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Tuning a guitar or bass like a cello?
I've tried before to tune a guitar to 5ths, like a cello, but drop tuning sounded floppy and up tuning resulted in some really weird string tensions, including a broken B and E string! I know Robert Fripp tunes in 5ths, but he must use a customized set of strings?
At any rate, have any of you ever tuned a guitar or bass CGDA? What strings did you use?
3 Answers
- DLashofLv 75 years agoFavorite Answer
The issue is because strings are designed for a very narrow string tension, otherwise all strings would be the same thickness and the same materials. A high guitar E is thin and often plain steel (electric) because it is under lots of pressure and it is a high pitch instrument. Tuning it down lowers the tension and thus it is flabby. Tuning it up makes it tighter, harder to play and can potentially break the string. It's all just Physics. At least with violins, they make some alternate tuning strings, you might want to search by those terms to see if such a thing exists for the guitar.
Source(s): Professional Luthier - worked for several years in the guitar repair shop for the largest volume independent music dealership in the world.- Chuck Levins, Washington Music Center. - ?Lv 45 years ago
Okay, I guess I'll answer my own question. ;) I tuned an acoustic/electric bass I have to CGDA, and as expected, the C string (heaviest top string) is a little floppy. Fun working out the different fingering, though.
