Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

The other day I was with some friends and a guy came over to jam with an upright bass. That to me seemed awesome because they are cool looking and I had never seen one before. The problem and question here is when we were tuning the guy like refused to tune his bass and insisted "it would be ok" even though we were half a step down and he was somewhere between god knows where and standard. The question is since it was fretless could he actually wing it enough to work or not? I did not think it was working at all, occasionally he was close but that was it. Anyway just wondering about that.

Well, I am sure that he could "lip" it but it is odd that string player refused to tune.

Thats what I'm sayin man it was pissing me off I'm a pitch nazi on other people even though I fudge my own bends off of pitch lol

Damonfonner wrote:Thats what I'm sayin man it was pissing me off I'm a pitch nazi on other people even though I fudge my own bends off of pitch lol

I have never met a string player who was not a pitch nazi.

Black57 wrote: it is odd that string player refused to tune.

What is "Too lazy to tune" for the win Alex.

#1 - they're a bee-otch to tune

#2 - it fretless...if he knows his instrument well enough, he can fit, even if you're 1/2 step down

If it sounded bad, it's prolly cuz he didn't know his neck well enough, & he may be tone deaf

I'll go with Philby for 300, Bob.

philbymon wrote:#1 - they're a bee-otch to tune

#2 - it fretless...if he knows his instrument well enough, he can fit, even if you're 1/2 step down

If it sounded bad, it's prolly cuz he didn't know his neck well enough, & he may be tone deaf

spin it how you will, if some task is a "beotch" and if he chooses not finish said task, because he can compensate easier than most, but is having a hard time doing so because he is tone deaf..that equals lazy to me, he could not compensate at all, tune his instrument like any good professional should, follow the fret board dots, all fretless instruments still have, and not have to compensate at all.

always sucked a Jeaporday anyway...lol

echhh I don't care if you are playing a cigar box.

TUNE THAT BITCH @ ONCE OR DIE TRYING..

Eh...I can play, in tune, with a standard tuning, whether you play 1/2 step down or not. I may not get those deep notes, but I'd bet you wouldn't miss 'em. If his bass was out of tune, that's one thing, but if it was in tune (standard) & he couldn't compensate, then he isn't much of a player on his chosen instrument, imho.

I hear ya Phil and I know what you mean, but an awful lot of problems are solved by a simple tuning session in the beginning.

God help the guys that are 1/2 off of each others' tuning...during a real performance.. Sounds like cat's crying and no one cares who is singing harmony..lol

Capt. Scott wrote:I hear ya Phil and I know what you mean, but an awful lot of problems are solved by a simple tuning session in the beginning.

God help the guys that are 1/2 off of each others' tuning...during a real performance.. Sounds like cat's crying and no one cares who is singing harmony..lol

If you are playing 1/2 off from everyone else, you're not playing outta tune, you are playing a wrong effin' note.

My point exactly, Mary!

Any musician worth his instrument should be able to play in any key. Especially a stringed instrument, as long as it doesn't have drone strings like a mountain dulcimer, or locked in a key like a psaltry.

Your standard instruments like guitar, bass, mandolin, violin, etc, all lend themselves rather well to play in any key one may choose, with standard tunings.

There is no need for a bass player to retune if the band is playing a few tunes detuned. I've never done it, & I've played with lots of alternate tunings at open mics & such.

I'm probably one of the most strict ppl in these forae when it comes to being in tune. I've stopped ppl on stage when it offended my ear.

philbymon wrote:Any musician worth his instrument should be able to play in any key. Especially a stringed instrument,

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

If I wrote the song in a lower key, I don't want my lower octaves cut off by a bass player who wont take the time to tune properly, I understand there is no absolute "need" to tune, but to not tune, is either lazy or pomp ass, neither is acceptable to me in my band. I've been in E and pulled a song off that was written in drop D, and any time the notes went down to the D, I was hung out to dry on Bass, and that was just one step out, I played the D higher up but it sounded awkward and out of place.

Which is why I also have a 5 string! But you won't find a 5 string bull fiddle player.



To expect a guy to spend, what, 20 minutes or so to retune & restretch his strings is asking a lot, unless you are the only band he's gonna play with.