5-String Bass tuner – Standard (BEADG)
B-E-A-D-G · Standard
Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your 5-String Bass is to Standard (BEADG) tuning (B-E-A-D-G). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About Standard (BEADG) tuning
Standard (BEADG) is the reference tuning for the 5-String Bass – the pitch the instrument normally ships at, and the starting point every other tuning on this page is measured from.
Played open, the strings sound B-E-A-D-G – from B0 at the bottom to G2 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 8 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
BEADG adds a low B below the standard four strings. It is the default five-string tuning and the reason five-strings exist: the extra fourth covers the bottom of a modern keyboard part and every note a five-string guitar can reach.
The low B is also the string that exposes a bad setup. It needs either a 35" scale or a well-chosen heavy gauge to keep enough tension to speak cleanly.
History
5-String Bass
The first five-string electric bass from a major maker was the Fender Bass V of 1965, which added a high C rather than a low string – and sold poorly. The five-string as we know it, with a low B below the E, came out of the 1970s session scene: players wanted the low notes of synthesizers and keyboard bass, and in the mid-1970s Alembic built a five-string with a low B for the Los Angeles session bassist Jimmy Johnson, usually cited as the first of its kind.
By the late 1980s manufacturers including Yamaha, Ken Smith and Music Man had put the low-B five-string into production, and in the 1990s it became standard kit for gospel, R&B, funk and metal bass players alike.
Where the Standard (BEADG) tuning comes from
B-E-A-D-G adds a low B below the standard four strings. The first bass with a low B is usually said to be the Alembic built in the mid-1970s for session bassist Jimmy Johnson; by the late 1980s manufacturers were selling it widely, and in the 1990s it became standard in gospel, R&B and metal.
Other 5-String Bass tunings
Standard
Drop
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my 5-String Bass to Standard (BEADG)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (B-E-A-D-G).
Which notes are used in Standard (BEADG) tuning?
Standard (BEADG) tuning for 5-String Bass uses the notes B-E-A-D-G, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.