# Definitive Meshuggah Bass Tuning for Low F



## tbird11

Hey guys, I'm a guitarist so i'm way out of my depth here! I have recently aquired an 8 string guitar which i tune down half a step. (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb) I have a bass guitar and i'm looking to jam with my girlfriend on some meshuggah 8 string riffs.

I have scoured the net and plenty of people have theories on how Dick tunes his Bass but no one seems to know for sure.

i'm pretty sure it's in the same octave as the guitars but that's all i know. 

Is it a 4 or a 5 string on the 8 string material and what is the tuning?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks...........


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## Metal Ken

I think a 4 string up a half step, but i could be totally wrong seeing as i totally cant stand anything (aside from "I") after Chaosphere.


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## swayman

tbird11 said:


> Hey guys, I'm a guitarist so i'm way out of my depth here! I have recently aquired an 8 string guitar which i tune down half a step. (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb) I have a bass guitar and i'm looking to jam with my girlfriend on some meshuggah 8 string riffs.
> 
> I have scoured the net and plenty of people have theories on how Dick tunes his Bass but no one seems to know for sure.
> 
> i'm pretty sure it's in the same octave as the guitars but that's all i know.
> 
> Is it a 4 or a 5 string on the 8 string material and what is the tuning?
> 
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks...........



Yeah dude, as far as I'm aware his bass E string is tuned up half a step.


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## vampiregenocide

Most of the time I've seen him using a 5 string bass so would he tune the 5 - 2 strings in F standard and add an extra C# i think?


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## Mattayus

He just uses a 5 string bass in Bb standard, but with the Eb tuned to F. That's, as everyone else says, "as far as I know".


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## knuckle_head

He is expected in the Seattle area on tour the first week of February - if I get the chance I'll ask him.

I have some strings for him so I'll be making contact at least indirectly.


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## tbird11

knuckle_head said:


> He is expected in the Seattle area on tour the first week of February - if I get the chance I'll ask him.
> 
> I have some strings for him so I'll be making contact at least indirectly.



cheers man, let us know how you go........


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## MF_Kitten

knuckle_head said:


> He is expected in the Seattle area on tour the first week of February - if I get the chance I'll ask him.
> 
> I have some strings for him so I'll be making contact at least indirectly.



awesome! what strings are these, btw?

also, i´ll agree that he apparently tunes Bb standard on a 5 string with the Eb string tuned up to F.


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## knuckle_head

MF_Kitten said:


> awesome! what strings are these, btw?
> 
> also, i´ll agree that he apparently tunes Bb standard on a 5 string with the Eb string tuned up to F.



When I know where to get the strings reliably I'll share the source I promise.

Thanks for the tunings stuff - it'll help me pick gauges.


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## MF_Kitten

knuckle_head said:


> When I know where to get the strings reliably I'll share the source I promise.
> 
> Thanks for the tunings stuff - it'll help me pick gauges.



i don´t really care what brand/type it is, but what gauges they are, and for which instrument 

sounds like he wants to use the bass you gave him (you did give him one, right? my mind didn´t make that up?). i´m guessing you don´t run a find-strings-for-random-people´s-basses-business


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## AeonSolus

Mattayus said:


> He just uses a 5 string bass in Bb standard, but with the Eb tuned to F. That's, as everyone else says, "as far as I know".



Actually, i heard he used Drop Bb on his bass, (Bb,F,A#,D#,G#) i dunno where i read it tho..


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## Mattayus

That's what I thought too, until I was corrected with Bb Standard. Either way, it works


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## MF_Kitten

from what i&#180;ve understood it&#180;s almost drop Bb, but tuning it to drop Bb would actually make even more sense, and that might in fact be what he does


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## ixlramp

AeonSolus said:


> Actually, i heard he used Drop Bb on his bass, (Bb,F,A#,D#,G#)



Yep, i remember reading this too. Makes good sense since he's either playing in unison with the lowest 4 strings of the 8 string guitars, or for older material, an octave below their Bb strings.

knuckle head, that's so cool you are supplying strings to my favourite metal band.


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## tbird11

Thanks guys, that input really helps me out spent last night setting up my girlfriends bass (4 string Warwick) for Bb F Bb Ab, It sounds killer with my 8 string! Cheers


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## knuckle_head

ixlramp said:


> knuckle head, that's so cool you are supplying strings to my favourite metal band.



Matt - I had no idea your tastes swung this way. 

It seems the protos won't be ready in time to hand him sets while he's here. I'll try and chat with him about how we can keep in touch once he's home.


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## ixlramp

AeonSolus said:


> Actually, i heard he used Drop Bb on his bass, (Bb,F,A#,D#,G#)



Perhaps they're going to try adding a low F to allow playing an octave below the 8 string guitars?:

F Bb F Bb Eb Ab

Hey Skip, Meshuggah are the most innovative, fascinating band i have discovered for years.


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## PureAbstract

well i am pretty sure that he tunes his 5 string to a drop Bb so that way he plays the same octave as the 8 strings with the top 4 strings, 
anyway on that last comment ^ my bass player tunes his six sting (bass, obviously) to E B E A D G , which is an octave lower then i play, he just needed to adjust his bridge slighty, he is using 135's all the way up


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## rcfreak7772000

4 string = F standard (nothing and on)
5 string = Bb standard (everything before nothing)

the guitars were always Bb standard on every album before nothing

watch any live videos of them, they use the 5 string for the old stuff, 4 string for the new


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## MF_Kitten

actually, their bass player doesn&#180;t change instruments in the course of a set, or at least not from 4 to 5 strings. watch the live vids from the re:nothing dvd thing, the ones from the download festival. they play future breed machine, and then 8 string material, all without changing instruments. drop Bb tuning is a perfect fit for doing this, because he just goes over to the next string to play old stuff.


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