Drop D Drop C Drop Tc... Options

[gitarcitolga]

Okay I'm confused about something, here we go.
I'm practising on 2 lessons which contain drop D tuning. But I have 2 guitars Ibanez Jem 7v and Ibanez JS 1000 using .009-.042 strings. And when I tune them in to Drop D, they want to get back to standard tuning immediately. So I guess I won't be able to tune them in drop D without changing my strings gauge from .009 to .10. As you all know, I do my progress with practising,recording on my HD cam,and serving you under Rec Topic in forum. So I don't connect my guitars to my computer yet(it'll be a whole new level for me) recording only on my HD cam. Therefore I cannot use any software to change the sound of tuning my guitar on the computer. Now, how the hell I'm going to play and recor these lessons? Should I buy a new guitar to use only for drop D songs? Or an alternative option I need to change the string gauge on one of my guitars? (but it sounds strange to me to tuning drop D on jem or JS series guitars, they are more likely rock but not metal guitars?)I'm so confused man somebody help me please, if I can learn how to connect the guitars to windows 7 pc, any known software to change the tuning sound for recording?

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[MickeM]

after dropping the thick E string the floating tremolo will be a little off. Not that bad though.

Maybe you need to add another spring to it? (in the back, inside the guitar)

Drop to D and retune. Should be ok.

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[thefireball]

I think i know your problem. You have floating trems on those guitars right? The strings keep the tension. You'll have to unlock the 3 nuts at the end of the neck and retune for drop D. I did this with my RG. It took a bit, but it worked.

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[gitarcitolga]

I think i know your problem. You have floating trems on those guitars right? The strings keep the tension. You'll have to unlock the 3 nuts at the end of the neck and retune for drop D. I did this with my RG. It took a bit, but it worked.

Hmm..so it's possible, I didn't work on it much, just a bit nervous to break it's truss rod and stuff. I'm just told that string gauge needs to be thicker than .009 so if you say it's okay like this, Im gonna work on it, thank you.

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This post has been edited by gitarcitolga: Jul 16 2011, 06:45 PM

[Ivan Milenkovic]

Drop tuning requires tuning only low E string from E to D. Does this mean that once you tune that string, it tends to get back on the E?

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[thefireball]

Hmm..so it's possible, I didn't work on it much, just a bit nervous to break it's truss rod and stuff. I'm just told that string gauge needs to be thicker than .009 so if you say it's okay like this, Im gonna work on it, thank you.

You won't need to mess with your truss rod for such a small tuning adjustment. Yes, the strings will be a bit floppy, 10s would work better, but it can still be done.

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[JD_]

Okay I'm confused about something, here we go.
I'm practising on 2 lessons which contain drop D tuning. But I have 2 guitars Ibanez Jem 7v and Ibanez JS 1000 using .009-.042 strings. And when I tune them in to Drop D, they want to get back to standard tuning immediately. So I guess I won't be able to tune them in drop D without changing my strings gauge from .009 to .10. As you all know, I do my progress with practising,recording on my HD cam,and serving you under Rec Topic in forum. So I don't connect my guitars to my computer yet(it'll be a whole new level for me) recording only on my HD cam. Therefore I cannot use any software to change the sound of tuning my guitar on the computer. Now, how the hell I'm going to play and recor these lessons? Should I buy a new guitar to use only for drop D songs? Or an alternative option I need to change the string gauge on one of my guitars? (but it sounds strange to me to tuning drop D on jem or JS series guitars, they are more likely rock but not metal guitars?)I'm so confused man somebody help me please, if I can learn how to connect the guitars to windows 7 pc, any known software to change the tuning sound for recording?

What I can tell u is....I have a guitar tuned to drop D...and drop C....the string guage is 11 - 52, this was the min guage the guitar would accept in this tuning, the heavier the better, the tension that needs to be applied for the floyd rose is why u have to change guage, and if u do it urself it can be a long process, i had yo add another spring in the back of the guitar.
And, alternate tunings are a awesome excuse for buying new guitars!!!

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[gitarcitolga]

Drop tuning requires tuning only low E string from E to D. Does this mean that once you tune that string, it tends to get back on the E?

No, I tried to tune all strings down a half step. So from your quote I understand that drop D means tuning down one step only the low E string. My main concern is that is it possible to adjust the strings (.009-.042) from standard tuning to anything I like?

For example Im working on basic metal rhythm guitar by marcus siepen and his tuning is E flat for this lesson. So I basically adjust my low E string only? What if I want to play megadeth and metallica songs? I should only tune down low E string half step or whole step?

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[JD_]

No, I tried to tune all strings down a half step. So from your quote I understand that drop D means tuning down one step only the low E string. My main concern is that is it possible to adjust the strings (.009-.042) from standard tuning to anything I like?

For example Im working on basic metal rhythm guitar by marcus siepen and his tuning is E flat for this lesson. So I basically adjust my low E string only? What if I want to play megadeth and metallica songs? I should only tune down low E string half step or whole step?

u should tune ur string down to the tuning u want, ie drop D, then adjust ur spring at the bak of the guitar, 1/4 turn at a time, then check and re tune ur strings....repeat this process untill the strings are in tune and HOLD the tuning and the bridge is flat with the body of the guitar....

If u are stuck, youtube has great videos of this, just type in floyd rose tuning drop D....etc

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[gitarcitolga]

u should tune ur string down to the tuning u want, ie drop D, then adjust ur spring at the bak of the guitar, 1/4 turn at a time, then check and re tune ur strings....repeat this process untill the strings are in tune and HOLD the tuning and the bridge is flat with the body of the guitar....

If u are stuck, youtube has great videos of this, just type in floyd rose tuning drop D....etc

hmm youtube..good idea:) tnx man

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[jstcrsn]

I think your are confusing tunings, there is-
standard -E A D G B E
DROP D--D A D G B E- as you notice in this ,the top 3 strings create a power chord ,so you can play 1 fingered power chords, which is great for heavy rythum
and you can drop these styles further for different songs i.e.
standard- every string drops 1 fret and you have e flat
drop d lowered one step becomes drop c#
and drop d lowered 2 frets becomes drop c - C G C F A D
there are many more variastions but these are the most comon

and for easy adjustments for a trem- put in a block where you want the trem at ,tune it , slowly tighten the springs until the block loosens- and yes you may have to add a spring

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This post has been edited by jstcrsn: Jul 17 2011, 02:18 AM

[gitarcitolga]

I think your are confusing tunings, there is-
standard -E A D G B E
DROP D--D A D G B E- as you notice in this ,the top 3 strings create a power chord ,so you can play 1 fingered power chords, which is great for heavy rythum
and you can drop these styles further for different songs i.e.
standard- every string drops 1 fret and you have e flat
drop d lowered one step becomes drop c#
and drop d lowered 2 frets becomes drop c - C G C F A D
there are many more variastions but these are the most comon

and for easy adjustments for a trem- put in a block where you want the trem at ,tune it , slowly tighten the springs until the block loosens- and yes you may have to add a spring

awesome info man. There are a lot of stuff that I don't know of,can't learn everything in a sudden:)

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

Not a problem, you just got two terms mixed up, it's normal.

Drop D means that all the strings are in standard E tuning, only low E string is "dropped" to D. This enables of playing powerchords with fretting one fret on all three bass strings, which is easier and enables you to play D powerchord as well (all three bass strings played open).

Tuning to Eb standard is what you need to do for the lesson. It requires dropping all 6 strings by a half step. This type of tuning is good for lots of guitars because it creates a bit more darker tone, and enables you to play with Eb chord/powerchord on the open position.

Tuning to Eb requires bigger tension or thicker strings. With 9-42 set you can do it, but the strings will become a bit floppy. Other problems that may occur when you decrease the tension of the strings is that the neck and strings will start to adjust to new tension, so you will experience frequent detuning issues, although in time this will go away. In the end, the tone will change as well, cause strings will resonate in a slightly different way with new tension.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way around this, although transferring to 10-46 set will offer you a feeling of "middle ground", at least more so than 9-42 set. If you change between E standard and Eb standard tunings a lot, then using 10-46 set is what I recommend.

Adjusting the truss rod with lowering the tuning by a half step is not what I suggest. Yes, some buzzing will occur, and you will need to be more gentle on the strings as now they are more loose, but no need for truss rod adjustment. However, if you put 10-46, you might need to adjust the rod a bit. On the other hand, it might not be needed, depending on the current tension of your truss rod.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Mate, I can feel your pain I've been there and went through this whole thing, bu the only real deal would be a fixed bridge guitar. The two axes which you own are great and as the guys explained above, you can achieve the desired tuning with careful tweaking of the springs, but the procedure in itself, is going to be a little time consuming until you get it flying and in time, you will wear the wood and the functionality of the floating trem.

You can have one axe detuned and the other kept in standard tuning, but I don't recommend tweaking the springs as often as you would de-tune a fixed bridge axe.

You could think about buying a fixed bridge guitar, but this depends on how big your desire of detuning as fast as 'snap' is and of course, on how ready willing you are on spending some money, for something you may not love that much after experimenting with it for a while. These are just thoughts, but here's what I'd do: I'd borrow a fixed bridge guitar from a friend for a week or two maybe (hopefuly you have such a good friend) and try as many tunings with it. Two weeks may not be enough for a beginner who is just discovering new things, but it'll give you at least an idea regarding the sounds you can get.

I hope I've been helpful with this whole speech if you need input on detuning aspects, please ask I love playing detuned

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[gitarcitolga]

Mate, I can feel your pain I've been there and went through this whole thing, bu the only real deal would be a fixed bridge guitar. The two axes which you own are great and as the guys explained above, you can achieve the desired tuning with careful tweaking of the springs, but the procedure in itself, is going to be a little time consuming until you get it flying and in time, you will wear the wood and the functionality of the floating trem.

You can have one axe detuned and the other kept in standard tuning, but I don't recommend tweaking the springs as often as you would de-tune a fixed bridge axe.

You could think about buying a fixed bridge guitar, but this depends on how big your desire of detuning as fast as 'snap' is and of course, on how ready willing you are on spending some money, for something you may not love that much after experimenting with it for a while. These are just thoughts, but here's what I'd do: I'd borrow a fixed bridge guitar from a friend for a week or two maybe (hopefuly you have such a good friend) and try as many tunings with it. Two weeks may not be enough for a beginner who is just discovering new things, but it'll give you at least an idea regarding the sounds you can get.

I hope I've been helpful with this whole speech if you need input on detuning aspects, please ask I love playing detuned

Hey thanks a lot guys. These info is hell good to me. Cosmo Im gonna buy a 7 string schecter jeff loomis guitar but probably within next year. Would that be fine , u recommend that one? Next year Im gonna play like a pro dudeee:)) Hey by the way what do u think about my song request topic man, can u play anything from there? please man,pleaseee:)

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey thanks a lot guys. These info is hell good to me. Cosmo Im gonna buy a 7 string schecter jeff loomis guitar but probably within next year. Would that be fine , u recommend that one? Next year Im gonna play like a pro dudeee:)) Hey by the way what do u think about my song request topic man, can u play anything from there? please man,pleaseee:)

I could go for 'Man in the box' as I performed it on the Alice in Chains tribute in May, but as Ben said, there's a thing with copyrights and I dunno if it's allowed. I should ask first, so let's see.

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[gitarcitolga]

cool!

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