Eb tuning problem - Song 2

[jimmydunes]

Hi folks.

I played 'Song 2' by Blur for the first time this morning. It uses what I beleive is Eb tuning. The whole bass gets tuned down a half step.

It took forever to get the in-game tuner to recognize the Eb. It would get close and then go off the scale. I'd say it took about 10 minutes to get it to finally recognize it and even then it was just barely. I had my snark going the whole time and it was happy with the Eb long before the game was.

So when I am actually in the song it would only recognize the Eb on the open string. It wouldn't recognize any fretted notes. It didn't even give me the wrong fret arrow.

What gives? Has anyone else had this problem?

[usersrdum]

Yep, same problems.

[I7oso]

Interesting, I noticed the tuning issue on open E. It doesn't always recognize the note long enough to tune. I also noticed sustains on the open E fall short most of the time. I wonder if this is a recognition issue, cause even when the sustains fall short I sometimes get a "great sustain" bonus. Always related to the open E though, all other notes sustain and recognize fine.

[jimmydunes]

Yes, I also have always had problems with Low E sustains.

[JTCoop]

Same same here. I've also had similar issues getting tuned to D for a few songs (but on those songs at least I'm just dealing with one string - not all 4). I figured it was just time for new strings. . . but I haven't put the new strings on yet.

Strangely, my son seems to be able to tune to off-tunings pretty easily. Not sure what he's doing different but he seems to be able to detune the same bass very quickly. Still - he gets the same off-the-scale jumps on the RS tuner that are described here. He just seems to be able to get things working easier than I can. I think going low and tightening to pitch (the usual technique) is the key here, but it does seem like there's some sort of issue with the bass tuner.

[Loganp812]

I've had problems with this on my Jazz bass (which has two pickups for those who don't know.) If your bass also has more than one pickup, switch to either the bridge or neck pickup only. That worked for me.

[LiquidmantisGWJ]

Yes, I also have always had problems with Low E sustains.

Thank you! I assumed it was something to do with the pickups in my cheapo bass that I got years ago. I can still hear the sustain though so it's the only thing that's kept me from bass GAS.

[Brick235]

Just played this song for the first time before. Like Logan said, I found it was better switching to one pickup. Also make sure you mute all other strings and pick closer to whichever pickup you selected. I think the bridge works best. It was still a little annoying but I got it. I think that's the only song with that tuning and after playing it twice I'm in no rush to play it again any time soon.

BTW - What is bass GAS?

[rcole_sooner]

I just got this song as part of a double encore. It played fine. I did just have the bridge pickup turned up on my Jazz bass, but it had no problem with note detection.

[JTCoop]

BTW - What is bass GAS?

G-uitar A-cquisition S-yndrome.


I seem to avoid the tuner issue by being very gentle when I pluck the low E string. Still can be a little twitchy, but it's not nearly as bad as if I hit the string like I would when playing normally.

[jimmydunes]

Thanks folks. It never occurred to me to try the pickups individually. I'll give that a shot after work today.

[Selurevad]

I did not have any problems tuning my Dean bass. But tuning 4 strings is definitely a momentum killer. I don't mind stopping to retune one string. Four is no fun in the middle of a set. This will be one to avoid for me until I want to retune and put all the Eb songs in one set. Assuming there are more. This is the only one I've ran into so far.

[AdamBenoit]

There is a trick to tuning a bass. Because the strings are heavy and all have ridges, you need to do the following:

1. De-tune the string well below the desired note
2. Pull on the string where you pluck about an inch
3. Pluck the string to see where it is on the scale.
4. Turn the machine head a bit and go to step 2. Repeat until you get there. If you go too far, start at step 1.

If you follow these steps, the bass will stay in tune longer and be easier to tune.

Hope this helps.
:)

Adam

[jimmydunes]

There is a trick to tuning a bass. Because the strings are heavy and all have ridges, you need to do the following:

1. De-tune the string well below the desired note
2. Pull on the string where you pluck about an inch
3. Pluck the string to see where it is on the scale.
4. Turn the machine head a bit and go to step 2. Repeat until you get there. If you go too far, start at step 1.

If you follow these steps, the bass will stay in tune longer and be easier to tune.

Hope this helps.
:)

Adam

Thanks for the tips Adam. I'm still in my monkey cage and haven't been able to try the single pup idea, but just for clarification on this thread, my bass tuned up just fine according to my drawer full of tuners. No issues there. The problem is with the game recognizing it correctly.

[usersrdum]

Yes, I also have always had problems with Low E sustains.

I have low E sustain issues also. I can hear the note fine through the speakers but the note just cuts off. My Trick to keep it going is to lightly tremolo the E string.

[jrard44]

G-uitar A-cquisition S-yndrome. .

Sorry for being a bit late, and being off-topic, but I believe GAS is generally thought to mean G-ear A-cquision S-yndrome, so it can me used more inclusively. That way you can GAS for amps, pedals, bass guitars :)

Just had to throw that in there.

[JTCoop]

Sorry for being a bit late, and being off-topic, but I believe GAS is generally thought to mean G-ear A-cquision S-yndrome, so it can me used more inclusively. That way you can GAS for amps, pedals, bass guitars :)

Just had to throw that in there.

If that's the case, it would also apply to drums. However, due to space constraints, I'm virtually immune to future cases of drum GAS. No more room for more drums in this house!

[jimmydunes]

Turning the volume down on my bridge pickup did the trick. Thanks gang. It still jumps off the scale a bit more than I like, but I can deal with it.