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Alembic Club » Alembic Basses & Guitars » Archive through June 16, 2012 » Anybody coverted a short scale 4 for to BEAD? « Previous Next »

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keith_h
Senior Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 1751
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - 11:53 am:   Edit Post

I am thinking of converting my Brown Bass to cover songs that use drop tuning. If anyone has done this what issues did you run into? In particular I am concerned about the B string nut to tuner distance and string angle off the nut.

Keith
dannobasso
Senior Member
Username: dannobasso

Post Number: 1445
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 9:38 am:   Edit Post

I had Alembic do it to my 83 Spoiler when it was sent for refinish. After a while I strung it back to normal with no issues.
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 7743
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 12:39 pm:   Edit Post

There really shouldn't be any issue, but you can try it out before enlarging your slots (replacing the nut and saddles). Just change out the current E string for a B and see how it fits in the tuner. Yeah, the setup won't be right, it wont be intonated, but you will be able to see first hand if it's a doable option on your bass. And you can preview the open string tone !
keith_h
Senior Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 1752
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 1:17 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks for the responses.

I generally don't play the open B and typically stay on the D or above. I mainly use the Orion 5 for times when the guitarist tunes down to Eb or D. I find it easier to just transpose than to retune. It's also fun to confuse the guitar player when they look over to see where my hands are on the neck. ;-)

I was conversing with Harry a bit and got to thinking. I am planning on using a .130 for the B which is what I use on the Orion. While it won't be optimal I thought of taking the B string saddle from my Orion 5 and using it's nut leaving the G string hanging over the edge. I haven't measured the nut spacings yet to see if they are close enough to do this. If things don't measure up I will try your suggestion Mica.

Keith

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