When I get a stable job, which is what I'm primarily focusing on right now, I'm going to work on saving up to get a custom-order six-string Dingwall bass with a subcontra drop E tuning by default, so this means that it'd be tuned to E₀–B₀–E₁–A₁–D₂–G₂. The five highest strings are the same of a typical five-string bass, and the lowest E₀ string is a whole octave below the lowest string on a 4-string bass.

E₀ is generally regarded as the lowest note that the average hearing can make out as having a discernable pitch that's not just rumbles. It's also the lowest that amps are usually able to properly project. Dingwall specifically makes their basses multiscale, with their lowest string having a 37" scale length.

This is perfect for making subcontra notes actually sound as clear as possible, and they will do custom string gauges for tunings like this. In fact, they're the only bass company I was able to find that'd actually be willing to do this, or at least the only mainstream one. There are some bass manufacturers that can do this or something similar, but they're far more obscure and cost a shit ton more money.

I got inspired to do this, as a huge djent fan, by Animals as Leaders, since they do drop E tuning on 8-string guitars. When I get the band started, I'd have to seek out some 8-string guitarists to play with.

I'm already very comfortable with playing 6-string basses, but every 6-string bass I've played has used the usual B₀–E₁–A₁–D₂–G₂–C₃ as the factory tuning instead. This would hopefully make transferring my skills over to the subcontra bass a lot more seamless.