How to tune a bass guitar: 4 and 5 strings, step by step

Standard tuning: E A D G

A bass is tuned in fourths: each string is five semitones above the one below it. There is no exception like the guitar's G–B pair, so a shape moves the same way anywhere on the neck. Strings are numbered from the thinnest: the 1st is G, the 4th is the low E. Electric bass, acoustic bass and upright double bass all use the same tuning.

5- and 6-string bass

The low B of a five-string reaches five semitones further down, so bass lines that walk down to D, C and B work without retuning. B0 is about 31 Hz — close to the bottom of human hearing and well below what small speakers reproduce. That makes it the hardest string to tune.

With a tuner, step by step

1. On an electric bass the most reliable option is plugging the tuner in with a cable (a pedal or a tuner with an input jack): room noise can't get in. A clip-on tuner comes second. A phone microphone comes last — an unplugged electric bass is very quiet.
2. Start with the thickest string: play the open 4th string (E). If the needle is on the flat side, tighten the peg; if it's sharp, loosen a little below the note first and then tighten up to it. Always approaching from below stops the slack in the tuning gear from dropping the pitch later.
3. Repeat for the 3rd (A), 2nd (D) and 1st (G) strings. On a five-string, start with the 5th string (B).
4. After the last string, check them all once more. Heavy bass strings pull hard on the neck; tightening one can make the others go slightly flat.

If a low string makes the tuner jump around, play the harmonic at the 12th fret: touch the string lightly right above the fret and pluck. It's the same note an octave higher; it sounds cleaner and rings longer. Plucking softly rather than hard also steadies the reading: a hard pluck starts slightly sharp.

Without a tuner: tuning by ear

First set the 4th string (E) from a reference: the low E of a tuned guitar (E2) is exactly one octave above it. Then tune the bass to itself:

1. Tune the 4th string (E) to the reference.
2. Fret the 4th string at the 5th fret: that's an A. Match the open 3rd string (A) to it.
3. Fret the 3rd string at the 5th fret: that's a D. Match the open 2nd string (D).
4. Fret the 2nd string at the 5th fret: that's a G. Match the open 1st string (G).

Harmonics are more precise: the 5th-fret harmonic of one string gives the same note as the 7th-fret harmonic of the next string up. Play them together; when the wavering beat slows down and disappears, the strings match. Harmonics ring for a long time, so the beat is much easier to hear than when comparing fretted notes.

Drop D, half-step down and other tunings

If the guitarist is tuned a half step down, the bass has to be as well, or the whole song clashes by a semitone. After changing tuning, recheck the low strings a few minutes later: a heavily slackened thick string keeps settling for a while.

Why does a bass go out of tune?

• New strings. Bass strings stretch for the first few days; after fitting them, gently pulling each string away from the fretboard and retuning speeds this up.
• Temperature. A bass coming out of a cold car or warming up under stage lights drifts noticeably in the first songs; let it reach room temperature before you play.
• Neck tension. Heavy strings pull hard on the neck; changing one a lot moves the others. That's why a second pass is a must.
• Approaching from above. A string tuned by loosening down to the note goes flat while you play, because of the slack in the gear. Always tighten up to the note.
• Intonation. If the open strings are in tune but the 12th fret is always sharp or flat, the problem isn't tuning but the saddle setting at the bridge; have a technician look at it.

Tuning a bass with Songlivo

Songlivo's guided tuner supports four- and five-string bass. It's in the free version, shows no ads and needs no internet.

1. Choose Bass Guitar (4-String) or Bass Guitar (5-String) under Settings → Instrument. The tuner takes the number of strings and their notes from there.
2. Open Settings → Tools → Tuner, tap Start and allow microphone access.
3. The screen starts with the thickest string: “Play string 4” (E) on a four-string, “Play string 5” (B) on a five-string. It then works its way to the thinnest. Turn the peg as it says: “Tighten — flat” or “Loosen — sharp”.
4. Once the string holds within ±10 cents for a moment, the screen says “In tune”, the phone vibrates and plays a short beep, and the tuner moves on by itself. At the end it shows “All strings in tune”.

Phone microphones pick up very low notes weakly. The tuner allows for this: if it hears the string an octave or an octave and a fifth higher, it still reads it as that string — which is also why the 12th-fret harmonic works. Even so, on the lowest strings, especially the B of a five-string, and on a noisy stage, a plugged-in or clip-on tuner is more reliable than a phone. The tuner uses standard tuning with A = 440 Hz; there are no profiles for drop D, lowered tunings or six-string bass.

With bass selected the song screen changes too: chords are reduced to the bass note (A instead of Am7, G instead of C/G) and the capo control is hidden, since basses don't use a capo.