Good with some protection, @howard, but I would say that a mask would have been more useful/important… I think this dust is not entering the body through your skin, but via your airways…
Anyways, you guys are doing cool projects! What I am always a bit wondering about when people go from EADG to BEAD is whether the bridge/saddle can accommodate the B string in terms of intonation. I.e., can you push it far enough back for the B string?? (In my limited experience, intonation is often sharp and you need to lengthen the string to improve that…).
Fixed that, turns out the whole bridge was at maximum height. Cranked it down a bunch, now I need to fine tune the action for each string but it’s in a useful range overall.
On mine @joergkutter, I had already done a bridge upgrade and installed a Babitz full contact on the 174 a few months ago. The Babitz worked great with no problems in the saddle or in intonation. I think the biggest issue was getting the strings pushed and formed over the nut (stretched) so that they would be easier to keep in tune…
The other issue I ran into on the 174 was the height of the neck pickups… I had to lower the pickup a bit because I was getting a buzz from the strings hitting the pickup…
Really neat seeing another BEAD mod, and hearing about the process, and things to consider. Yeah, the potential issues with the bridge and saddles, and getting the nut filed just right so it stays in tune are things to consider. That 135 gauge B string just looks like it plays with a crazy low tone!
Out of curiosity I decided to do a comparison of notes played in the “A Pentatonic” scale for both EADG and BEAD tuned bass’s. I played the scale three times on the Standard tuned bass, and three times on the modified BEAD bass. I could have done better on the fingering of the notes, but I’m still fighting off a bad case of arthritis in my left wrist.
The recordings for each are as follows: BEAD; EADG; BEAD; EADG; EADG; BEAD
Standard EADG tuned bass: Ibanez SR500E with D’Addario Coated Nickel Round-Wounds (.105-.045) Modified BEAD tuned bass: Yamaha TRBX174EW with Ernie Ball Slinky’s (.135-.065)
Recorded into GarageBand using the Clean Bass setting and the HI-FI DI Amp set to standard settings.
The A Pentatonic Scale was played as such: EADG Tuned Bass: E5; E7; A4; A7; D4; D7; D4; A7; A4; E7; E5 BEAD Tuned Bass: B10; B12; E9; E12; A9; A12; A9; E12; E9; B12; B10
I really wanted to do this in order to get a better idea of the tones I would be getting from the BEAD bass played in the EADG territory of the fretboard as compared to the standard tones from the EADG tuned bass played normally.
At some level, it purely comes down to taste and artistic preference, I would say. But, if the alternate tuning makes playing easier, then that is a valid argument. The differences are small, I think. You could say they are negligible… and it could be because of the strings…
Two other things that caught my attention: you seem to have quite some fret buzz with the BEAD bass; perhaps your action is just a bit too low!?!
There is a weird “switching” sound for two of the EADG bits… that is an active bass, right? I think I remember hearing “glitches” like that when the battery is about to go flat…
Thanks for the feedback and input @joergkutter… To me, the tones aren’t that much different, yet the ability to play a little closer to my body with less strain on my fretting wrist - especially for the faster tempo Classic Rock songs I play. I will always continue to play my MOTOWN tunes on a standard EADG bass down at the low end, - but most all of the MOTOWN tunes I play are a lot slower tempo where timing and accuracy are crucial…
Yes - I couldn’t get enough strength in my fingers to really push down on my fretting fingers to achieve a good clean sound. Towards the end of recording my last cover (Funk #49), my arthritis got so bad in my left wrist that I couldn’t even unbutton my shirt let alone play my bass… Today was the first day I’ve been able to at least give it a go… As I continue learning to play the BEAD, I will fine tune each string for height and angle in order to really dial it in like I’ve been able to do with my Yam304 and Ibby500. One thing I did have to do already was to lower the pickups a bit when I noticed the E and A strings vibrating against them a bit.
Yes - I screwed up when I was putting the two tracks together and one got a bit smashed into the other… When I pulled them apart, the little glitch showed up. I just copied and pasted each recording so that there were three samples of each. But yes, my IBBY500 is an Active/Passive.
This sucks… big time!! I am fighting with that to some extent, but probably nowhere near to what you are experiencing. I am actually hoping that playing the bass will keep it at bay for a good while longer…
One “trick” to reduce the necessary pressure is to play as close to the fret as you can get. I am also re-training myself to almost hit on top of the fret, but not quite! The further away you are, the more pressure you need for a clean tone…
Great advise @joergkutter… I find myself constantly having to remind myself of this. This is where one of the differences between playing guitar and playing bass come into play. It doesn’t take anywhere near the amount of pressure to fret notes on a guitar - especially with the strings I’m use to playing my Tele’s with… I’m typically a little more aggressive when I play bass as far as fretting pressure and plucking - should be back up to par in another day or so…
And yes,… Arthritis SUX!! And, keeping the joints moving does help quite a bit. My problem is that when it gets to hurting too damn bad I start to self medicate which results in some REALLY BAD BAD music (according to my wife), but for me it all sounds really “Kick-Ass”… at a “Rock-Star” kinda level…
I did record myself once when I was fighting off a bad case of arthritis through self medication just to see if she was right… She was…
maybe you could try a smaller string gauge the next time you change your strings ? I used 45/105 on Greenie and I switched about one year ago for 40/100, it’s easier to play.
one day when I’ll have enough money, I’ll have a P dedicated for different string gauges because the problem with 40/100 is that it’s too small to play with a lower-than-Drop-D tuning. at least 3 P for 40, 45 and 50.
also this day when I’ll have enough money ( ) I’ll try custom gauges like changing only the E/D string to a higher gauge. for exemple let Greenie with a 40/100 strings set for the A,D,G strings and use a 105 for the E/D instead of the 100. in theory it should be great for drop tuning, which I use almost all the time. and of course it would still work for occasionnal standard tuning.
that’s somewhat similar to what I do with my guitars, currently I use 10/52 strings in drop D on my main Tele. works pretty well even if the string tension is not exactly the same on every string, it’s still better than with a standard strings set.
) I’ll try custom gauges like changing only the E/D string to a higher gauge. for exemple let Greenie with a 40/100 strings set for the A,D,G strings and use a 105 for the E/D instead of the 100. in theory it should be great for drop tuning, which I use almost all the time. and of course it would still work for occasionnal standard tuning.