Low Tuning

1Time

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Feb 26, 2003
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Hello.
The people in this forum have been quite helpful with my guitar questions in the past and I have another...

I want to tune my guitars lower...I have a Jackson DK-2 and SL-3....The problem is for obvious reasons, the floyd rose bridge drops way down when I go that low....I had my dk-2 tuned to C a long time ago but cant seem to get them low again. I have the springs in the back set up in the Alexi/Roope configuration. I want to get to C tuning again and have a level bridge and keep my string action low.

Any help would be great.
 
what i would suggest is first setting up your guitar for d standard tuning, which takes time with floating bridges (just drop it a step-then go from there) you might also want to consider getting a shorter set of springs or add more springs, also depending on your scale legnth you might not even be able to get lower then b without have 'speghetti' for stings-i had this problem on a 24 3/4 scale explorer, i dont tune that low though-i only go to d and i have 3 springs and a tremsetter on a 25 1/2 custom shop jackson dinky
 
also you might have your springs to far into the body, loosen up your claw, then try shorter springs
 
I tuned my ESP down to standard D, and I switched to 10s and added and extra spring in the back. Now you could do C with 10s, but I think I would recommend using 11s unless you like a little bit of flop.

Once I had the spring in the back and tuned to D, i wedged some stuff under the floyd so that it would not move, and I tightened the screws in the back a little bit. After a bit of playing with this, my Floyd sits perfectly level with the body. It can be a longish process of trial and error, but give it a go and I'm sure the results will be good.
 
damn. . .im using 11's on my inflames guitar. . .

for colony they went as low as Dropped A#
 
i use a gibson gothic V, whose scale is 24.75, and I can make drop A feel like E's tension with a set of 13's with a .60 for the low A......keep in mind though, you kind of have to alter your playing style...you generally cant play BRUTALLY fast if you still want clarity that low...its hard to explain...you can still go speed metal and all that, but the notes just kinda...well i dunno..its almost like it takes a longer portion of time to get out of the amp...its really hard to put into words.. also, EMG's help. as do boost pedals.
 
On my explorer I have the Zakk Wylde 11s. Those are some thick ass strings with the E string being I think 70. I play that at all kinds of drop tunings. My LTD V is tuned to E flat with 11's, but I think I'm gonna go with 12 or put a thicker E and A string on it.
 
I think it's smart to get the lightest strings possible for the tuning you want. I think 11's are plenty thick for tuning to C standard. Thicker strings make your playing sound less clear.

Personally, I go with 9's and tune to D standard and it feels perfect.
 
Silver Incubus said:
Actually thicker strings makes chords and notes resonate more clear and better over all, especially while recording

yeah i was about to say.....

lighter strings just make things muddy that low...