Drop A#-Tuning on a Les Paul?

smy1

smy1

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Apr 8, 2006
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Hey guys,

I am currently using my Les Paul Studio Lite tuned to Drop C for most of my heavy guitar stuff. To accomodate my singing better and for added low-impact I am considering tuning it down to Drop A#.

Has anyone had any experience with tuning a Les Paul that low? If yes, what strings should I use? I am currently playing .10-.52 gauge. Is there anything else I need to think about? What is the lowest tuning I could go to? A? G#?

Any advice is appreciated ...
 
Bjorn from In Flames plays only les paul and he tuned down to C or drop Bb.
For C tuning he uses 13-60 and for Bb same gauge but with 65 on the low E.
Actually I have 13-62 in C and I have some problems with intonation, expecially in the low E. I play schecter C1 with 25.5 scale...I have done the setup and it's perfect but..I have the C at the 12th fret a little increasing...and my 6th saddle is at the end :\
I don't know how the guys can tune a les paul so down...I'm very curious.
 
Well you dont have to use a different guitar its just the LP has a short scale, where as something low tuned such as a baritone guitar has a large 27" scale to help the tension on the strings. Many people use LP's for low stuff, A# is bloody low like! For something that low id be pushing the high 60's myself, personally I like them tight...;) Just like m....yeah anyway, get some beefy GHS strings on that badboy! :p
 
I have been doing this for years with a Les Paul smartwood. I buy a 7 string set, and throw away the high string giving me a 13-60 span. The LP studio is one of the better gibsons to do this with too! You probably wouldn't want to try it with a standard and get that clarity out of it.
 
I thought In Flames used a baritone to record Come Clarity (isnt the tuning around A or something?). Would make sense to me.
 
Anything lower than dropped B, you should really check out a baritone. 6-strings are really less than ideal as the lack of proper tension and intonation cause lots of tuning problems. If you can lighten up w/ your fretting hand and your picking hand enough to keep the guitar in tune, downtuning sounds thick as hell on a les paul. They've just got the right body mass for a big fat tone, but a baritone feels & sounds more like it should, at least to me.

But if the guitarist is playing all the way down at A#, what is the bass player supposed to do?
 
BlackestEyes said:
I thought In Flames used a baritone to record Come Clarity (isnt the tuning around A or something?). Would make sense to me.
Click to expand...

I would expect that he didn't use a paul for recording in that tuning, but I've never heard either way.
 
No, they use gibson les paul in studio...and live also.
They use les paul for record Soundtrack to your escape and Come Clarity...and in those albums they are in Drop Bb.
 
There's no reason to assume just because something's in a lowered tuning it's a baritone. There's plenty of stuff in B through Ab that was recorded with standard scale guitars- including Gibson scale- that sounds fine. Carcass, At The Gates, Morbid Angel, Soilwork, Arch Enemy, Nevermore, etc. A few of those are 7s, (Morbid Angel, Nevermore) but they're still standard scale 7s.

IIRC, the baritone thing isn't about tightness anyway, it's about getting proper intonation with heavier strings and lower tunings.
 
If you play ANY leads, I've found the Zakk wylde set to work perfect in B, and works real good in A or fucking G. It gives you a .060-.009. You get the fat strings for riffs and the "more natural" feel on the "unwound" strings for leads. For C, I like the "skinny top heavy bottom" set from Ernie Ball. I do this with my Gibson "flying V." You have to set up the whole guitar to accomodate the tension of the tuning. Start with finding a set you like, then stick to it. Crank on the truss rod for the new tension, then adjust the bridge, and intonation. I use "BIG BENDS NUT SAUCE" on all my guitars. This shit works WONDERS for keeping in tune. Put this stuff on the nut, and on the bridge saddles. Thank me later.
 
Gnash, can you explain the "big bend nut sauce"?
I use 13-62 d'addario in my schecter, C tuned...but I can't intonate the 6th string properly..at 12th it remains a little increased and unfortunally, the saddle is at the end..
 
Exocaster said:
Tune down a half step. A# is only a half step down from the low B on a five string.
Click to expand...

No, I understand that. It's just a ton of really low frequency content, especially when the guitarist is playing what are essentially bass strings. It was sort of a joke, more than anything.

A baritone's scale length provides the string tension, which allows the guitar to intonate properly across the board at such low tunings. Large gauge strings do not intonate properly at low tunings without a longer scale. Obviously this is why basses are built they way they are.

A baritone feels tighter. Play one, and you'll see what I am talking about. A Les Paul tuned lower than C feels & sounds too mushy for me, personally. But, I definitely dig the sound when other people are playing them.

This is slightly OT, but who knows what live setup In Flames used around 2004? I couldn't believe their live sound, partially because there were no amps on stage, or if there were, they were hidden behind curtains. It was absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the best live guitar tone I've ever heard. What were they all using?
 
2012 said:
This is slightly OT, but who knows what live setup In Flames used around 2004? I couldn't believe their live sound, partially because there were no amps on stage, or if there were, they were hidden behind curtains. It was absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the best live guitar tone I've ever heard. What were they all using?
Click to expand...

As I understand it, 5150 or 5150 II for dirty tones, Pod XT Pro for cleans, Marshall 1960 cabs with stock 75s. Their 5150s are unmodded. If I recall correctly, one of them was using a Dual Recto for a while as well. There's a picture of their live rig from that period floating about on the 'net with their settings clearly marked.

I saw them with Iced Earth about six or seven years ago, and their live tone was excellent then as well. (As well as Iced Earth's, but they've got uber-$ amps...)
 
Yeah, I thought 5150, but I'm more curious as to why they had their amps backstage, etc. Did anyone else see them when they were doing this? Are they still doing this? That show was the only one I've seen where they were ampless on stage, even the bassist. I think having no amps on stage added to the wow factor of their tone. Such a stark contrast to every single rock show ever.

Obviously, their tone is as much in their hands as it is in their amps. I will add that, at that show, Bjorn was using a definitely using black Les Paul Custom with EMGs, IIRC.
 
In Flames in 2004:
5150 -> Iso Cabs -> IEM

I got that from an interview with Björn from about that time. Apparently they got into the Iso Cabs because they were recording STYE in a house were the couldn't crank the amps.

They only used them on their headlining tour afaik. I saw them again at a festival 2 or 3 months later and talked to a roadie. He told me, that they only had the amps with them and rented the cabs. And on that show I could clearly see the amps and cabs (and they'd also gotten rid of the IEM again).

And yeah, they have PODs around. But I guess in 2004 only Björn used it.
 
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