Description

The '5 String Bass C Standard' tuning, as famously utilized by Dick Lövgren of Meshuggah, is a distinctive and powerful setup for the electric bass. While its name implies a simple transposition, it presents a highly unconventional intervallic structure, diverging significantly from a typical all-fourths standard tuning. It anchors the bass with an incredibly low C, providing a formidable sonic foundation ideal for heavy, complex, and intricate music. This tuning offers a dramatic split between its lowest two strings and the upper three, creating distinct tonal registers that can be exploited for diverse musical textures.

Technical Analysis

This 5-string bass tuning sets the open strings to C1, F1, A#2, D#3, G#3, from lowest to highest. The intervals between the strings are as follows:

• String 5 (C1) to String 4 (F1): A Perfect 4th (5 semitones). This provides a solid low-end foundation.
• String 4 (F1) to String 3 (A#2): A Perfect 11th (18 semitones, an octave plus a Perfect 4th). This is a substantial interval jump, creating a wide chasm between the lower and upper registers of the bass, making traditional cross-string chord voicings challenging across this divide.
• String 3 (A#2) to String 2 (D#3): A Major 3rd (4 semitones).
• String 2 (D#3) to String 1 (G#3): A Perfect 4th (5 semitones).

This unique configuration means the lowest two strings (C1 and F1) offer a robust platform for deep, resonant power chords or single-note riffs. The upper three strings (A#2, D#3, G#3) form a segment that resembles a perfect fourths tuning (A# to D# is a P4 if D# is considered Eb, and D# to G# is a P4 if G# is considered Ab), allowing for familiar chordal and scalar patterns within that higher register. The large interval between F1 and A#2, however, significantly challenges standard open chord voicings across all strings, encouraging a more segmented or polyphonic approach. This tuning is perfectly suited for styles requiring a heavy, extended low-end presence combined with distinct melodic or harmonic possibilities in the upper range, reflecting its use in progressive and extreme metal genres.

Tuning Notes

• String 5 (lowest string): C1
• String 4: F1
• String 3: A#2
• String 2: D#3
• String 1 (highest string): G#3

How to Tune

To achieve the '5 String Bass C Standard' tuning, follow these precise adjustments. The instructions assume you are starting from a pitch one semitone higher than the target note for each string:

• String 5 (C1): Tune down 1 semitone. Begin with your lowest string tuned to C#1 and lower it carefully to C1.
• String 4 (F1): Tune down 1 semitone. Start with this string tuned to F#1 and lower it to F1.
• String 3 (A#2): Tune down 1 semitone. Begin with this string tuned to B2 and lower it to A#2.
• String 2 (D#3): Tune down 1 semitone. Start with this string tuned to E3 and lower it to D#3.
• String 1 (G#3): Tune down 1 semitone. Begin with your highest string tuned to A3 and lower it to G#3.

Each string requires a minor adjustment of only 1 semitone down. These small changes typically do not require a change in string gauge and are well within the safe tuning range for an electric bass.