6-String Bass tuner – Standard (BEADGC)
B-E-A-D-G-C · 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 6-String Bass is to Standard (BEADGC) tuning (B-E-A-D-G-C). 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 (BEADGC) tuning
Standard (BEADGC) is the reference tuning for the 6-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-C – from B0 at the bottom to C3 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 1 semitone. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
BEADGC is the five-string with a high C added: a low B underneath and a high C on top, giving the bass a range close to four octaves without moving out of position.
Six-strings are chordal instruments as much as bass instruments. The wide neck is the price, and it is the main reason players either commit to one or stay with four or five strings.
History
6-String Bass
Two very different instruments have been called a six-string bass. The Danelectro UB-2 (1956) and the Fender Bass VI (1961) were really baritone guitars tuned an octave below a guitar; they appear on surf and 1960s pop records and in Jack Bruce's early playing.
The modern six-string bass, tuned B-E-A-D-G-C, was conceived by the New York session bassist Anthony Jackson, who in 1975 had the luthier Carl Thompson build what he called a “contrabass guitar”. Ken Smith and Fodera refined the design in the 1980s, and players such as John Patitucci made the six-string a common sight in jazz and fusion.
Where the Standard (BEADGC) tuning comes from
B-E-A-D-G-C, the standard six-string bass tuning, was conceived by Anthony Jackson, who in 1975 had luthier Carl Thompson build a “contrabass guitar” with a low B and a high C. Ken Smith and Fodera developed the design in the 1980s, and John Patitucci and other jazz and fusion players made it popular.
Other 6-String Bass tunings
Standard
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my 6-String Bass to Standard (BEADGC)?
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-C).
Which notes are used in Standard (BEADGC) tuning?
Standard (BEADGC) tuning for 6-String Bass uses the notes B-E-A-D-G-C, 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.