Scales, Chords, Note Choices, Tunings etc.

[Kacey Y]

I tend to use diminished scales a lot too, that and minor pentatonic with some chromatic passing notes thrown in. A lot of times I start off with a strict scale, then just mess around until I find melodies and chord progressions I like. I had a lot of classical training in music growing up, but learned bass and guitar by ear. So I still use scales as a guide, but not afraid to stray away from them. I'm sure I'm just using a more subtle/complex variation that I lack the education to describe anyway.

Tuning wise I like B standard and Eb for most things, but I love drop C for really groovy heavy southern rock type riffs. Like old ATP, The Mighty Nimbus, Sixty Watt Shaman.

[D.o.S.]

I mean, C is the only true tuning.

[kbit]

I broke the E string on my bass so until I get the new set in the mail I've been messing around with this tuning: nostring-A-D-D, with the top string actually being one octave below the other two.

Tuning the tiny little G string that low is really weird. The notes sound really "tubby" and have a strange quality since the pitch is so unstable. Really fun and sounds amazing through fuzz. Even when I get my bass up and running again, I want to incorporate really slack octave stings into my playing more. It's so much fun.