Tuned my strat down to B0 using a .100 bass string (25.5" 0th octave content)

[Unjustly-Labeled]

So I just slapped a .100 gauge Daddario Prosteel bass string on my 25.5 Stratocaster. I think this track'll convince all the people saying short scales and low tunings don't work together that they're WRONG!

https://soundcloud.com/unjustly-labeled/strat-crushes-all

I used the bridge and middle mic setting to get this tone. Got too much noise with just the bridge since I still haven't gotten those stacked mics.

 

[morethan6]

Short scales and low tunings don't work together.

There, I said it.

Pretty sure when people say this, they mean you can't intonate anything lower than about B1 on 25.5" with a normal bridge. This is absolutely true.

Of course, if you're only playing on the lowest 5 frets with so much gain that everything sounds like mush then intonation isn't really an issue.

Cool experiment though!

 

[ihunda]

How did you get it to fit in the tuner hole?

 

[somn]

I swear I saw this and commented? but yeah it sounds like mush the scale length should be longer at least for one thing. among other issues I hear in that clip and beyond that it's just my personal opinion.

 

[Unjustly-Labeled]

Short scales and low tunings don't work together.

There, I said it.

Pretty sure when people say this, they mean you can't intonate anything lower than about B1 on 25.5" with a normal bridge. This is absolutely true.

Of course, if you're only playing on the lowest 5 frets with so much gain that everything sounds like mush then intonation isn't really an issue.

Cool experiment though!

Yeah, intonation isn't the best. I'd need to replace the bridge and place something like 6 of those single string bridges further back on the body to get it completely workable beyond the 12th fret. But that's a project for another day!

How did you get it to fit in the tuner hole?

I just unwound the string. Nothing special really. The bass ball ends don't even stick out far enough in the back to be a problem either, weirdly enough.

I swear I saw this and commented? but yeah it sounds like mush the scale length should be longer at least for one thing. among other issues I hear in that clip and beyond that it's just my personal opinion.

Least helpful/constructive critique I've heard in a long time. You say there are issues, but you don't even bother elaborating on them. Low effort pointless putdowns yay?

 

[shanike]

really? do we need this?

 

[TallestFiddle]

really? do we need this?

Maybe, maybe not, it doesn't matter. The real question is.. did you need to write that comment?

 

[rectifryer]

Short scales and low tunings don't work together.

There, I said it.

Pretty sure when people say this, they mean you can't intonate anything lower than about B1 on 25.5" with a normal bridge. This is absolutely true.

Of course, if you're only playing on the lowest 5 frets with so much gain that everything sounds like mush then intonation isn't really an issue.

Cool experiment though!

What constitutes a normal bridge?

 

[somn]

You consider what I said a low effort insult but it's not. It sounds mushy and I believe it would benefit from a longer scale. I chose not to elaborate as I figured you would find everything else to be insulting so I choose not to say anything other than what I did write down. But apparently it still came off as insulting. so ok in my opinion it's way too saturated with distortion. It's sounds unarticulated and mushy and maybe you could work on your tone a bit as well. I know clarity is an issue with tunings that low but it sounds like it needs more attention to details rather than coming across as something trying to be real low and saturated in distortion. Again I know it's not easy as pie but it's still mushy.

I just realized why I didn't see my comment here. So if you think I'm repeating the statements it's not. I just confused my self here while reading the forum with the identical topics

 

[Unjustly-Labeled]

You consider what I said a low effort insult but it's not. It sounds mushy and I believe it would benefit from a longer scale. I chose not to elaborate as I figured you would find everything else to be insulting so I choose not to say anything other than what I did write down. But apparently it still came off as insulting. so ok in my opinion it's way too saturated with distortion. It's sounds unarticulated and mushy and maybe you could work on your tone a bit as well. I know clarity is an issue with tunings that low but it sounds like it needs more attention to details rather than coming across as something trying to be real low and saturated in distortion. Again I know it's not easy as pie but it's still mushy.

I just realized why I didn't see my comment here. So if you think I'm repeating the statements it's not. I just confused my self here while reading the forum with the identical topics

Perhaps we have a different definition of what constitutes clarity. I'm prioritizing actually being able to hear the difference between the lowest notes. When I'm playing parts of the riff where I go 0-2-0-2-0-2 on the lowest string, you can actually hear which note is being played, and that for me is clarity. Note clarity rather than the djent style thing where overtones and scratchyness from the strings kill any hope of hearing a difference between low notes.

 

[morethan6]

What constitutes a normal bridge?

In this case....a Strat bridge! Only so much movement in the saddle.

 

[Noctiluca]

u wot m8? Upon hearing I feel obliterated by some outworldish mechanism.

I thought of putting four bass strings on my seven and make it a bass, but I didn't have enoguh courage, because... neck tension and all. Maybe later, when I can afford many sevens. Anyways, that's a nice experiment from an artistic and ~~scientific~~ PoV.

 

[7stg]

Short scales and low tunings don't work together.

There, I said it.

Pretty sure when people say this, they mean you can't intonate anything lower than about B1 on 25.5" with a normal bridge. This is absolutely true.

Of course, if you're only playing on the lowest 5 frets with so much gain that everything sounds like mush then intonation isn't really an issue.

Cool experiment though!

When I say it, I mean Inharmonicity which is where the overtone frequencies of the note played are out of tune with the fundamental. Higher inharmonicity results in bass notes that have a muddy, buzzy, sound whose pitch is more difficult to discern.

For a low F#1, a 30 inch scale will have 32% better harmonic content and 15% more tension than 28 inch scale guitar.

not really Intonation - pushing a string against a fret aside from raising the string's pitch because it shortens the string also causes a slight secondary raise in pitch because pushing the string increases its tension. shorter scales do increase this too though.

This does sound like RAWRRRR!!!! which may work in its own right, but with a longer scale the notes would be more clear with overtones that are in tune and more of them coming through too.

 

[Batsinthebelltower]

lol i enjoyed the name STRAT CRUSHES ALL

 

[Promit]

Don't claim to know the reason, but I have to agree with the "muddy" comment.

 

[flaik]

Who says it needs to be tight?

I say it anytime I hear your stuff, but this shit is so fvcking evil haha

 

[flyboy463]

I dig it. Do you think you could run me through your recording process U-L? I'm curious as to how you get songs to sound so crushing all the time.