Double Bass tuner – Standard (EADG)
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 Double Bass is to Standard (EADG) tuning (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 (EADG) tuning
Standard (EADG) is the reference tuning for the Double 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 E-A-D-G – from E1 at the bottom to G2 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 3 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a fourth, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
The double bass is the one member of the orchestral string family tuned in fourths, not fifths: EADG, the same note names as a bass guitar two octaves below middle C. The instrument is simply too large for fifths – the stretches would be unplayable.
That fourths tuning is also why the bass guitar inherited it, and why a bassist can move between the two instruments without relearning the fingerboard.
History
Double Bass
The double bass is a hybrid. Its sloping shoulders, flat back and tuning in fourths come from the violone, the bass of the viol family, while its f-holes and construction borrow from the violin. Through the 18th century basses had three to six strings and many tunings; in Vienna a special tuning in thirds and fourths was used for the solo concertos of Dittersdorf and Vanhal.
The Italian Domenico Dragonetti (1763–1846), a friend of Beethoven's, showed what the instrument could do as a soloist, and Giovanni Bottesini (1821–1889) became its first great virtuoso. By the 20th century the four-string tuning in fourths was standard, and the bass had become the foundation of both the orchestra and jazz.
Where the Standard (EADG) tuning comes from
E-A-D-G in fourths became the standard double bass tuning in the 19th century. In the 18th century basses were tuned in many ways; the Viennese tuning in thirds and fourths was used for the concertos of Dittersdorf and Vanhal.
Other Double Bass tunings
Standard
How do I tune my Double Bass to Standard (EADG)?
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 (E-A-D-G).
Which notes are used in Standard (EADG) tuning?
Standard (EADG) tuning for Double Bass uses the notes 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.