Euuuhhhh... I don't know 🤔😰... I am a guitar player who play bass for 15 years only. All my 4 strings bass have a D/E system hipshot because I love huge bass sounds 😉. And my 6 strings is tune like a guitar because I am OK to play chords like a guitar. 🙄 I am so complicated... 😉👍🎸🎶🎸🍻👍
Awesome story Bass Master.....I am tuning my 4 string bass even lower since 1990. B-E-A-D ....it would be like a 5 string bass but without the high G string. I have never changed my tuning for playing anything since then....either originals or even covers. By the way, you are a million miles ahead of me on playing the bass but you cannot beat me at being bad at reading music hahaha.....my total respect and admiration. Blessings for you always!
Yeah I have heard of people tuning a 4 string like a 5 string but without the high G such as your self. I like to play a lot of high notes so I need that high G. Looks like you and me both need to beef up our reading skills LOL.
@@acebass123 nah tuning like that isnt about reading, its more than buying a 5 string bass can be prohibitive for some people AND the size of the neck can be a major issue for a lot of people. There are songs i want to learn on bass but they require a 5 string, so im considering just dropping to BEAD or play the 5th string notes an octave higher because i dont really have the money for another bass.
Anthony thank you for doing this video! Yeah I went through the same thing many years ago, I had a four-string bass and tuned it down low to c-sharp and even a lot lower,I couldn't afford losing any gigs in the studio, for not being able to hit the low bass notes or get beat out by them doing the part with the keyboard,now I have two five strings and two six strings and I am one of your fans, I've been so inspired !on your great innovations on the six string bass is so incredible!!! Your timing is a beast!!!!!
I see you use Dean Markley strings: What gauge? I think Andre Gouche tunes down a whole step too. I got to touch his bass once. The strings were loose. I wondered how he controlled them so beautifully. No floppy buzzing. I've been using super light strings: G=35 after talking to Cody Wright about his string choice. Turned EADG Your playing amazes me. Thank you for being so good! It's motivating!
I remember the Miles Davis double lp We want miles . Fantastic record , Marcus Miller told me he tuned down to a C . Great sound. I saw Reggie Washington play his 1977 fender jazz at Ronnie Scott’s club in London in 1987 . He was tuned down to a D then GCF . I suppose if you stick with it you know your notes , but I never tuned down permanently. But yeah it works for certain songs . It was part of the 80s sound trying to emulate the synth bass .
I tuned most of my basses - especially my Warwicks - 1 to 1 1/2 steps down, even when I'm not playing heavier genre. Something about the way the string tension interacts with the rest of the instrument produces this incredible tone. And I'm probably gonna catch hell for this... But I fully utilitze fret buzz/fretboard buzz(with fretless) when I play heavier genres.
Try fifths tuning or alternating root-fifths tuning. CGDA, DAEB, CGCG, or DADA would all be options that can give you the full upper range or more and extended low end, as well.
Another great video, Anthony! I love hearing your insight into why you choose to tune down. The tone of the bass possesses a growl that just can’t be achieved in standard tuning. I actually went the other way last year! I went from being a six string bass player (for sight reading in shows) to going back to being a four string player and occasionally using the C standard tuning for lower parts in shows. It’s just more comfortable for my hands to play a four string.
Yeah thats amazing man. Sometimes we do have to change things up a bit. Going from a 6 to 4 is cool also. I still play my 4 string a lot but still use my 6 strings most of the time. Cheers and thanks for watching.
Years back I played one of those ibanez MC 924 bass....was actually a great bass,could sound like most basses out there with the eq section and had to play a few tunes which had 5strings on em ....so I dropped a tone ,surprising how good the bass felt like that ........this clip is great ! + Amusing too thanks!...that bass you have there sounds stunning ,great playing ,the Roscoe is a wolf among poodles!!! Forgive my English humour! If you get to tour UK whenever,I'll be in the crowd.....Allan Holdsworth was my hero.......and some of the best stuff I've heard was with you and V Donati....sad about AH! What strings you using ??? Be safe ,from Nick Bayes.... Devon in England
Yes If I ever go to the UK I'll be sure to post it. I miss playing with Allan Holdsworth. Such an amazing person and great musician. I'll be sure to share to stories in the near future on my channel with my experience working with Holdsworth.
Actually I saw so many great gigs in the 1980s , Reggie Washington was with Chico Hamilton. Great sounding quartet . Saw Ronald Shannon Jackson with two bass players and two guitars I think . From what I remember it was great . Then had a Ronald Shannon Jackson lp live in Texas, Reggie Washington and Cery denegris on guitar. What happened to him ?
Along your journey, did you ever try tuning a whole step down, but putting a capo on the 2nd fret if you ever needed to read? Just as a way to keep your fretboard knowledge the same when switching between the two.
was wondering if you use heavier gauge strings when you set up your bass to be played in D (I guess your A since you use a six string) standard? I used to have my Stingray in D standard but quit the project I was doing that on. The tone with medium gauge strings wasn’t to my liking so I changed to heavy and now when I need to use a pick this bass is my go-to.
My strings are super light. I just play with a lighter touch to keep buzzing down. Bigger gauge strings do sound good for detuning but I prefer for my bass to be easier to play with lighter gauges.
Anthony Crawford Very cool, thanks for the quick response! I’ve really been digging your work and solo vocabulary lately. I’m not a heavy gauge player, but it mitigates my jazz chops/instincts when I play punk or pop rock gigs which I kinda like.
I am supporting/session bass player and play for Metal band recently. I use medium strings 45-105 for their recent gigs and detune to B E A D and mostly need to down again to A E A D. Sadly 45-105 cannot be tune to standard E because it make so much tension to the neck. But after a while, I found that playing the detune strings is more comfortable 😁.
idk if I understood wrong, but why would 45-105 put so much tension on the neck? 45-105 is the standard bass string gauge for E standard and even Eb, different it would be if you used a 5 string set (without the G string)
@ricardog.s2505 I used to use 2 type of d'addario, super light 40-95 and regular light 45-100. Recently I bought Alice bass string with 45-105 gauge and it feel so mucn tense on the neck. Probably because it cheap?
@@reza_dailylife I'm a guitar / bass tech and maybe your bass only needs a setup, I remember a friend came over with the same problem and it needed a setup and that was all, he even did the exact same thing, switching to really light strings until I set it up correctly and the problem got fixed
@@ricardog.s2505 My bass has no problem if I use standard Addario 40-95 / 45-100. The tension problem only occure when I tried Alice brand strings, 45-105. But thank yoy for your information, maybe I should check the bass itself
This particularity gave you a great musical ear in mind. I don't know if the hipshot D/E system existed when you were young... but I am not sure that it system allows you to drop in C... Anyway... you are great.
Hi Anthony, do you read music now or you basically work on playing over chords mostly? Also can you please have a video telling us how you reached this level of playing? A lot of us players play poop and rock and a bit of jazz then Plato. How do we get to the next level?
Hey these are great questions. I'll make a video in the near future about this. To answer your questions I don't read a lot. I read a little but mostly just play over chords.
@@acebass123 thanks for the reply. I’m familiar with jazz chords, scales, tunes, etc but can’t break into the next level to play more complex fusion style so I look foreword to that video to come out. Please and thank you.
Wound up here because a video on strings got me to thinking that my B string was sounding hollow because it was too stiff and heavy to create decent harmonics. The guy suggested tuning down a whole step. Fortunately, I don't care for the high stuff. So losing that bit at the top of the G string won't bother me.
🤣 "the kid with the 4 string" ...I used to want to be the kid with the 6 string bass 🤣🤷♂️ Before I finally had the money for 7 and 8 string guitars, I used to slap fat strings on my 6 strings and tune them almost to drop F...I never even figured it out exactly; I just used to call it the "9th Gate tuning" 😂 You ever think about doing Tool covers in your own style of playing?
@@acebass123 😂 Now I just tune my 8 string guitar standard with a drop E on the bottom, and my 6 string bass like the bottom 6 of the 8string, but octave down, so the E0 is tuned on a semi flubby 160 gauge. That's the fattest string I could find on Amazon 😂 Works for now. If they don't copyright strike you, it would be nice to hear at least one Tool song. Or some others, like Animals as Leaders, Plini, etc.
Now I’m back to good old normal tuning and to be honest I hated the 1980s for so many reasons . Synths and drum machines and computer quantise music what a boring load of crap . . Thank god for Joe Pass . But errrr yes I still might tune down occasionally for a song , did it last yeah on a version of AJA . Tuned my E string down to a B on a fretless bass . Then tuned back up and actually played another section on a fretted . Whatever. But thank thankfully the 80s are long gone
Would you ever consider retuning your bass after watching this video? 😅😅
Just started yesterday, must say... alot of fun
Thx Anthony! For your honesty. Great concept for tuning.
Euuuhhhh... I don't know 🤔😰...
I am a guitar player who play bass for 15 years only. All my 4 strings bass have a D/E system hipshot because I love huge bass sounds 😉. And my 6 strings is tune like a guitar because I am OK to play chords like a guitar.
🙄 I am so complicated... 😉👍🎸🎶🎸🍻👍
On my 6-string, I always play either a half or full step down.
I would consider it!
Awesome story Bass Master.....I am tuning my 4 string bass even lower since 1990. B-E-A-D ....it would be like a 5 string bass but without the high G string. I have never changed my tuning for playing anything since then....either originals or even covers. By the way, you are a million miles ahead of me on playing the bass but you cannot beat me at being bad at reading music hahaha.....my total respect and admiration. Blessings for you always!
Yeah I have heard of people tuning a 4 string like a 5 string but without the high G such as your self. I like to play a lot of high notes so I need that high G. Looks like you and me both need to beef up our reading skills LOL.
@@acebass123 nah tuning like that isnt about reading, its more than buying a 5 string bass can be prohibitive for some people AND the size of the neck can be a major issue for a lot of people. There are songs i want to learn on bass but they require a 5 string, so im considering just dropping to BEAD or play the 5th string notes an octave higher because i dont really have the money for another bass.
Heh, i was just thinking "i wonder when the detuning video will come out" lol cant wait for more content! Im always at the edge of my seat waiting!
haha More To Come Brother
I tune my 5 Strings a whole step, to ADGCF. That's my standard tuning to this date, I love it!
I play by ear though.
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤
Great story, love the ending LOL!
I play five string but with a High C instead of low B
And use a hipshot D-tuner on the top (E) string
Anthony thank you for doing this video! Yeah I went through the same thing many years ago, I had a four-string bass and tuned it down low to c-sharp and even a lot lower,I couldn't afford losing any gigs in the studio, for not being able to hit the low bass notes or get beat out by them doing the part with the keyboard,now I have two five strings and two six strings and I am one of your fans, I've been so inspired !on your great innovations on the six string bass is so incredible!!! Your timing is a beast!!!!!
This is a fantastic story and explains why you are such a PHENOMENAL bassist!!!
I do the same thing, I like the tension better, great as always Anthony, bass shred god
Thanks so much brother
That tone is killer🔥🔥🔥
Bro your playing is so inspiring!!!!
Thanks bro for your input explanation and wisdom. The Weeknd
Thanks so much for watching
im a guitar player and i love tuning down as well
I tune down because I wanted to have a hard time as a child
- Anthony Crawford 2020
Oh trust me. I'm going to do a video of a very hard time I had during my bass career. This video is nothing compared to what I have to say next LOL.
@@acebass123 brother played with Allan holdsworth and is trying to tell me there was another time that was harder
I don't believe you
@@DarkItachi1 Well this story would be more on the business side of things. But still an interesting story.
I see you use Dean Markley strings: What gauge?
I think Andre Gouche tunes down a whole step too. I got to touch his bass once. The strings were loose. I wondered how he controlled them so beautifully. No floppy buzzing.
I've been using super light strings: G=35 after talking to Cody Wright about his string choice. Turned EADG
Your playing amazes me. Thank you for being so good! It's motivating!
Hilarious ending, Anthony! Hope you've been doing well. : )
Guitar player here...I also tune my guitars to D standard...mainly for easier vocals. Would love to hear your take on some Polyphia.
Polyphia is a great band. Love those guys. Hung out with them a CHON show here in LA. I've never tried to play their music though.
Great story! The end was like a punchline!
I remember the Miles Davis double lp We want miles . Fantastic record , Marcus Miller told me he tuned down to a C . Great sound. I saw Reggie Washington play his 1977 fender jazz at Ronnie Scott’s club in London in 1987 . He was tuned down to a D then GCF . I suppose if you stick with it you know your notes , but I never tuned down permanently. But yeah it works for certain songs . It was part of the 80s sound trying to emulate the synth bass .
I tuned most of my basses - especially my Warwicks - 1 to 1 1/2 steps down, even when I'm not playing heavier genre. Something about the way the string tension interacts with the rest of the instrument produces this incredible tone.
And I'm probably gonna catch hell for this... But I fully utilitze fret buzz/fretboard buzz(with fretless) when I play heavier genres.
Try fifths tuning or alternating root-fifths tuning. CGDA, DAEB, CGCG, or DADA would all be options that can give you the full upper range or more and extended low end, as well.
Wow, very interesting adventures with the tunings, I guess that retunings in-between the songs were a total nightmare
Yes it was but funny enough I kind of gotten used to it over time LOL
Wait do you actually play with a low A on your 6-string?
Yep
Another great video, Anthony! I love hearing your insight into why you choose to tune down. The tone of the bass possesses a growl that just can’t be achieved in standard tuning. I actually went the other way last year! I went from being a six string bass player (for sight reading in shows) to going back to being a four string player and occasionally using the C standard tuning for lower parts in shows. It’s just more comfortable for my hands to play a four string.
Yeah thats amazing man. Sometimes we do have to change things up a bit. Going from a 6 to 4 is cool also. I still play my 4 string a lot but still use my 6 strings most of the time. Cheers and thanks for watching.
Years back I played one of those ibanez MC 924 bass....was actually a great bass,could sound like most basses out there with the eq section and had to play a few tunes which had 5strings on em ....so I dropped a tone ,surprising how good the bass felt like that ........this clip is great ! + Amusing too thanks!...that bass you have there sounds stunning ,great playing ,the Roscoe is a wolf among poodles!!! Forgive my English humour! If you get to tour UK whenever,I'll be in the crowd.....Allan Holdsworth was my hero.......and some of the best stuff I've heard was with you and V Donati....sad about AH! What strings you using ??? Be safe ,from Nick Bayes.... Devon in England
Yes If I ever go to the UK I'll be sure to post it. I miss playing with Allan Holdsworth. Such an amazing person and great musician. I'll be sure to share to stories in the near future on my channel with my experience working with Holdsworth.
Actually I saw so many great gigs in the 1980s , Reggie Washington was with Chico Hamilton. Great sounding quartet . Saw Ronald Shannon Jackson with two bass players and two guitars I think . From what I remember it was great . Then had a Ronald Shannon Jackson lp live in Texas, Reggie Washington and Cery denegris on guitar. What happened to him ?
Along your journey, did you ever try tuning a whole step down, but putting a capo on the 2nd fret if you ever needed to read? Just as a way to keep your fretboard knowledge the same when switching between the two.
Do you have "higher" action to compensate the light strings and lower tuning?
was wondering if you use heavier gauge strings when you set up your bass to be played in D (I guess your A since you use a six string) standard? I used to have my Stingray in D standard but quit the project I was doing that on. The tone with medium gauge strings wasn’t to my liking so I changed to heavy and now when I need to use a pick this bass is my go-to.
My strings are super light. I just play with a lighter touch to keep buzzing down. Bigger gauge strings do sound good for detuning but I prefer for my bass to be easier to play with lighter gauges.
Anthony Crawford Very cool, thanks for the quick response! I’ve really been digging your work and solo vocabulary lately. I’m not a heavy gauge player, but it mitigates my jazz chops/instincts when I play punk or pop rock gigs which I kinda like.
I am supporting/session bass player and play for Metal band recently.
I use medium strings 45-105 for their recent gigs and detune to B E A D and mostly need to down again to A E A D. Sadly 45-105 cannot be tune to standard E because it make so much tension to the neck.
But after a while, I found that playing the detune strings is more comfortable 😁.
idk if I understood wrong, but why would 45-105 put so much tension on the neck? 45-105 is the standard bass string gauge for E standard and even Eb, different it would be if you used a 5 string set (without the G string)
@ricardog.s2505 I used to use 2 type of d'addario, super light 40-95 and regular light 45-100.
Recently I bought Alice bass string with 45-105 gauge and it feel so mucn tense on the neck. Probably because it cheap?
@@reza_dailylife I'm a guitar / bass tech and maybe your bass only needs a setup, I remember a friend came over with the same problem and it needed a setup and that was all, he even did the exact same thing, switching to really light strings until I set it up correctly and the problem got fixed
@@ricardog.s2505 My bass has no problem if I use standard Addario 40-95 / 45-100.
The tension problem only occure when I tried Alice brand strings, 45-105.
But thank yoy for your information, maybe I should check the bass itself
This particularity gave you a great musical ear in mind.
I don't know if the hipshot D/E system existed when you were young... but I am not sure that it system allows you to drop in C...
Anyway... you are great.
I actually never even thought about using a hipshot. If I had it may have changed everything for me. thanks so much for watching.
Hi Anthony, do you read music now or you basically work on playing over chords mostly? Also can you please have a video telling us how you reached this level of playing? A lot of us players play poop and rock and a bit of jazz then Plato. How do we get to the next level?
Hey these are great questions. I'll make a video in the near future about this. To answer your questions I don't read a lot. I read a little but mostly just play over chords.
@@acebass123 thanks for the reply. I’m familiar with jazz chords, scales, tunes, etc but can’t break into the next level to play more complex fusion style so I look foreword to that video to come out. Please and thank you.
Wound up here because a video on strings got me to thinking that my B string was sounding hollow because it was too stiff and heavy to create decent harmonics. The guy suggested tuning down a whole step. Fortunately, I don't care for the high stuff. So losing that bit at the top of the G string won't bother me.
Thanks bro ❤️
Thank you for watching
Greatest plot twist ever !
Is your action high?
Thank you for explaining. Subscribed
Love the punchline! 😅
That ending 😅
haha. I know right lol
I would just have 2 basses on hand in that case. 1 bass standard and the other one tuned down 1 whole step
Nice ending🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ha ha, that punchline :-D 'after all that I got a 6 string bass' Great story dude.
Thanks so much for watching brother.
Meanwhile guitar player
Yea I wrote the bridge in an open tuning i don't know if we can play this live
HAHA I know right lol
Tool is a great and now under appreciated band
Tool started a lot of stuff with their sound. Very underrated band for sure. Im a hard core fan of Tool.
thx
Thank you for watching
I got a headache thinking of tuning that offend
HAHA I know right lol
LOL the end is funny. Why did you never experiment with B E A D tuning... with your 2 whole steps down tuning, you were already so close lol
Haven't watched this yet, but I'm gonna guess that you're a fan on Andrew Gouche?
☯️👍👍👍👍👍☯️
✌️
Thank you.
It's also better for the bass imo
🤣 "the kid with the 4 string" ...I used to want to be the kid with the 6 string bass 🤣🤷♂️ Before I finally had the money for 7 and 8 string guitars, I used to slap fat strings on my 6 strings and tune them almost to drop F...I never even figured it out exactly; I just used to call it the "9th Gate tuning" 😂
You ever think about doing Tool covers in your own style of playing?
Wow man you had some interesting tuning going on. I never thought about doing Tool covers. Maybe I should.
@@acebass123 😂 Now I just tune my 8 string guitar standard with a drop E on the bottom, and my 6 string bass like the bottom 6 of the 8string, but octave down, so the E0 is tuned on a semi flubby 160 gauge. That's the fattest string I could find on Amazon 😂 Works for now.
If they don't copyright strike you, it would be nice to hear at least one Tool song. Or some others, like Animals as Leaders, Plini, etc.
Now I’m back to good old normal tuning and to be honest I hated the 1980s for so many reasons . Synths and drum machines and computer quantise music what a boring load of crap . . Thank god for Joe Pass . But errrr yes I still might tune down occasionally for a song , did it last yeah on a version of AJA . Tuned my E string down to a B on a fretless bass . Then tuned back up and actually played another section on a fretted . Whatever. But thank thankfully the 80s are long gone
This is insanity. Just buy a 5-string