Effects of downtuning...

[53Crëw]

Hey guys, is it just me, or do things get a little weird as you downtune with heavy gauge strings? I've been playing around with B-standard tuning on a couple of six strings. I notice, at least on these guitars, that the plain strings start to sound odd as the tuning goes lower and the strings get heavier. Especially the G-string. They sound a bit choked, not smooth, and lack the sustain of higher tunings. Is this common?

Cheers.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Sounds like it might need to be set up if the sustain is not as good as it was

I am not sure though, I only use 7 and 8 string guitars, so I haven't run into this issue

 

[Joematthews]

Yeeah, the G-string on my set of 12-54's sounds like shite acoustically. It's probably set up though as my guitar is a POS at the moment.

Joe

 

[abyssofdreams]

I think I know what you mean but maybe that's due to the harmonics tuning that low?

 

[tobin1]

If it's not a baritone guitar then getting an even close to perfect setup with that low of a tuning is pretty difficult, it's all about tension and 6 strings aren't meant to be tuned that low

 

[K Odell]

exactly what I am battling with and as much as I hate it. using a wound G string helped out a ton.

 

[bibz]

Plain steel strings suck over 18 imo, I prefer wound. I also hate 25.5" 7 strings for the same reasons, baritones in fashion, watch out next namm! (fingers crossed!)

 

[JeffTD]

I stopped using 7's cause I couldn't get a decent tone out of them, in all honesty. I prefer the tightness and clarity of a higher tuned axe.

Anyone else ever notice a certain 'charm' to standard tuning? I find the further I tune from it, the less of that 'charm' I hear. I tune to D standard as a happy medium.

 

[Noumenon]

most important regarding the g string, get a wound one.
look on it as a 7-string guitar, added low b, but then remove the high e. you -need- a wound "g-string" (in fact, it's a d-string)

on that note, I hardly ever use my low b anymore. need to get my self a regular 6-string. like the dean 30th anniversary v guitar *gas*

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

I stopped using 7's cause I couldn't get a decent tone out of them, in all honesty. I prefer the tightness and clarity of a higher tuned axe.

Anyone else ever notice a certain 'charm' to standard tuning? I find the further I tune from it, the less of that 'charm' I hear. I tune to D standard as a happy medium.

I know what you mean about the charm, but I also have heard it from bands that tune way down... I think it's just a lot harder to attain the "charm" when you are tuned lower. I haven't found the secret myself, but hopefully some day soon...

 

[Kazrog]

On my Jeff Loomis Schecter 7 string, the "charm" is there, but in B standard that means using the following guages:

9,11,16,24,32,42,56

I used to play a gauge heavier and I was not pleased with my tone. I switched, and all of a sudden I realized I could play things I could never play before, and my tone improved 100%. It was the most life changing moment of my entire decade plus of playing guitar.

If you play too heavy of strings, your tone will lose the brightness and clarity of attack. A lot of people are simply using strings that are too heavy in low tunings, on 7 strings and baritones that is. On a regular 6 string I don't recommend tuning lower than drop C.

If you're having to use a wound fucking G string you know you've gone too far IMO. Or if you're even considering a 70 on your low string, unless you're on an 8 string of course.

I highly recommend you guys visit John Petrucci's gear page - I think this is pretty much the gospel of string gauges that work the best in a wide variety of tunings, and if your tuning of choice isn't represented here, you can at least use it as a reference point:

http://www.johnpetrucci.com/gear.htm

This page changed my life. Seriously!

 

[Metaltastic]

A BIG +1 to not overdoing string size - 12-54 in C-standard is perfect for me, any thicker and it just dulls the tone and makes it unnecessarily hard to do vibrato IMO/IME!

 

[53Crëw]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

In my case, it's not a setup issue. I think it's just the physics of low tuning with heavy gauge strings. The snap and clarity are gone. At least on my guitars.

I tried an 11-49 set and tuned to C#-standard.... much better tone and clarity.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

Any recommendations for string size in drop B on a six string? And that doesn't include "tune up" because songs are already written and etc etc.

 

[DevilJaw]

i dont really find this problem, i use 12-60 with a plain G string, nothing suffers, but im a heavy picker and i love having to work for my tone, im usually in drop C or C standard.

but when i started this current setup, i just have to pick harder and bend harder and the tone is nice and thicker with not much loss on attack, just man handle those strings, they wont break, but they break you.

 

[JeffTD]

Thin strings are great and all, but there's no accounting for someone who's heavy handed.

As far as I'm concerned, and I think 99% of the board will agree with me, guitars sound better when they're played harder, just like a drumkit. I use the string guages that I do because of my right hand, not my left. Anything thinner than a 52 in D gets knocked WAY out of tune when I dig in, and even a 52 is iffy. If I went with the John Petrucci advice and used 10-46's in D, I'd not only overbend and overfret strings like crazy, but my right hand would knock them out of tune if not completely out of the saddle.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

Call me crazy, but i play in standard D with the evil twin shotgun set by dean markley. The gauges are 10,13,17,36,52,60 and they work a dream for me. It allows me to be gentle and precise on the high strings and smash the lower ones like a brute. I've been playing these for about 6months coming from 52 boomers, and I have thicker tone and have broken less strings since then so I'm happy. I think 52 is a good size for most people for D standard but I just hit the strings too hard and it gets a little muddy. So i guess I'm in the same boat as DSS3.

 

[Kazrog]

I don't think strings sound better when hit harder, it's all a question of the right amount of attack, and the right intent. I don't pick lightly by any stretch of the imagination, but I also don't knock my strings out of tune. There's a zen to this, it's not just about picking hard, and plenty of players that get amazing tone are using strings in gauges more comparable to what's on John Petrucci's site.

 

[Metaltastic]

I don't think strings sound better when hit harder, it's all a question of the right amount of attack, and the right intent. I don't pick lightly by any stretch of the imagination, but I also don't knock my strings out of tune. There's a zen to this, it's not just about picking hard, and plenty of players that get amazing tone are using strings in gauges more comparable to what's on John Petrucci's site.

Once again, agreed 100%

 

[Josh Burgess]

"Eb - 9,11,18,26,34,44"

I wish someone sold these gauges as a set. That sounds about perfect for the top 6 strings in Eb of my 7 string. It'd be too expensive to custom order those sizes all the time...