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Hello to all,

I am posting here because I am about to change the tuning of my instrument (downtuning) and I would like to acquire knowledge and opinions on this subject!

I already have an idea of what I would like to do but as I intend to increase the tension I prefer to ask for advice from people who mastered this topic before ordering the strings and having them placed on the instrument.
The tuning change will be applied on a 5-string dingwall bass (multiscale), so the scale lengt goes from 34 to 37. And I want to go from a standard tuning to 1 tone lower : in A.

I am also looking to increase the overall tension of my strings to gain in precision and cleanliness.
Here is the simulation I made with string tension calculator to choose my string tension, below is a comparison between the "standard" and custom string sets for my new tuning.

-----> (Picture in attachement)

As you have seen I plan to switch to .160 for the biggest one. I could have used .150 to reach the "A", but because I want a higher tension I chose .160.

However I am a musician not a luthier haha! So maybe my choices are not judicious and go against certain tension principles. That's why I would need your advice on this point.

I have some questions, but if you have any remarks to make, please do not hesitate to contact me.

- Is the overall tension does-it make sense, and can the truss rod and handle it?
- Do some strings have a too high tension level?
- Is there any risk for my instrument to go from a tension level of 221lbs to 230lbs (overall tension) ? - What is the maximum tension that a 5 string bass can support (per string and overall) ?

Thank you in advance for your answers and your help to all of you!

Give Skip at Kalium Music (https://kaliummusic.com/ ) a call and ask him what he recommends. I just finished changing out a 6 string Cirrus to a double drop D that is tuned GCGCFA. The "B" string is a .168 dia. I had to buy a chain saw sharpening file to file the nut slot. Be aware that the windings may give you problems. I had to install a spacer on the "B" between the ball and the bridge to get the major dia on both the saddle and the nut. Not the best solution, but it kept him from relocating the bridge and potentially having issues with the small string saddle placement. If/when the client wants to go back to "standard", all he'll have to do is replace the nut with the original, and discard the spacer.

^^^ What he said. ^^^

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Hello @fumblefinger

Thank you for your reply and your experience on this type of project. I already noticed the issue with the nut, i know it need to be resized to fit with biggers strings.. My luthier will work on it , by curiosity can you show me what looks like the bridge spacer? I don't think I need it because strings are a "tapered" type but for my culture it's interesting !

I will check with Skip thank's for the advice! But in the meantime if someone have a reply to my tension calcul I'm still interested!

You want the full diameter of the string on both the nut and the saddle. See pics.

Nice Job, thank you for all those pictures. I didn't know what "the spacer" look like, now I know haha!

My 34” 5 string is in standard pitch, but I play a 4 string Jazz Bass in another band tuned down to C# (C#-F#-B-E). It has a standard medium 4 string set of D’Addarios (50-70-85-105). It feels perfectly normal tension wise. On my 5 string I use 40-125.

So you don’t have to go all that heavy at that scale length. But it depends on the strings. Lots of brands have abysmal low B strings.


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