Question about Drop D tuning

[Kingbreaker]

Why not tune at D and then use a capo for normal tunes?

[RobW]

Why not tune at D and then use a capo for normal tunes?

Probably for the same reason as "why not just play everything a step lower?" -- because your hands already know where to go on the fretboard and it can be too much to have to retrain your muscle memory.

[LenMinNJ]

\Off the top of me head I think most of the frets I use for the songs I'd need it for are within fret one through 5 on the E and A string.

I don't think that it will work.

From what I've learned as I've looked into pitch shifters, the Whammy DT is probably your best bet.

[Kopfjaeger]

Rob,

Yes, that is exactly my issue. while I like Jeff's "fix", find a singer that can work with the pitch we play in, I seriously think it would be easier to replace the bass player with one that has less "issues". In any case, I bit the bullet and purchased the very expensive Whammy DT. I'll let you know how it works. At that price the f'in thing should play itself.

Sepp

[LenMinNJ]

I'll let you know how it works.

I'd appreciate hearing what you have to say about it.

[teeder]

Just to clarify my comment about playing everything a 1/2 step down, I meant for the whole band to tune a 1/2 step down for everything. That way you can keep playing where you're comfortable.

[Kopfjaeger]

Kevin,

It may come to that and I'd almost welcome it because I really don't want to have three basses on stage with me. The Guitards have three each and I find the amount of switching instruments to be quite annoying.

I like the way my basses are set up and I (and the other band members) love my tone. I'm not willing to degrade either by physically down tuning or passing my signal through a device, and back again, to electronically down tune. If my tone suffers because of the Whammy DT, it's gone! I'm really hoping it works out. We'll see.

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Sepp

[ken_j]

Ever consider finding a new band?

[aceonbass]

In bands I've been in, if a song was deemed unsingable in it's original key, then we might transpose it to a higher key, but never lower. There are a million songs out there, and since your band didn't write the songs you're transposing, there's no reason they have to do it. Do the guitarists drop tune for the songs in question, or do they just have another guitar for that? I can't imagine being able to tell my band to inconvenience themselves in this way because I had a problem playing a song in it's original key, so I don't think the singer should have that option either. Let him sing through auto tune if he wants to do the songs so bad!

[aceonbass]

By the way Sepp.....Here's the latest deal I just got in my email on that pedal if you go that way...http://www.zzounds.com/item--DGTWHAMMYDT

[Kopfjaeger]

Ever consider finding a new band?

Actually, yes! But here is the rub. A friend that owns a local bar is looking for a band to start playing regularly in April, so we are real damn close to playing out, if things go well. I've busted my *** since the end of December to learn the 20 odd songs so I've got some blood, sweat, and punched walls to show for this. It's been a long long time since I've played out and the burning desire to see if I still have "IT" is driving me.

Dane, About the singer, he is a great guy but his problem is he never says no to a song. "Hey, can you do Kick Start My Heart by Crü?" "Yup!" "How about The Day I tried to Live by Soundgarden?" "Yup!" "Hey how about Would? by Alice n Chains?" "Yup!" And so on and so on! Now these songs are all over the place and he does struggle with a few of them. Funny you mention auto pitch! One of the guitards just bought one! I have no idea how that works but between the Whammy or that, something should work. He struggles with Save Me by Shinedown. i really like that band but he does not like singing that song, and I know this. That song may be scrapped but you know I'm going to insist that "Sound of Madness" takes it's place. There needs to be a bit of balance across the board here. Most of the songs I've suggested have been sh*t canned because they are not deemed "popular" enough. Out of the 20+ songs on our set list, only 3 are mine. Paranoid, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Immigrant Song.

The singer needs to be honest to what his limitations are. Hey, we do two Red Hot Chilli Peppers songs, Can't Stop and Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik, and I was up front about my dislike and inability to slap and pop. I do OK with pulling on the strings to give a poppy sound but I was clear on my dislike for poppy bass songs.

Any how, I'll post a new thread when that "made of 18 karat gold" Whammy DT comes in.

Sepp

[daveman]

The Guitards have three each and I find the amount of switching instruments to be quite annoying.

That is a major pet peeve. Two I can understand, if each serves a real purpose (such as, an acoustic and an electric; or, one set up for slide in an open tuning). Three is just wanking.

On the topic: I just don't bother dropping down. If they want to do a song in D, I have a perfectly good note for them already.

[aceonbass]

On the topic: I just don't bother dropping down. If they want to do a song in D, I have a perfectly good note for them already.

Ya

[jps]

That is a major pet peeve. Two I can understand, if each serves a real purpose (such as, an acoustic and an electric; or, one set up for slide in an open tuning). Three is just wanking.

I agree!!!

[teeder]

In my case, all the members of my band have been friends since the 3rd grade. We've been in and out of bands together since 1980 (mostly in). If the two main singers want to play 1/2 step down to make it easier on then, I could care less. I've come to realize after all these years doing live gigs that 99 people out of 100 have no idea if we are playing something perfectly as recorded. They just need to recognize the song.
As far as the guitarists go, there's no way we could cover some of the songs we do if they weren't using Line 6 Variax's. It's not uncommon for them to use multiple tunings, electric and acoustic, and maybe even a capo within one song. It's all in the switches.