Bass Guitar Tuner

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Quickly and accurately tune your bass guitar, using our simple and intuitive tool

Tune Up
Tune Down
Press Play Pluck a String All Tuned Up! Permission Required

Here are some instructions if you're not sure what to do:

  • 1
    Click the Play button.
  • 2
    Click “allow” if you see a question in the browser asking if the page can use your microphone.
  • 3
    Pluck the string on your bass you wish to tune, it’s best to start with your lowest E1 string (the thickest string, closest to you when playing).
  • 4
    Use the tuning pegs on your bass’s headboard to tighten and loosen the string as needed until it’s playing the right note. You’ll know your string is perfectly in tune when the gray and orange circles line up.
  • 5
    Do this with each of your 4 strings until they are all in tune, it’s worth double checking them all before your finish as sometimes strings can slip when tuning.
  • 6
    Once you’re all tuned up go ahead and start playing your bass!

Trouble-Shooting Guide:
If the microphone has been allowed but the tuner isn't responding to sounds from your instrument,
see below for possible solutions:

  • Check your microphone to make sure it is working properly. You can use the test on our home page and find out more information about microphone troubleshooting here.
  • If your microphone is external (meaning not built into your computer) then check to make sure it is securely connected to your input USB port.
  • Some microphones have an “ON” / “OFF” mode. Make sure your microphone is set to “ON”.
  • Check to make sure that your microphone is not muted. For help with different operating systems and microphone problems, check out our "TECHNICAL GUIDES" section on the left-side menu.
  • You can try to use a different browser, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Safari might not work with our test.

    More About This Page:

    Background to the bass guitar:

    In comparison to the acoustic guitar, whose origins can be traced back thousands of years, the electric bass guitar is a relatively new instrument. It was first developed in the USA in the 1930s by musician Paul Tutmarc, who wanted to create a horizontal electric version of the upright double bass which up until that point always provided the baseline to popular music of the day.

    In the 1950s guitar company Fender began producing the ‘Fender Bass’, the first mass produced eclectic bass guitar. This instrument was much easier to transport than the upright bass and so quickly became a favourite for gigging musicians. Since then, the bass has played a crucial role in shaping the sound of various modern musical genres, adding groovy foundations to uncountable funk, reggae, rock, pop and jazz songs.

    Is a bass tuned the same as a guitar?

    Standard tuning on a Bass guitar is E1 A1 D2 G2. If you are a guitar player you might recognise this pattern as the same as the first 4 strings of a guitar in standard tuning. However the bass is tuned a whole octave lower than the guitar.

    Our tool focuses on standard bass tuning, however if you want to tune to another alternate bass tuning try out our chromatic tuner which lets you tune to any note on the 12 note scale.

    Is playing the bass the same as playing the guitar?

    As we already mentioned, the 4 lowest notes of a guitar mirror the 4 notes on a bass. This makes some chord shapes really familiar if you already know standard guitar tuning. However, bass playing generally involves a very different technique than the guitar.

    For example, bassists often use their instrument to emphasise strong and consistent rhythmic patterns while guitarists have more freedom to strum and/or fingerpick as they please. Also, within a band, the bassist usually collaborates more closely with the drummer to establish the rhythmic foundation of a song, while the guitarist interacts with other instruments and may focus more on creating the overall melody.

    While both instruments share obvious similarities, the bass guitar has its own unique qualities which can’t be denied, adding a special blend of rhythm, groove and general funkiness to whatever song its featured in, think of the hooks in Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” , The White Stripes’s “Seven Nation Army”, Parliament's “Give up the Funk" or even the theme from Seinfeld… would any of these tunes half as good without their unmistakable baselines?!

    I'd like to tune other instruments!

    No problem.