# Low A on a 4 string?



## projectjetfire

Alot of the songs Im jamming and writing at the moment are on a 7 string with a B tuned down A for "dropped" style tuning. As I dont have a bass at the moment, I was looking to get a bass to carry on recording with and adding ideas and riffs down. However, would I be able to use a (very) low A, E, A, D on a standard 4 string bass or should I look for a 5 string bass instead?


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## Waelstrum

Yeah, if you feel that you only need four strings, then that's all you need.


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## projectjetfire

Would the tension be ok or would it be arse?


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## davisjom

My friends band uses a four string bass in drop "A". and it sounds great. You'll want to get some heavy gauge strings though.


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## Waelstrum

Why would the tension on a five string be different to on a four string if they have the same scale length?


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## projectjetfire

That's a very good point, I hadn't thought of that.. I guess if I used the same gauge A string as found on on 5 string set, that should work..


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## iron blast

You will need to file your nut to accomadate the larger strings and do some adjustment to the bridge and intonation. I would also suggest looking into getting a balanced set via our own knucklehead his balanced string set is pretty sick. My boy Josh Pelican from here uses em on his 6 string he tunes down to drop E \m/ you should hit him up. I'm shure both will be more than glad to help.


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## ixlramp

iron blast said:


> I would also suggest looking into getting a balanced set via our own knucklehead his balanced string set is pretty sick.


Yep.

AEAD is totally possible on a 4 string ... with the right string gauges. The problem with using the BEAD strings from a 5 string set is: 1. you waste money by not using the G string 2. B strings in most sets are already at a low tension ... absolute minimum ... so dropping the B to A drops the tension by another 25% and the string is then far too loose.

Circle K Strings sell drop tune sets that have carefully chosen gauges that result in all strings at equal tension in a drop tuning.
Alternatively you could round the Circle K gauges to the nearest .005 and build a custom set from singles of another brand.

My experience with tuning to A is that it needs to be a .145 minimum to retain an excellent tone. I used D'Addario 145s ... good strings for A.


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## ericsleepless

I feel that Drop-G is about as far as a four string should go. I play in Drop-G mainly when I play bass.


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## crg123

Hey guys, is there anyway get gauges that are large enough to tune to drop A with mild tension/ enough to intonation with that you don't have to file the nut? I doubt it, but I didn't know if they made high tension strings that would do that (I don't wanna buy octave 4 plus though. If I have to file the nut, would it be hard to switch back to standard tuning. 

Another Kinda dumb question. Is there a way to get strings that have perfect tension at drop C but still intonate/ hold a reasonable tension at Drop A? This is kind of an end goal, but i figure it wont work :/ I should just get a 5 string bass... hahah I just have no money. 

Me and my friend (We're 8 string players) are recording an album and we need a Drop A Tuned bass. I could just pitch shift it... Any VST recommendations for that? I really dont want to though. I love the natural sound of the low B/A on a 5 string bass

ericsleepless- Drop G on a 4 string? That's impressive what are your gauges/ scale length


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## brutalwizard

i got a 4 string in drop G. and its perfectly fine haha


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## Winspear

Well it's nothing to do with how many strings it has haha. I'd suggest a 145 by D'addario, will be pretty tight in C though. Maybe you'll be happy with a 135 if C is your primary tuning. Set the bass up for B.


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## ericsleepless

34" Scale and either 115 or 120 by GHS Heavy Gauge Bass Boomers. Drop-D is super tight as you can imagine.


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## ixlramp

crg123 said:


> Hey guys, is there anyway get gauges that are large enough to tune to drop A with mild tension/ enough to intonation with that you don't have to file the nut? I doubt it, but I didn't know if they made high tension strings that would do that (I don't wanna buy octave 4 plus though. If I have to file the nut, would it be hard to switch back to standard tuning.


On a 4 string? the E slot is usually .110, a .110 will be useless down at A, i recommend a .145 from experience.

If you correctly file the nut you can go back to thinner strings with no problem. Make sure you don't deepen the slot, in fact don't touch the lowest 1/4 of the slot, this way the slot floor retains it's curvature. It's not the slot walls which position a string ... downforce on the string at the nut centres the string in the curve of the slot floor, therefore any string thinner than the slot width can be used. I filed my nut out to .165 and afterwards used a .045 with no problem, even with string bending.


crg123 said:


> Another Kinda dumb question. Is there a way to get strings that have perfect tension at drop C but still intonate/ hold a reasonable tension at Drop A? This is kind of an end goal, but i figure it wont work


Well 3 semitones is a big drop in tension (29% drop) so it's best to use a tension balanced set to avoid any extremes of tension in either tuning ... choose a heavy drop C set with all strings at equal tension, Circle K Strings sell such sets here. The .136 or .142 sets have all strings within the practical 30 to 50 pound range (extra light to heavy) in either tuning. See their tension chart.

Alternatively build a custom set from singles in another brand with similar gauges to the Circle Ks


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## crg123

I decided I might as well get a 5/6 string bass, I've wanted on for the longest time. I can sell my bass, my gt-8/ harmonic converger and my Jamvox and hopefully have enough to buy a used good 5/6 string for a good price. 

I love my 4 string Ibanez though, it'll be a shame to let her go...


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## Winspear

So you'll tune it to what?


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## crg123

If I get a 6 String bass I kinda wanna tune it to EAEADG... Sub bass E haha, Idk if i'd use it but it'd be awesome for some ambient stuff. Would I need a specialized bass for that though? AEADGC wouldn't make me too sad but idk I figure I have an ERG guitar ( Agile 8 String) might as well have an ERG bass too, just for fun haha. I'd prolly need like a .200 for it, which I think is awesome, cause I love huge strings. I'm sure I'd experiment with tunings.


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## Winspear

A specialized long scale bass would be best, yes, but a 35" will be ok with a huge string.
May depend entirely on the bass how that would sound though, even with tunings around A/B I find the bass has a huge impact. My friend has an ESP bass with exactly the same specs as my Dean, just about 2/3 the price. Same strings and tuning. The main 4 strings sound ok but his low B is shockingly bad even acousticly. That seems to be a common discussion among bass players - instruments with a 'good B string'. My Dean sounds incredibly solid in G#, currently.
I highly recommend trying out the Dean Edge series


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## crg123

hmm thats crazy, I found a really nice used ibanez I might think about getting, its a SR505, Is that any good? I might get that, if i decide to go with a 5 string. But a 6 String is very tempting... How big is the neck on your edge 6? Is it mammoth, say compared to an 8 string guitar neck?

Edit: Sorry I kinda hijacked this thread...


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## Winspear

6 string bass nut width is pretty much identical to 8 string guitar 
It's quite a thick neck on the Dean though but comfy.

I don't know about the Ibby, never played one.


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## ixlramp

EAEADG can be done on 34" or 35", with the right strings (Circle K Strings). If you're tempted by a 6 get a six, you'll want one eventually and you'll then have to upgrade from a 5, wasting money. Listen to your intuition  If you want to tune very low, 6 string basses have advantages: wider, stronger, stiffer, more massive necks for better tone. Also you can tune very low while retaining the high notes. Keep in mind that Circle K Strings only work with top loading bridges. Ibanez BTB 6s are known as high value tone monsters ideal for low tunings (i've owned 2).


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## crg123

So... would this bass work for tuning EAEADG? ESP B206 
ESP B206 6 String Bass Spalted Maple | Sam Ash Music 1-800-4-SAMASH 

I mean. I know it'll work work but I guess I'm asking would it sound good? I guess its more of a question of the quality of the instrument. I figured I should just continue the discussion in this thread.


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## HaMMerHeD

The B206 is fine. It'll sound pretty much like any other dual-humbucker bolt-on bass with a 3-band eq. That is to say...it'll sound like a bass, and you have an on-board EQ to adjust the tone. ESP's stock bass pickups are pretty nice, and if you don't end up liking them, those 6-string bass pups are the same size as the EMG 45 series (or Bartolini M5), so they'll fit in the cavities without modification. (You'd have to rewire though, of course.)

Structurally...I'm sure it's fine. It's a multi-lamination neck with 3 maple boards and 2 rosewood stringers. The neck will probably be adequately rigid.

There are a few youtube videos featuring that bass. Keep in mind, however, that most people record audio for youtube videos using the camera mic, which don't generally do a very good job of reproducing bass frequencies.


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