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Re: a bit off topic: earplugs , and bass tunings
> also does anyone have any recommendations
> on tuning a bass in 5ths? i am a cellist and thinking
> of tuning the e down to a c but don't want it to
> send too flabby.
I used to tune my 5 string Ovation acoustic/electric bass down to C
and tuned everything in 5ths. The trick to keeping the tension up
where it doesn't sound flabby is to pick and choose your string gauges
carefully. I don't remember offhand what I was using, though the
number 105 sticks in my head for that lowest C (maybe it was 130?) I
was able to purchase a select set direct from LaBella. They were
incredibly helpful in keeping the prices low for me.
I was playing within a Guitar Craft ensemble, where all the guitars
were tuned in 5ths for their lowest 5 strings, and the bass was the
same tuning an octave down. It worked pretty well in that context,
though I'm no longer involved in that direction and I sold the bass.
There is a small though significant tradition of tuning the bass in
5ths. Early stand-up basses from the 17th century were originally
tuned that way. Still today, there are a handful of orchestral bass
players that tune this way. Occasionally, you see a jazz bassist pop
up from time to time with this tuning. Fingering is a bit more
challenging, though if you already play cello, it's not that much more
of a stretch. Since I already played guitar in 5ths, it was easy to
wrap my head around it.
I loved the way it sounded acoustically on all the strings, though I
couldn't go far above the 7th fret on the low C string. The high E
string (an octave below the guitar high E) was especially beautiful.
I think I used a guitar D string, .032, which worked well because the
neck was longer than a guitar neck. I especially loved playing the
Bach cello suites. If I moved everything up to the highest 4 strings
(instead of the lowest 4), it was essentially like transposing the
piece down a 4th.
Stephen