Drop D using Rocktuner by Warwick MT-30

[6h4d0w66]

Hi,

how can i Drop D using Rocktuner by Warwick MT-30? This tuner is very complicated and i dont manage to find the right option. Any of you has used this kind of tuner? Can anyone tell me the steps i should follow to drop D my bass?

Thanks

 

[The ShadowKnight]

You could always "cheat" and the tune down till you ring in "unison" with the D string (will sound similar as hitting both high and low E on a guitar).
Tip: Hitting a flagelett tone on the 12th fret will let the note ring longer and thus make it easier to adjust with

That way you only need to use the tuner to go back to E std

If your tuner does not offer to detune 2 half steps, thats basically your best option

 

[naetog]

The harmonic at the 12th fret on the A string is the same note, an A, as the 7th fret harmonic of the E string when tuned to drop D.
When tuning back up, the 5th fret harmonic on the E string is the same note (an E) as the A string 7th fret harmonic.
Same with 5th fret A string harmonic, and 7th fret D string harmonic, both are an A. Same with D/G string pairs and E/B, so long as it is all tuned in a "standard" manner.
Quick way to check if the strings are all at least in tune with each other.

I do this when I don't have a tuner on hand and I'm always more in tune than my guitarist and his crap tuner.

Hopefully some of that made sense. If not, someone else will undoubtedly put it more eloquently.

 

[DiMarco]

Get a Korg Pitchblack tuner pedal.

 

[Florin]

Hi Buddy,
Shatownight is right, the fastest way is to tune the E sting in unison (well octave down) with the D string. It takes 2-3 seconds. Then check your tuning with the MT30 tuner, to be sure it is spot on. The tuner has a "chromatic" mode, you better use that instead of "bass" mode.

I hope it helps.

 

[Nachobassman]

Chromatic mode is the way to go.

 

[6h4d0w66]

Hi,

i have managed to drop d, i have used the naetog's techinque. I have used this picture and i have made the 7th fret on E string to be a A like A string and the 12th fret on A string and like the 7th fret on D string and then tested the bass with the MT-30 in chromatic mode... i mean, i have tested the MT-30 with the bass beause i was not sure how to use the chromatic mode, just pressed the buttons until i have found an A (under the note sign) and tuned the 7th fret from E string to be perfect.

Thanks, it really helped

 

[mart]

The harmonic at the 12th fret on the A string is the same note, an A, as the 7th fret harmonic of the E string when tuned to drop D. ....

Somebody, sooner or later, is going to point out that this is not exactly right, because of the old problem of perfect intervals vs even-tempered scales which, in turn, hinges on the frustrating fact that 3 is not an even number.

To put it numerically, it's easier to work with the A-string (why? I'll come back to that):

Assuming you tune to A=440 Hz, then the frequency of the fundamental on the open A-string will be 55Hz, and the 7th fret harmonic will be three times that, i.e., 165Hz. Naively, you would think that this would match the 19th fretted note, but actually the 19th fretted note will be 164.81378Hz (assuming your intonation is perfect). So tuning by harmonics will leave you about 1/10th of a percent out.

In practice, I don't think there are many tuners that are that accurate, so you'll probably be more than 1/10th of a percent out to start with, and you'd have to be Hansford Rowe to hear the difference anyway. So it seems to me that working with harmonics should be fine in the real world that most of us live in.

(So, why did I do the A-string rather than the E? Well, concert pitch specifies an A note to be a nice round 440 Hz. With an even-tempered instrument like a fretted bass, that means the low E should be 41.203446..., whereupon the numbers get a whole lot uglier).

 

[6h4d0w66]

Hi,

...err, noted that.

I have found out that playing bass is more complex than i have ever thought of but not THAT complex

I dont think that you can have a instrument perfectly tuned ever, will always be a nanohertz lower of higher and the final sound will never be perfect especially when the final sound depends so much of amplification, speakers, the way you press the strings, neighbors, etc.

The tuner have the following controls on chromatic (thats why is hard to use on manual mode if you dont know what are you doing) pitch (430-450hz), key and note so i think can tune the bass better than my ear.

Thanks