For the Drop B tuners, your wisdom please

[RevoltStudios]

Hola. I just got a PRS that I need to get setup for drop B flat actually. What strings do you guys use? I hit hard but don't like playing string that don't give at all. Also, am I looking at an intonation nightmare with that low? My other guitars are fine with it but PRS's seem to be more finnicky with action/setup.

EDIT: Trying to avoid a baritone PRS...nice guitars but dang they're fugly.

 

[hellraiser85]

If your PRS is 25' scale, I would put something like 0.13-0.59. I've a 0.11-0.56 set in my PRS Singlecut (25') in drop B and the 0.56 feels a bit loose. On the other hand, the intonation is very good even with the 25' scale.

 

[Auroras]

you need minimum a 60-65 for that low string for stability reasons and at least a .13 on the high strings i suggest Dr DDT or dunlop Zw and buying an extra plain .20 For your 3rd string

 

[AntonioPetrole]

I played in a band that was drop b. D'addario jazz medium light strings (.13-.56) are the ones i bought and i have never looked back, in any tuning for that matter. They are the best strings ever made... PERIOD!

 

[Jordon]

.010, .016, .020plain, .036, .050, .060 SIT Power Wounds for drop B and drop A# on a PRS Custom 22 for me. Holds like a champ, intonates great, and feels awesome for leads as well.


I've been using this guitar, with these strings, in these tunings for about 5 years now.

 

[Auroras]

.010, .016, .020plain, .036, .050, .060 SIT Power Wounds for drop B and drop A# on a PRS Custom 22 for me. Hold like a champ, intonates great, and feels awesome for leads as well.

.10 is way to light in tension for the highest string you need at least a .12 or.13 for A# to match .10's in Standard tension wise you need a.13 for A#

 

[Ascendant]

.10 is way to light in tension for the highest string you need at least a .12 or.13 for A# to match .10's in Standard tension wise you need a.13 for A#

Is that a law or something? Also he said drop Bb, which means the highest string will be a C, personally I wouldn't go higher than .012 for that.

 

[Robert W]

Heavier gauge Elixir Nanotechs sound pretty nice on my 8. Might be a good choice for drop B.

 

[Auroras]

Is that a law or something? Also he said drop Bb, which means the highest string will be a C, personally I wouldn't go higher than .012 for that.

I looked at tension of string chart(dadario) that showed a .13 Tuned to C is the comparable to a .10 tuned to E so yeah i would say it's somwhat law if you want tuning stability in a lower tuning I've done enough research looking into strings for Dropped A# trying to find the perfect gauged strings in terms of playability and tuning a .13 is perfectly usable a .10 your definatly going to push to hard putting your strings outa tune during chords and expierence more fret buzz

 

[red_f0x]

http://store.daddario.com/category/339134/EXL148_Extra_Heavy_12-60
all the way. they say it's for drop C, but it will handle lower tunings for sure.

 

[lolzgreg]

Dropped B isn't terrible. I would go for a set of 13's.

 

[red_f0x]

It really depends on style of playing. Riffage requires thicker strings, however there is no way you can produce whole step bends on 13" string, as it's the same as bend piano strings.

 

[FIXXXER]

http://store.daddario.com/category/339134/EXL148_Extra_Heavy_12-60
all the way. they say it's for drop C, but it will handle lower tunings for sure.

C,G,D#,A#,F,C...isn't this C standard,
drop C should be D,A,F,C,G,C...or am i wrong!?

cheers
S.

 

[red_f0x]

C,G,D#,A#,F,C...isn't this C standard,
drop C should be D,A,F,C,G,C...or am i wrong!?

cheers
S.

Yes, for some reason they name C G D# A# F C as drop C.
Apparently it can not be true.

 

[barricade]

http://store.daddario.com/category/339134/EXL148_Extra_Heavy_12-60
all the way. they say it's for drop C, but it will handle lower tunings for sure.

+1 yep... i'm using those on my m-II for drop B

 

[Bevosss]

I used DR Tite Fit 12-56 for dropped B on a PRS form years no problem...half a step more, you might want to go up another gauge.

You will definitely need the adjustable bridge if you don't have one installed already, Tone Pros makes one if you don't (iirc the maker).

 

[Jordon]

I looked at tension of string chart(dadario) that showed a .13 Tuned to C is the comparable to a .10 tuned to E so yeah i would say it's somwhat law if you want tuning stability in a lower tuning I've done enough research looking into strings for Dropped A# trying to find the perfect gauged strings in terms of playability and tuning a .13 is perfectly usable a .10 your definatly going to push to hard putting your strings outa tune during chords and expierence more fret buzz

Yea, I dunno. It's worked for me for a while now.

Zero fret buzz (except for the bit I have on the lower strings, and it's set that way because I prefer a bit of buzz when I'm digging in), and I actually know how to play, so I'm not worried about bending a string out of tune. Also, the tuning stability is impeccable.

By the way, I did a SHITLOAD of research before going with this string set. I also used to work for a major guitar manufacturer's custom shop doing final assembly and setup, so I do kinda-sorta know what I'm talking about.

A properly set-up guitar is the key. My old guitarist used 9-50 in A#, and it held. And sounded amazing.

 

[Ionei]

I rock Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky's on all my guitars.

Pretty much perfect for both my ibanez's in drop B.
Damn fine on my 24.75" scale guitars.

Works for every tuning I play in.
Any lower than A# and you'll need to go up a Gauge.
But it really depends on what you like feelwise and how you play.

 

[the_arod]

I once put this D'addario tension pdf file into one simple microsoft excel sheet
I uploaded it over here: http://www.2shared.com/document/rL-RDckN/Tension_calculator.html

What I do when I'mmoving to a new tension is that I compare the tension of a certain set of strings to the tension of my 'favorite E-std set', which is 10 - 46, and see if it's alike enough