Hello folks, I have a question for the best group of people to ask.
First question - I'm building my first 30 " scale , 2 string bass. And I need help with
the action at the first fret, and the 12th ?
Second question - I have a few packs of 4 string bass, and 6 string bass, which strings do I use ?
Replies
As a bass player, I would go with a E and A tuning since that is where I spend 90% of my time when playing my Commercial Electric Bass Guitars. That would make it much easier to go between your CBB and a commercial Bass.
At 30" that is a short scale bass. standard 34" scale strings on a 30" scale would be about like putting a capo at the 3rd fret.
The E and A strings for a 34" scale bass tuned to E and A on a 30" scale will feel kinda floppy. the D and G for a 34" tuned to E and A on a 30 " will feel about right but that gives you a more tenor sound like the E & A on a guitar.
You could use the B and E from the 34" 6-string pack, on a 30" scale tuned up to E and A will be about right also, the neck will need to be up to the challenge though, that B string is thick as a power line.
Or you could buy individual short scale strings from your neighborhood store.
I'd recommend springing for a short scale bass string set rather than cutting down a 34" set.
Using a long set on a short scale will result in the windings getting cut and starting to slip eventually. That's because they're not intended to 'break' over the slot on a tuning peg. The old saying "if it's off the silk wrap it shouldn't be around the tuning peg" is generally good advice.
Only drawback is that short-scale string sets run about $5 to $10 more on average than a long-scale set. Lower sales volume equals higher prices I guess.
You can buy single strings rather than full sets and save some money if you shop around. Many of the online string speciality sites have single strings available. D'Addario offers "shorties" for most of its bass product line. Take a look here for one example of what's available.
Cheers!
Ballpark not knowing anything else about the neck (relief/radius/etc,) for starters I'd set it between 7/64ths (2.8mm) and 5/64ths (2.0mm) at fret-17 depending upon the string size and how hard you play. This is the most common or "Fender" spec. There are other opinions about how to do it however that you can read here.
FWIW, the ultra critical factor to get correct when adjusting string height is the amount of relief (or bow) in the neck. That sometimes requires a truss rod adjustment. Neck radius is also a factor. But since most CBGs have flat or "zero radius" fingerboards, radius becomes less of an issue in one respect. But it makes the neck relief even more important.
I also really like Wichita Sam''s recommendation about setting string height based on the fret crown height. HAdn't thought of it that way before, but it makes a good deal of sense if the neck is reasonably straight.
Which strings to use? Any two tuned a fourth or fifth apart. So BE EA AD DG GC would be natural choices. If you want to see how much you can do using basically two open notes (in this video the bass is tuned CGCG with strings from a piccolo bass set which is tuned one octave above normal tuning) check out this video.
nice paying! although its not "really" a bass tuene you are playing, its more like a normal e-guitar tuned a bit high. >> thats just for the record. Greez Jack from Switz
The one I made I used the E and A strings. Most songs don't go below the E and you can still get to most of the higher notes on the A. I haven't found much need to go higher.
the answer to both questions is...."depends"...
If you're using jumbo/bass frets, I like twice the height of the frets crown at fret 1 and double that at fret 12. if for some reason you're using smaller frets, you can lower these #s slightly.
as to which strings to use on a 2 string bass, if you're playing ensemble, I'd probably choose the top 2 (biggest gauge) strings for a stronger low end...if you're doing solo work, I'd probably choose the bottom 2 (lightest gauge) strings to have a little "treble" in the instrument....for general use, I'd probably choose the middle 2 strings.
The thing about "no rules" is that I allows a lot of flexibility, but demands some thoughtfulness as to how we envision our use of the CBG we're building.
Hope that my non-answer helps.
Thank you Wichita Sam. Now I have am idea of what to do.