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Bass drop C tuning
Bass drop C tuner online: C G C F, low to high. Tune your bass down with your phone's mic, hear each string, and the heavier strings the low C needs.
The bass's low C sits at 32.7 Hz. Mika listens to its overtones and counts back.The microphone closes when you stop, when all is in tune, or after half a minute of quiet. Nothing is recorded.
C1✓
Tap start. Play the C string and let it ring. Without the microphone, tap a note above to hear it.
Drop C: the strings and their notes
| String | Standard | Drop C | Change | Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st string | G2 | F2 | a whole step down | 87.3 |
| 2nd string | D2 | C2 | a whole step down | 65.4 |
| 3rd string | A1 | G1 | a whole step down | 49.0 |
| 4th string | E1 | C1 | 4 semitones down | 32.7 |
Drop C on a bass
What drop C is on a bass
Drop C on a four-string bass is C G C F: every string a whole step below standard, the E string two whole steps, down to C1 at 32.7 Hz. It is the bass partner of drop C on guitar (C G C F A D), the four low strings of it an octave down.
The low C is close to the bottom of what a bass speaker or a phone can play, and a normal 45 to 105 set leaves the E string at 63 % of its tension, floppy enough to buzz. Players who stay in drop C use a heavier set (50 to 110 or more) or a 5-string with a low B.
How to tune to Drop C from standard
With the tuner above: tap Start, play each string the table changes and turn until the needle sits in the middle. By ear, without the tuner:
- Tune the 4th string to C1 first, from the tone of the string chip above (tap it with the tuner stopped) or a piano.
- 3rd string: A1 to G1. The 4th string at its 7th fret (G1) should sound like this string open.
- 2nd string: D2 to C2. The 3rd string at its 5th fret (C2) should sound like this string open.
- 1st string: G2 to F2. The 2nd string at its 5th fret (F2) should sound like this string open.
Then check the whole tuning once more with the tuner: retuning one string moves the neck, and the others drift a few cents.
On the same strings, tension follows the square of the pitch: the 4th string keeps 63 % of its pull; the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings keep 79 % of their pull. Slacker strings buzz and read flat at the attack; for more than a whole step down, a heavier set (or at least a heavier low string) keeps the feel.
What one finger plays
The three low strings, C1 G1 C2, are a root, a fifth and an octave: one finger flat across them is a power chord. At the open strings it is C5, at the 2nd fret D5, 3rd D♯5, 5th F5, 7th G5.
Playing bass in drop C
- Tune the low C with care: a slack string bends sharp when plucked hard. Pluck as you play and let the needle settle.
- The fifth: C and G, one finger across the two low strings.
- A whole step higher: drop D on bass.
Standard, the 5-string and the other tunings: the bass tuner.
Then play something
The notes you tuned can go into Brumm as a short melody over a beat. Hum a line on top and it becomes an instrument.
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