Permanent Drop D Tuning

Technique
1

I’ve realized that I’m just not into 5 strings no matter how many times I try immersing myself with them but I play enough songs in Drop D that I’m considering just leaving my bass in Drop D and learning to play with the alteration. Would this be a bad idea in the long run? For me or the guitar?

I have a Hipshot Bass Xtender on my Fender but I don’t expect there is one made for the Dingwall SP1 (at least not yet).

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2

I don’t think it would hurt the guitar. I would consider leaving it in BEAD tuning first, but Drop D would work

3

I had thought about that just to keep the symmetry across strings but I would miss those higher notes on the G string more than I would benefit from a low B and C I think

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4

There’s no problem for either you or the bass.

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5

Seems like a great excuse to buy another bass! :wink:

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6

I’ve heard that if you’re going to just leave it in drop tuning, you often want a heavier gauge string on the E (D) string to maintain even tension.

7

.105 is fine. Really .100 is fine as well, the difference at drop D is not huge; much less noticeable than the difference between 34” and 30” scale is for the normal tuning, for example.

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8

I typically use 45-105 so my E/D string should be fine then. This is on my new Dingwall so that string also has like a 34.75" scale length that should help with the tension

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9

Yeah that will be more than fine

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10

I have one bass that stays in D drop C (CGCF) and it hasn’t complained yet.

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11

You will just have to set up your bass to have the correct action and intonation, and possibly use a thicker gauge string depending on how floppy you want your low string.

I have my bass set up for D standard (DGCF) and use Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings 0.055 - 0.110. The 0.110 gauge is really good for tuning to C or D.

12

The only potential problem for you would be muscle memory if you play standard tuned songs with a dropped tuned bass and then switch to a standard tuned bass. Certainly nothing major - just something for you to be aware of if you were in that situation. And just to echo what others have said, no issues at all for the bass…