If I only have 1 bass and I want to play some tab in BEAD tuning can that be done or is it really a chore to make work so the stirngs dont clatter?
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No you can’t do that without strings flopping like crazy… If you have 2 basses then one can be a dedicated BEAD. You can get the octave pedal that would allow you to alter the pitch but that’s still kinda gimmicky
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I tried to do the octave pedal thing and it didn’t work as I had hoped. It seems more like a weird modulated effect rather than dropping it down. Sort of like when Dory drops her pitch to, “speak whale”.
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I played a Peavey G Bass tuned BEAD for a few years, you’ll need to widen the string slots on the nut, and possible a little adjustment on the truss rod, but it definitely works.
It’s a bit of an adjustment, and having a second bass tuned standard is not a bad idea, but if you don’t want to deal with a fiver, it’s the way to go.
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You don’t want an octave pedal for this, better to pitch shift in the DAW
Then it is working correctly and is glorious 
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still not an excellent option to be honest 
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nope
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<< Shudder >>
I use a pitch shift pedal and the one on the Zoom to practice with downtuned songs (which we usually jam in standard tuning).
But it makes me twitch, not a fan of that warbly horribleness at all- it makes me feel the way you do when you see a bad burst
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I love the OC-2 so much
Octavers are more like suboctave and superoctave synthesizers than they are pitch shifters. It’s really two different effects.
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I have good experiences with the Digitech Bass Whammy for pitch shifting. Is it perfect? Hell no. But it definitly is adequate and doesn’t sound too shabby.
Though I only tried with tuning down to C for some Paradise Lost songs.
Would have to check what BEAD sounds like.
But it is also quite expensive if all you want to do with it is pitch shifting, so maybe not the best option.
Primarily I got it for some Tool stuff.
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When I was in highschool my band tuned to dropped B (BF#BE) but I was still taking lessons, where I would tune up to standard.
I had super thick strings on my 4 string (using the lower 4 of a 5 string set so that it would work for the band), and about 75% of the time the thing was tuned to standard so I could practice with other songs and do my lesson material.
That bass neck got annihilated.
Very warped, very unhappy.
It can be done, but you will be punishing your bass.
Save up and get a second bass if it’s something you’re going to do a lot.
Otherwise, if you like detuning, a 4 string can handle the extra heavy gauge (usually .110 to .55 or so) and you could set it up for that so it wouldn’t mess with the neck.
The problem there is that the tension on the strings at EADG would be real stiff and tight. Might not be very comfortable.
But it would allow you to detune without having the entire thing feel like rubber bands.
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The lower 4 strings on a 5-string, tuned to BEAD, have lower but similar tension to a standard tuned bass with normal light strings. If you then tuned those strings up to EADG then yeah, ouch - that’s way too much tension for the neck.
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I tried BEAD tuning for a while using the lowest 4 strings from a five pack.
It was fun for some things but it messed with my learning because of the way I visualized my neck/notes. Honestly, my band only really needed it for one song so it wasn’t really worth it. You can do alot with just drop D.
I would advise getting a cheap 5 string.
If you play in a band and they actually need the low B for more than 2 songs then maaaayybe.
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