[bag]

what do you tune the low b string on a 5 string to when your guitar player is in drop?

[junior01]

I'd leave it as it is... The reason is that B string tend to get somewhat floppy. If you tune it down a whole step it may get so floppy that the only sound it will produce a kind of farting sound...

Plus you don't really need to worry about the drop D tuning of the guitarist if you are playing a fiver. That's what that B string is for, making it easier to play those really low note without having to tune-detune all the time.

[dadfad]

I'd leave it as it is... The reason is that B string tend to get somewhat floppy. If you tune it down a whole step it may get so floppy that the only sound it will produce a kind of farting sound...

Plus you don't really need to worry about the drop D tuning of the guitarist if you are playing a fiver. That's what that B string is for, making it easier to play those really low note without having to tune-detune all the time.

Yes, Junior is right. I think the 5th-string would be too sloppy. What you might want to do (what I'd probably try anyway if I was working with a dropped-D tune on a 5-string) is don't use the fifth string. Tune the 4-string (E) down to D. That string can probably handle the down-tuning by a step better than the 5th-string could. (Besides, tuning your 5th-string down to A (the fifth of a D-chord), if it did work, really wouldn't give you much to work with anyway only having a low-tuned fifth-note. You really want a low D tonic-note.) Anyway, worth a try.

[guitargurujon]

Everyone's answers are ok, but they are not really answering the question really. It is possible to detune a bass and loads of bassists do this. Everyone thinks that the bass can not be dropped, or that you can play the 5th fret on the A string instead.

You could drop the B string to an A but bellow this, as said above could get too floppy. What some people do not realize is that with a 5 string tuned B, E, A, D, G that the tuning stays at that. You can get special bass strings or custom set for bass E, A, D, G, C. Buy one of these packs and work out a drop tuning from that.

Btw, you did not actually state what drop tuning you wanted.

Here is a tuner with a whole list of drop tunings, bass tuner

This post has been edited by guitargurujon: 06 April 2009 - 04:34 PM