What is 5-String Bass tuning?
A five-string bass is tuned B–E–A–D–G. The top four strings are a four-string bass exactly, and the fifth is added underneath: a low B, a fourth below the E, like every other pair on the instrument. Nothing you know about the four-string has to change.
The low B is 30.87 Hz. That is close to the lowest pitch people hear as a note at all, and it is hard on equipment: small speakers do not reproduce it and small microphones barely hear it. Tuning it is the one part of a five-string that needs a different approach.
Tap a string to hear its target pitch, then match your own to it.
String notes and frequencies
The exact pitch of each open string at concert pitch, A = 440 Hz — the numbers a strobe or a frequency counter would show. The tuner above works from the same targets.
| String | Note | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 5th | B0 | 30.87 Hz |
| 4th | E1 | 41.20 Hz |
| 3rd | A1 | 55.00 Hz |
| 2nd | D2 | 73.42 Hz |
| 1st | G2 | 98.00 Hz |
Tuning the low B
- Tune the top four first. E, A, D and G, as on any bass. These give you something to check the B against.
- Use the 12th-fret harmonic for the B. Touch the string lightly over the 12th fret and pluck. The harmonic is B1, about 61.7 Hz — a pitch the microphone hears clearly. Tune that until the needle centres on B. The chip under the dial will not light, because it is waiting for the open string an octave lower; the letter and the needle are what matter.
- Check the open string by ear. Fret the B string at the 5th fret: it should match the open E string, with no slow wobble between them.
Where the notes are
The first five frets of every string in this tuning. Each fret is one semitone, so this is also how to check a string against its neighbour: find the fret where the lower string plays the higher string’s open note.
| String | Open | Fret 1 | Fret 2 | Fret 3 | Fret 4 | Fret 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | G | G♯ | A | A♯ | B | C |
| 2nd | D | D♯ | E | F | F♯ | G |
| 3rd | A | A♯ | B | C | C♯ | D |
| 4th | E | F | F♯ | G | G♯ | A |
| 5th | B | C | C♯ | D | D♯ | E |
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes on a 5-string bass?
B, E, A, D and G from the thickest string to the thinnest — in full B0, E1, A1, D2 and G2. The upper four are the standard four-string tuning.
Are five-string basses ever tuned E–A–D–G–C?
Yes. Some players add the fifth string on top instead: a high C, a fourth above the G, for chords and soloing. The targets on this page are for the usual low-B tuning.
Why does the low B sound weak or floppy?
It carries less tension than the other strings unless the bass has a long scale. A 35-inch scale tightens the B noticeably compared with the standard 34, and a heavier B string — .130 or .135 — does the same job on a 34-inch bass.
For everything else about tuning the instrument itself — strings that slip, pegs, and what the dial is telling you — see the bass tuner and the standard bass tuning this one is measured from.
Chords on a bass
A bass rarely holds a chord shape: it plays a chord’s notes one at a time, and most of the time just its root. Two shapes cover nearly everything. The fifth of any note is on the next string up, two frets higher; the octave is two strings up, two frets higher. Root, fifth and octave are the frame of every major and minor chord, and because a bass is tuned in fourths throughout, that shape is the same anywhere on the neck.