| Author | Message | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 204 Registered: 6-2002 |
Whilst, waiting to find the right affordable 5 or 6 string alembic to buy. I have a 4 string SC and a Musicman 4 string. I've read somewhere that Clarkee has some of his basses strung BEAD which I think may be a good idea as a stop gap for me until I find the right bass. Rather than use the SC for this I'm considering re-stringing the Musicman as BEAD. Is it simply a task of re-stringing and adjusting the nut slot or would I have to start messing with the truss rod, pickups and maybe other stuff? Jazzyvee | ||
| bob
Senior Member Username: bob Post Number: 435 Registered: 11-2002 |
I switched a 4 string to BEAD and played it that way for over a year while waiting for my 5. (Even now that I have a 5, and I won't play the old 4 except in an emergency, I'll leave it set that way.) To do it properly, you will need to adjust the slots in both the nut and the bridge saddles - and you probably can't go back You could do the "V" thing on both, rather than the preferable "U", and then just adjust heights. If you think this will just be temporary, then that would be wise. But if you find you like it, then go for the U, and deal with a new nut and saddles if you ever need to switch back. Whether you have to "mess with" the truss rod and other stuff depends on the strings. It's possible you could end up with a BEAD set that has the same overall tension as your EADG, and the truss rod would be fine. But it's not that much of a mess, so I wouldn't let that put you off. Pickups, well, that's a sound thing, and bigger strings are going to sound different, so maybe. But it will probably be an optimization, not a make-or-break kind of thing. As someone mentioned in a recent thread on "why more strings", I happen to prefer the sound of playing higher on a lower four, and doubt I would ever have an EADG setup again. But I have no idea what Stanley does, or why. -Bob | ||
| alanbass1
Member Username: alanbass1 Post Number: 70 Registered: 4-2005 |
As Bob has pointed out, you will need to cut the slots a little bigger in the nut. As for strings, as the Musicman is a 34" scale length I would go for a .130 lower B to get the tension. You will need to adjust the truss rod but that is dead easy on a Musicman. As for pick-ups, the Musicman humbuckers are excellent for low B and this is what they use on their 5 strings, same winding and magnets, just with an extra pair of pole pieces. | ||
| bob
Senior Member Username: bob Post Number: 436 Registered: 11-2002 |
Oops, forgot about the pole pieces. That would be a problem, if you've got them. |
