Yo guys,I need your opinion! I've just bought an Ec-1000 SSB. I'm going to tune this baby pretty low,standard drop B but i'll tune the low string down to G#. Any tip on the right strings? I'm thinking about the 11-70 zakk wylde set... 
Downtuning on 24.75" scale
- Thread starter Il_Matte
- Start date
kronk_1985
Member
- Oct 15, 2008
- 273
- 0
- 16
amarshism
Member
TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
Dang, why would you want to go that low, does your strings even resonate that low.
This!
With such a small scale and large strings, I would be surprised if they and the guitar had any resonance. Personally I would never tune lower than standard D/Drop C.
Dang, why would you want to go that low, does your strings even resonate that low
Yeah I know it'quite too low but I love to experiment with tunings man! If i'll find this tuning useful on my tracks i'll buy a baritone
CronosBeyond
Member
That's an interesting statement. I downtuned my second guitar (Ltd EC1000) to full B just out of fun (took the lower 6 strings of a 7 string set). It sounds mighty and full but when I compare the overall sound, definition and clarity to a D tuned guitar, the differences are massive.
Can you explain a bit in detail what you mean with that resonance stuff? And is it just my guitar/amp or why does lower tuning change the complete behavior of sound?
nowherecatastrophe
Member
- Mar 1, 2006
- 123
- 0
- 16
what gauge would you guys recommend for drop B/ C standard tuning on a LP style guitar? and how would you deal with intonation issues? i've never gone below drop C on a 24.75 scale guitar before but i've got a hatebreed-like band coming in soon who have shit gear and i'm thinking of throwing EMGs in a les paul i have lying around for em..
Headof75
Somewhere in Brum
- Jun 16, 2008
- 238
- 2
- 18
That's been my experience too. Especially if you are going to quad (or more) track. Heavier strings go sharp when hit, then flat and only ever hover around the note you want. When you double up you get this strange phasing effect as the (out of) tunings conflict with each other and occasionally cancel each other out. Neil Kernon once explained it on a post in his forum but I'm buggered if I can find it to link for you.
I dunno, guys, plenty of bands like Sevendust, Red, Soilwork, Breaking Benjamin, Dark New Day, Eye Empire, and many, many others, including myself, have been able to tune from B all the way down to G# on 24.75" and 25" scale guitars without much fuss.
TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
It has to do with the ratio of the diameter of the string and the scale. Two things that happen when the diameter is larger, the strings become too taught and also loose flexibility, and intonation goes out the window. Intonation goes out because there is a slight error in the location of the fret, this gets worse the larger the diameter regardless of the scale, this is why they have the HGS line from caparison which moves the bridge back 3mm to correct this. This is also why baritone scales have better intonation especially at lower tunings.
When the strings are too taught and loose flexibility, they don't resonate, and can sound dull. You can notice this effect by playing the 24th fret on your low E string, when you pick it, it sounds dull. Eventually the larger the string, the sooner you will notice this on lower frets. Also too much tension will cause higher frequencies to be dampened because they don't store as much energy, leaving the strings sounding like they have been used when they are brand new. You want the strings as light as you can before they start to flop around, if intonation is going to shit and the strings are too big and thus sound dull, you need a larger scale guitar.
With that in mind, I said before, I wouldn't tune lower than a C on a 24.75 scale and never lower than an A on a 25.5 scale. And I personally refuse to tune lower than A. My main tuning is standard C#/Drop B with 11-54 gauge strings, I am about to go custom and get a set of 10.5-58 which would have the same feel on a 25.5 scale guitar that 9.5-48 in E would feel like on a 24.75 scale guitar. The big problem with current string gauges is that the tension is highly uneven across all the strings which doesn't help the overall feel of tension (they feel stiff but are floppy). This has everything to do with the middle strings having too much tension and why the G strings is always going out of tune and having intonation problems. If you where to correct this, you could drop 20lbs of total tension putting less strain on your guitar, have a thicker stable low string, be able to do bends easier while having an overall feel as if there was more tension on your guitar even though its actually less. This is really good for floyd players as you don't have to kill your right hand trying to muscle through severe whammy wankery.
I'll try to work it out with my luthier. My main guitar has a 25.5" scale,drop B tuning. 11-60 strings. After a professional setup I NEVER had any problem. She's as sharp as a knife. Such bands like Architects and many others use this kind of tuning on Eclipse guitars...great post Mr. Winter Snow,rally appreciated these technical informations. Thank you for sharing man!
