (after the D) and the B will have by far the lowest tension, so if you do need to make any truss rod adjustments you will need to slacken it off.

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You don't need to use the same tuning as the guitarist.

My main concern would be needing to adjust the nut; then needing to replace the nut to revert to EADG. 

I use DADG quite a lot, if I need to hit that low D or Eb. I'd not really bother with anything lower.

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21 hours ago, jbu09 said:

Is this as do-able as it sounds? I assume nut adjustment but will regular 4 string take the tension ok?

 

Tension is actually typically lower for BEAD and EADG, so theneck will be fine but you might need to loosen up the truss rod to get more relief as the strings will pull less and you may get some fret buzz otherwise.

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59 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

That's not a lot of help unless you share how one is to do it right!

Just obvious stuff really, only remove material that you need to for the B to sit right.  Remove more than necessary and it’ll work fine for the B but may be too loose for thinner strings.  Baby steps.

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1 hour ago, Kev said:

Just obvious stuff really, only remove material that you need to for the B to sit right.  Remove more than necessary and it’ll work fine for the B but may be too loose for thinner strings.  Baby steps.

Quite, do it a bit at a time as you can't put material back. It's also worth noting that if you fully tension the string in too narrow a slot then the nut may crack.

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 Also some stock nuts are cut wider than you would perhaps think, so definitely check before modding anything. I have  managed to install a 120 string into a standard E slot of my Sadowsky Metro without needing to alter it. Any bigger than that though I would need to do some work. With my old 70s Precision, the original nut is so worn I am pretty sure I could fit a 145 string in the E string slot without any mods whatsoever (on account that the nut is essentially worn out, as is the rest of the bass). 

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When I went BEAD I used really light strings - I was worried about damaging the neck with a big change in tension.

As others have said, light is NOT the way to go. Ended up far too floppy - although I did kind of enjoy the metallic thwak for Ryan Martine impressions.

The advantage of light strings is not needing to file the nut or mess with the saddles. Maybe worth trying if you're just experimenting and plan to swap back again.

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I don't know how you can really go BEAD without a truly B-gauge string.  I like a good stiff tension on my B-string for when I'm really digging in with a pick, so that requires a very thick string.  Otherwise, it's like trying to lay a spaghetti noodle.

I tried the BEAD Experiment for a year, or so, on just one bass before doing it on, now, all three of my main players.  I never missed the G-string one bit.  And it made switching keys for different singers a breeze!

OTOH, maybe my hearing has become tuned more toward the lower frequencies.  My wife thinks I'm going deaf.  At least, I think that's what she's saying.   😀 

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Strings: my experience is as some said above: buy a 5 string set and use the BEAD strings out of it. You'll have a lot more variety in terms of gauges and brands/materials as 4 string BEAD sets are few and would not cost less than an average 5 string set. 

Setup: I have a few 4 string basses turned to BEAD and in all cases some of the nut slots needed to be worked on but apart form that nothing more complicated than a normal setup. The only thing to watch out is some bridges will also have a problem with thich gauge strings (those in which you need to get the strings through)

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I’m permanently on BEAD on my P and have been for 15 years or more. Never miss the G tbh, but I’ve got it on my others if I need one...

 

Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkys in answer to the question. 65-130 they are, I think. I’d never used them before getting a free restring at GuitarGuitar recently (always used Rotos), but they’re ace.

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