Page 1 of 2
How low is too low?
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:38 am
by bubstance
.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:27 pm
by jrmy
Get a Schecter Hellcat! It's their take on the Bass VI...
... I don't know how they actually sound, but I kinda like the look.
Speaking as a bass player, I don't care how low you go, as long as you don't mind me being trebly and melodic and using lots of fuzz pedals. Which is what I do that usually pisses off guitarists. Which is why I play with a synth player instead.
Maybe you and I should form a band, Bubs - you handle the lows and I'll handle the mids!
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:02 pm
by bigchiefbc
jrmy wrote:Get a Schecter Hellcat! It's their take on the Bass VI...
Hellcat-VI-BLK.jpg
... I don't know how they actually sound, but I kinda like the look.
Speaking as a bass player, I don't care how low you go, as long as you don't mind me being trebly and melodic and using lots of fuzz pedals. Which is what I do that usually pisses off guitarists. Which is why I play with a synth player instead.
Maybe you and I should form a band, Bubs - you handle the lows and I'll handle the mids!
Well said, jrmy. With the last couple guitar players I played with, instead of telling them how to EQ themselves, I just went and looked at the EQ on their amp. Whichever band was turned down, that's where I turned up. Problem solved.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:21 pm
by bubstance
.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:57 am
by Blurillaz
On guitar, the lowest I've ever gone was down to low A on acoustic. As for Bass, sometimes you can get away with Drop D or down a half step, but after that, the strings get too floppy for me.

Jrmy was rigt about being trebley and using lots of Fuzzes though.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:50 am
by Ghost Hip
I don't have a bassist... but the lowest I've gone is Drop Db... and that was only when we played "The Modern Age" by The strokes. (makes it way easier to play on one guitar.)
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 1:51 pm
by Tritone
Just mind your low interval limits. Or not, if you feel like violating them. It's your call, really.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:11 pm
by jrmy
bubstance wrote:jrmy wrote:Get a Schecter Hellcat! It's their take on the Bass VI...
... I don't know how they actually sound, but I kinda like the look.
Speaking as a bass player, I don't care how low you go, as long as you don't mind me being trebly and melodic and using lots of fuzz pedals. Which is what I do that usually pisses off guitarists. Which is why I play with a synth player instead.
Maybe you and I should form a band, Bubs - you handle the lows and I'll handle the mids!
Eh, I've never been much for longer scale lengths. Don't get me wrong; I'm a big guy, but I used to play bass and found it somewhat awkward and unwieldy, so I went back to guitar. There's just something about tuning down a guitar that appeals to me, and I don't really know why...
You know, we probably could start a band. I love me some lows, and if you look at my EQ, it's flat except for bass, which is ever so slightly boosted for fatness.
If you want to get around the scale-length issue, I believe there are strings out there that are specifically extra-heavy to enable down-tuneage. I think Aen mentioned some Zack Wylde signature strings that easily allow you to tune a regular guitar down to baritone range. And I'm sure those crazy guys in Meshuggah have some sort of trick up their sleeves for massive organ-crushing lows.
You could also look into the old pedal option - this is ilovefuzz, after all! The POG 2 will take you down to two octaves below your signal if you want (!!!!!!). THAT will rupture some spleens for sure! And it should take care of the pickup-farting-out problem in that the lowness will happen after the pickups... your amp and speakers might be another question altogether, though!
As far as "real" bands go, I'm kinda booked up, but I'm always up for online collaboration. If you get your massive-lows rig together and ever want to record something with low guitar and high bass, as long as I can import it into GarageBand or Digital Performer, I'll happily take a stab at it.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:28 pm
by bubstance
.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:47 pm
by WaveForm3
When you hit the Brown Note you've gone too low.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:50 pm
by Nychthemeron
I say too low is when your notes are under 15hz. Then again, it's always fun when you can feel the sound...
Fender should bring back the Bass VI since it's so cool. Too bad the reissues are just as expensive as the older ones, and the "Baritone" Jags are nowhere to be found.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:47 pm
by bubstance
.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:52 am
by Wizard
When I want to get my bone crushing lows i Drop my guitar to C. I play .010's.
Get yourself A Sunn head.
Turn to 11.
There you go.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:05 am
by bubstance
.
Re: How low is too low?
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:05 am
by aen
I rock 70-11s for my baritoning. B F# B B Loev it. I also have those on a 25.5" scale, so it has a decent amount of tension. I tried it on a jag a while back, and that shit was just too floppy, I tuned it up to C.