The tuner will display the current pitch of the string.Pluck the open B string (lowest string) on your bass.Select the “bass guitar” mode on your tuner if available. Most tuners have a built-in microphone or a dedicated input jack for a clip-on tuner. Power Up and Choose Mode: Turn on your electronic tuner.Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use a tuner to tune your 5-string bass to standard tuning (B, E, A, D, G): In the case of a 5-string bass, a pedal tuner is your best bet. Moreover, cheaper clip-ons probably won’t do the trick here either, as they might have trouble picking up the low B string, especially in louder environments. I highly recommend using a tuner for tuning basses, as low-end frequencies can get difficult to fine-tune if your ear is not extremely well-trained. Read on! Standard 5-String Bass Tuning (B E A D G) Moreover, I will discuss some other popular alternate tunings for five-string basses.

In this guide, I will explore both methods and provide step-by-step instructions on how to tune a 5-string bass to the standard tuning (B, E, A, D, G). There are two main methods for tuning a 5-string bass: by ear and using an electronic tuner. See the Chronology page for available instruments, or call for a quote on a commission.Personally, I’ve never liked playing five-string basses, but I must admit that having that low B string really comes in handy - especially when I have to play drop D songs. Inevitably, since the soundpost is very likely to move during travel, the side port also provides quick and easy re-adjustment of the soundpost. A side access port provides easy access to a single bolt for disassembly or reassembly. It also features a removable neck for easy, safe transport. Building the Five-String Bassīut I did go back and finish it, and, I changed course, very slightly: it now boasts five-strings, with a low B-string (thus, no extension needed.) (See the featured photos, above and below.) The fingerboard is Ipé, as is the tailpiece. For three years, the new bass silently sneered at me from the corner of my shop, whenever I looked at it. Unfortunately, I had enough other demands on my time (for smaller instruments as well as just ordinary family responsibilities) that the “start” was as far as I got, for quite a while. Chandler’s instructions and built my first bass, modeled after an instrument by Willian Tarr.īut!Having built one, I developed a hankering to build another! I bought wood, tuning machines, and a fingerboard, etc., and began another bass, of my own design. No wonder luthiers balk at building a bass! Also, if one is limited for shop-space (and I am) then the bass monopolizes the entire shop while it is in progress. So he had to carve away 95 pounds of waste wood, to make that bass! He used these specific materials to build the bass shown in the book. Chandler’s book a photograph of all the raw materials for a bass. I bought another book by Chuck Traeger which explained more about set-up, called “ Setup And Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound.” Building My First Bassįrom the beginning, I saw inside the front page of Mr. But I found a book by Peter Chandler, called “ So, You Want to Make a Double Bass.” It had nearly all the information I needed to build the bass, but not a great deal about set-up. None of my teachers ever built one at all. Not many luthiers are even willing to build a bass: they are a huge project, and take a great deal of time, effort and money. Today, the double bass is called “contrabasse” in French, but the old name was simply that it was “twice as low,” hence, a “double basse”.) (By the way: did you ever wonder why the double bass is called a “double” bass? In French, the old word for a violoncello is “un basse”. So, I can put an extension on a regular bass, or I can build a five-string double bass and I will acheive the same goal with less trouble. Having choices is something that most people like. But of course, such things are matters of choice. It also is less fragile and less unwieldy. You can reach those floor-shaking deep bass notes on an instrument that will still fit in a bag or a travel-case. Five-string double basses are the alternative to adding a C-extension, or a B-extension, to a standard double bass.

Five stringed bass