Dropped D Tuning, How do you retune your guitar by using the tuner? Options

[Ava]

Hello all,
My name is Kate, and I've got a question regarding (as the title may inquire) dropped D tuning. I wonder how you retune your guitar by using the tuner? I've tried to retune my guitar (unsuccessfully) by pushing in the button for the D-string on the tuner and play the E-string, but whenever I do this the arrow on the tuner refuse to move. I feel kind of dumb for not being able to figure this whole thing out, but I hope that there's someone here on GMC who's got the answer to my question.
//Kate

P.S. I've got a Fender Squier guitar/bass tuner, which came with my guitar when I bought it. D.S.

[IzzyCom]

Hello all,
My name is Kate, and I've got a question regarding (as the title may inquire) dropped D tuning. I wonder how you retune your guitar by using the tuner? I've tried to retune my guitar (unsuccessfully) by pushing in the button for the D-string on the tuner and play the E-string, but whenever I do this the arrow on the tuner refuse to move. I feel kind of dumb for not being able to figure this whole thing out, but I hope that there's someone here on GMC who's got the answer to my question.
//Kate

P.S. I've got a Fender Squier guitar/bass tuner, which came with my guitar when I bought it. D.S.

Hello Kate!
Try tuning manually at first, play the 5th fret note on ur E string, it should sound exactly like ur A string, its the same note in normal tuning,
When your E string comes within the range of the E note, ur tuner should identify it
Hope it's clear,

[swingline]

Like Izzy said the note has to be within a ball park otherwise the machine just gets confused.

[chast]

If I retune from Drop D to Standard E, I just do a powerchord (E5) and turn the tuning peg, till it sounds like a powerchord again, maybe not the best method, but it works good for me

[blindwillie]

Hi Ava/Kate. Welcome.

[at lights end]

i do it by ear. it used to take me ages to get it right by ear, but id recommend practising it because i can now go from standard to drop d in like a second, and vise versa.

This post has been edited by at lights end: Feb 17 2008, 10:34 PM

[erik]

If you want to learn how to do it by ear, just flick the regular d string, and then tune your e string down til they sound like the same note (only the E-string gets a deeper D-note, because it's an octave down)

[Muris Varajic]

If you want to learn how to do it by ear, just flick the regular d string, and then tune your e string down til they sound like the same note (only the E-string gets a deeper D-note, because it's an octave down)

Yeah,this is fine way to do it.
Of course,I hope your guitar doesn't have floating bridge or som?

[Cherio]

hey =D

An easy way to tune your guitar to drop D(manually, no tuner) is to fret the 7th fret on the E string and tune DOWN to the A string.(So the E sounds the same as the A).

Hope I made sense

[Melvyn]

Its mainly because the tuner works using frequencies; the D button you press is for the D string, and the D string produces X amount of frequencies, the closer you are to that the closer the needle will get to the point. Drop D'ing a guitar is different, a low D produces double the amount of frequences and so the needle will just automatically drop.

Heres a tip, try playing both the E string and the D string together, then detune the E string down until both the strings are the same sound, well note anyway, the D string will be an octave higher than the detuned e string

[Ava]

Yeah,this is fine way to do it.
Of course,I hope your guitar doesn't have floating bridge or som?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean with "floating bridge" - I haven't managed to catch up on all the theory and terms yet

Thanks to everyone who answered btw! I've been experimenting some with tuning down the E-string, and although it doesn't sound completely right, I'm getting there

//Kate

[Andrew Cockburn]

A floading bridge is a kind of tremelo system used a lot on guitars like Ibanez and Jackson - they are really great but make tuning a lot harder if you change to a drop D for instance, which was why it was mentioned.