How to tuning the electrical bass? Me, La, Ree and Sol
Mi, La, Ree and Sol: the four serious guitar strings, an octave lower. Thus, the bass with an tuning, with an ear and with harmonics and an octavation are checked.
A four-string electrical bass is sharpened, from the thickest to the thinner, and Me, La, Ree and Sol (E1, A1, D2 and G2): The same notes as the four serious guitar strings, an octave lower. The best thing to do is to use an interminer and up each string to its note from the bottom. Without interminer, you can tunes with each other with 3 or with harmonics, from a single reference note.
There's also an adjustment that many bassist miss: an octavas tuning. If the low sounds tuned to the air but detuned to high tires, the problem isn't with the clamps but with the bridge.
To sum up
- Standard four-string bottom tuning: Mi (E1), La (A1), Ree (D2) and Sol (G2), separated by quarters.
- Afina always up to the note: if you pass, come down a little and get back up.
- The 5-cut of each string gives the note of the string to the next air and the harmonics of the 5 and 7-scares are useful to check.
- If the phone tuning doesn't read the serious Mi well, it plays the harmonic at 3: 12: it's the same note, an octave up.
- If the harmonic of 3 and 3 and the note on that note do not match, we have to put an end to the octavation at the bridge.
The notes of the low's strings
| Rog | Note | Filling | Frecuencia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th (thickest) | Mi | E1 | 41.20 Hz |
| 3ª | La | A1 | 55 Hz |
| 2ª | Re | D2 | 73.42 Hz |
| First (thinner) | Sol | G2 | 98 Hz |
Between each and the next string there's a fair quarter. At a low of five strings, the additional one's usually a serious Si (B0, about 30.87 Hz) under the My, and has its own low tuning of 5 strings).and an acute Do (C3) above the Sun. The contraband uses the same four notes as the electrical bass and has its own [contraband tuner].](/herramientas/afinador/contrabajo).
How to tuning the bass with tuning
| Tipo | How's the note read? | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|
| Of clamp | To vibration, glued to the sewer | Test and noise locations |
| Fitted or wired | To the electrical sign of the low | Play live and the noise of the place doesn't affect you |
| with a microphone (mobile or web) | The sound of an instrument or an amplifier | Practice at home without buying anything |
| Incorporated into an amplifier or a pedal | The sign, as with his pedal. | If you have them, you don't need another. |
- If you use a connected tuner, put the low volume up to the maximum and have an activated low, check that the battery will be charged.
- Press the string into the air with his finger, at medium volume, and let it sound. Read the note an instant after the attack: just as we press, the string sounds a little high.
- If the note's low, turn the stick to tighten. If it's high, loosen up and get back up: so that the gear gets firm and the string doesn't get down within a few minutes.
- Afina Mi, La, Ree and Sol, and do a second pass.
At home you can use our [online low tuning]](/herramientas/afinador/bajo)The microphones of many mobile and portable phone phones miscapture the very serious notes and if with the My the needle leapes, it touches the harmonic of the 12 Stretch (we explain how): the tuner recognizes it as My, an octave up, and reads it more stable. It also helps to bring the microphone closer to the speaker of the amplifier.
Ear sharpening: 3 and harmonics
You need a single reliable reference, for example, the Mi of a piano, another instrument or the tuner. From there, you tunes every string against the previous one.
That's about five.
- Fold My string at Stretch 5: A La sounds.
- Touch the string and put it to the air and put it up till the two notes sound the same.
- Repeat with Stretch 5 of the La versus Ree to the air and with Stretch 5 of the Ree to the Sun to the air.
with harmonics at Stages 5 and 7
To make an harmonic, touch the string with the yolk, very soft, just above the trast wire, without sink it. Press close to the bridge and remove his left finger at once. The harmonic keeps ringing as you turn the stick, and that makes it easier to hear a beatfight: an undulation, as a "o-o-o-o," that gets slower as you come and go as the two notes coincide.
| The harmonic of the 3-foot... | The harmonic of the 7 of... | Sound note |
|---|---|---|
| Mi | La | My (E3) |
| La | Re | The (A3) |
| Re | Sol | Ree (D4) |
A technical nuance: harmonics produce pure intervals, and the pura fourth is a little tighter than that of the tuning machine. The error adds string to string up to about 6 cm on the Sun. It's little, but it's felt in chords or playing with keyboard. Use harmonics to get close and cut 5 or tuning to confirm.
Log sharpening: if desaphenes high storage
The octavation is the length of each string between the cebula and the bridge seeler. If it isn't well tipped, the low sounds tuned to the air and deawns as you get up the mast. It's revised as follows:
- Reput good ropes: The spent ones never octave well. If you have to change them, in how to care for an electrical bass We'll tell you how.
- Put as you normally play, sitting or standing with the strap, and put up all the strings.
- Touch the harmonic of the 12-foot of a string and look at the tuner. Then step onto that 12-foot string, with no more clamour, and compare.
- Refine the sewer of that string with its screw at the bridge, little by little, re-tunes and repeats the comparison.
| Note step on Stretch 12 | What does that mean? | What to do with the sewer |
|---|---|---|
| Taller than harmonic | The part that vibrates is very short | Take her from the mast |
| lower than harmonic | The part that vibrates is very long | Filling to the mast |
| Igual | Correct octavation | That's nothing. That goes to the next string. |
If the screw's hard, loosen the string a little before turning. And if the sewer gets to the top without redressing the difference, or if you have never been, get it to the luthier: there can be a tipstick issue with the mast, with a string height or with a bridge.
More common alternative endpoints
| Filling | Notes, serious to acute | When used |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | My, La, Ree, Sol | Almost everything: pop, salsa, rock, jazz, Colombian music |
| Drop D (R down) | Ree, La, Ree, Sol | Rock, metal or songs that come down to the grave re |
| Half tone down | My, La, Reo, Sol | The bands with their guitars are tuned as well, or to accommodate their voices |
| Under five strings | Yes, Mi, La, Ree, Sol | Any Style That Asks Reforms Under Me |
To get to Drop D, put down the My string a tone and compare its harmonic from the 12 and re string to the air: they have to sound equal. Be aware that changing tuning changes the tension onto the mast and if you do so they will be more soon to stay still.
What's with his low?
- New rods: They extend throughout the first few days. After applying them, scattering them with softness along the mast and refine them several times.
- Climate changes: passing from the cold of Bogotá to hot ground, or leave the low with a window with sun, moves tuning and sometimes curvature of the mast.
- Filling more: To press very strongly up the note, especially if the strings are far apart from the diapason. If at first you get everything sounds high, check your hand before the bass.
- Fingers at the sewer: a low that scattering from the wall or from the support usually gets out of tune, and sometimes with a loose stick.
Filling at the start of each session and again if you play for a while, it's a habit that your teacher checks from the first of [electrical bass classes]](/clases/bajo-electrico). If you play guitar as well, the process looks a lot like [tuning guitar]](/blog/como-afinar-la-guitarra)with an advantage: at the bottom all the strings are at a quarter, so there's no exception to the string Si.
Frequently asked questions
The bass's been put up just as his guitar?
The four strands of the bass have the same notes as the four serious strands of the guitar (Mi, La, Ree, Sol) but they sound an octave lower. That's why a guitar tuner also serves as good as it detects serious frequencies.
How much do we have to put up with the bass?
Each time you're gonna play it and again if you change place or play for a while. With new strings, check it several times in the same session.
Why does the low sound good to the air but out of tune above the mast?
The most common causes are spent cords, an octavation maladjusted or tighten them up. Test first with new cords and comparison of 12 and if the difference goes on, have a luthier review.
What if I put a string up above his note?
It gets more tension than it's thought to put up with: it can be broken and also loads the mast. If you pass, put the string down and get back up to the right note.