Hello bassist! I just got into this world(about a month ago), I find myslef playing mostly in standard tuning but there are some song in CGCF I really enjoy playing/learning. My problem is when I drop down, I get hella fretbuzz, I have a Squire Affinity Jazz bass with the stock string (I think .105 to .045). Is there any other people that found a solution to have a bass be able to be played in both tuning while noit being dangerous for the neck. From what I read, the solution seems to be some .110 with high action but I will take any tips and trick!
1 Like
If you are going to drop your E to C then you’d probably need 125 or 130, 110 will give you similar problem. The rest should be ok. Just order yourself a 5 string set and keep the E string and string the rest. You’d need the same string set to get a proper consistency.
I heard that having string that are made mostly for C drop is dangerous when you tune it up for standard (neck warp ect…) also I don’t really want to have to file the nut a whole lot
Hand the same conundrum as you for swapping between tunings! I used to go back and forth from E standard to C standard on an Ibanez jazz and TBH there’s just going to be some compromises and adjustments to the setup and playing style. My fret buzz issues in the past were a mix of needing to adjust the truss rod and just being more mindful of finger placement rather than directly related to drop tuning.
Initially I had GHS Boomers 40-95 and they sounded good but were floppy. Per advice of folks here since I didn’t want to file the nut I did gauge up, but only to D’Addario 45-107. That solved the floppiness but I’m overall not a fan of the brightness of D’Addarios and am going to pick up some GHS Boomers 45-105 later today.
Ultimately tho giving into the GAS and picking up a cheap 5 string Ibanez and a heftier 4 string ESP Grassroots solved my frustrations.
The 4 string Ibanez stays in EADG or DADG.
The ESP has Ernie Ball 45-105 and I switch around between C and D standard territory, only occasionally going up to E standard. It came with unknown brand 50-110s and they were binding in the nut and weren’t comfortable to play. Now it plays nice, sounds good and going to the lighter strings made sense for my playing style.
The 5 string has whatever the prior owner put on it and is currently in A# standard.
Dunno if any of that was helpful but if you have the budget it might be worthwhile to pick up a couple different brands and weights to see what works for you.
1 Like
I use 55-110 strings for drop C tuning, and it works great, maby got to raise your action a tiny bit, and offcourse truss rod adjustment, those stings wont need big mods to your nut, will still be able to use normal guage strings
here I’m playing in drop C with pick, using 55-110 stings
3 Likes
Thanks for the demo, I love how it sounds! That pretty much the setup I was thinking of doing until I buy a dedicated 4 string for drop tuning. I initially wanted a Yamaha TRBX174 has my 1 st bass but had an opportunity to get a Squier affinity Jbass, So I might go buy that Yamaha after all once I get a better grip of everythibg bass related
@GuimeRobi yeah downtuning sounds great, specially with all the distortion 
and I have the same, this squier sonic bass has some mods on it, but now its my low tuning bass, D standard and drop C
but it does have alot of fret buzz, specially when playing it hard like that. but distortion helps with that but if I play with fingerstyle its not so bad if I dont dig in
but if your doing a permanent bass for low tuning, maby get something like 120 “C” string is not a bad idea, but will need modding for the nut, 130 strings are standard B strings, but in my experience they dont really sound great on a 34" scale bass
BUT ! ! take all my advice with a grain of salt, I’m new to bass playing aswell, started in january, but I’m having alot of fun, and alot of the music I love and wanna play is downtuned
best of luck in your journey ! 
edit: maby a 5 string is not a horrible thing to think about aswell, recomend going to the music shop and try one in your hands
I use this tuning a bit and don’t use different strings. Just re set up my bass properly. No issues.
2 Likes
I use D&R DDT’s with good success going from E A D G to B E A D with the same setup but I never tried to go to C with them. It’s possible a dedicated bass in that tuning would be the way to go. If string clank when playing hard is an issue, Jeff Berlin suggested you should play more gently and just turn the amp up. That will save your hands too.
I tried a Digitech Drop pedal, it works ok for live, I don’t think I’d record with it. It adds a subtle chorus-type sound, but it works fine for dropping a half to 2 whole steps. Beyond that it gets even weirder. Sounds way better than how much my Bass buzzes in C Standard, and it is faster than retuning, great for a song here and there.