If a band plays with 8 string guitars, how is the bass tuned?

What matters is that your frequencies don't clash with the other instruments. If you have a guitar player that's getting ultra low frequencies from his/her tuning, then you either want to go lower or higher. read more

Your bass doesn’t have to be tuned differently because the guitarist in your band is using a guitar with more strings, nor would the guitarist in your band tune his guitar differently because you are using a 6 string bass instead of a 4 string. read more

Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter plays a hybrid eight-string guitar made by Ralph Novak of Novax Guitars. Five of the strings are tuned to the standard guitar's upper five (A, D, G, B, E), while three of the strings are tuned to the standard bass guitar's three lowest (E, A, D). read more