ISB 2013, Fifths

[Robert J Spear]

We all know the advantages and drawbacks of fifths tuning; how the #$%@!* are you supposed to shift? The answer seems to be that you don't. A newer and more flexible technique is necessary. There have been a couple developed by Dennis Masuzzo in the USA and Silvio Dalla Torre and others in Europe. I understand the Joel Quarrington in Canada is also working on a method book that will, with luck, be introduced at ISB 2013.

But no matter how you finesse it, when you are playing on a bass with a string length of 41 1/2" - 43", fifths-tuning is a challenge. As a luthier and a long-ago bass player with only average-size hands, my feeling was that fifths tuning would get a boost when the instrument was designed for it; principally, when the string length was shortened. There are big problems with both, but modern string technology now allows for shorter string lengths with good sound.

It's also quite amazing that reducing the string length by just two inches makes a huge difference in fifths-tuning technique in the lower positions (except that you might have to think in a concept other than traditional positions). I actually had a bass designed with a string length of 38", but it required the thumb stop to be low and the shoulders got in the way (not by much) of reaching for the octave harmonic. The players definitely drew the line here. I increased the string length to 39" on a bass with a body length of 43 3/4", which is certainly in the realm of a standard 3/4 bass, and that reduced the problem considerably. It sometimes takes only a small adjustment to create a big-feeling difference. Perhaps the same would be true in how we think about a new tuning system and fingering technique.

In any case, I think ISB 2013 will be the place to be if you have any interest in the topic. And if you don't, it will probably still be the place to be!