alternately-tuned basses?
 

I was thinking about sonic youth and how none of their songs (that I can think of at the moment) have bass that isn't tuned to standard. Then I started thinking about it some more and realized that I couldn't even think of a band (besides, like, Lightning Bolt) with bass that wasn't tuned to standard... anyone know why this is? Do basses not in standard just usually sound like shit?

Weird. I alt tune my bass all the time.

I watched Wendy Atkinson of Horde of Two (with David Lester of Mecca Normal on guitar) play a beautifully alternately tuned bass today at 1 PM on KPSU. It can be done if the bassist is into more than rhythm cliches. Hell, Chris Sqire did it in Yes at times...

Now that I'm thinking about it, there are definitely some alt-tuned basses in prog rock. Is the bassist in RUINS tuned to standard? I don't think so...

It's just not very prevalent, I guess.

Most bass players just play one note/string at a time, so I don't think there'd be much point to it, though there'll probably be exceptions. I've seen bass players tune down a tone or a semitone, though I don't consider that an alternate tuning.

Yep, same.

maybe Lou Barlow. He plays bass like a gtr.

a bass is tuned like a guitar

This

There's also the fact that bass players aren't really musicians.

But more seriously, what often surprises me is that you don't get more people using 'cello tuning (CGDA). Bigger spread, and easier for power chords. Doesn't really fit jazz too easily, but otherwise I'd say it was easier for most rock music. Unless a bassist can tell me why not. Obviously, I'll dismiss whatever they say because BASSISTS ARE NOT REAL MUSICIANS.

Actually, I've just realised it's because the bass guitar is modelled on the double bass, and the stretch for the double bass is pretty prohibitive when it's tuned in 5ths. Still, I can't see why that's a problem these days.

I use DADG on a few songs. not really "alternate tuning", but, hey..we have less strings than a guitar :p.
Glice, that could be also coz bass strings "respond" to different tensions differently from cello strings, and frets could give some problems too.
I'm not really a musician, btw...

Yeah, obviously, you'd need different gauged strings. I suppose the main thing would be a problem with distributing weight/ tension without a support strut - I presume that contrabass have an off-set sound peg in the sounding chamber, but I'm not entirely clear. But then, I'm presuming that, like the violin family, the neck of the electric bass sustains its tension with the strings, which it doesn't necessarily have to.

I use f#f#f#f#












not true.
I don't know any to be honest..sometimes I use the CGDG.

Mike Watt used different tunings didn't he? He must've, some of his lines sounds downright obtuse. The dude from Eloe Omoe also used some strange tunings I believe.

On the first song off contemplating the engine room he uses drop d

what do you mean by obtuse?

My girlfriend plays bass and she told me that the reason you don't hear much alt-tuned bass is because bass usually is used for the purpose of holding down the rhythm or holding down the melody (like Joy Division) and therefore most bands use it simply for that purpose, and it would be distracting if there was an alt-tuned bass in the middle of the other instruments.

I guess that's true, even if it's a bit obvious of an answer.

The more I thought about it... I think Girls Against Boys used alternate bass tunings (they had two bassists also).

black eyes?

Were those basses alt-tuned?

I'm really interested in bands with two basses. Ned's Atomic Dustbin had one great album, though you can barely tell they had two bassists. Then again, Black Eyes had only one good album (I thought Cough was TERRIBLE).

dos
and spinal tap had a song with three basses