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Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 01:22 PM

So I tuned my Epiphone Les Paul to B.

Strung it with 12's.

It feels good. I need to adjust the action a bit to get it just right but overall I think it'll be ok.

I'm not real happy with the lack of definition on the low string.

Are my stock pickups going to be a factor? Do aftermarket pickups help with these lower tunings?

Posted by: Noangels Oct 10 2008, 01:53 PM

Have you tried backing off the gain slightly?not saying it would work but its worth a try

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 02:00 PM

Well, I'm learning "Heartwork" by Carcass so the laws of the universe prevent the lowering of the gain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7lP30tSZF0



No, I havent tried that. I'll give it a shot.

Posted by: Noangels Oct 10 2008, 02:05 PM

lol ok lets go the other way have you tried more gain

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 02:09 PM

I think I'm getting all I can out of this guitar.

I was wondering if the stock pickups just arent capable of delivering in this situation.

Do you know if dropping the tuning makes it harder for some pickups to deliver clear defined sound? It would make sense to me but I'm just assuming. There are plenty of bands out there delivering crisp guitar tones tuned to B.

Posted by: fatb0t Oct 10 2008, 02:16 PM

Um Carcass is pretty difficult to nail for some reason. I have a lot of difficulty getting their tone. They can make octave riffs sound HUGE, when I do it - they sound whimpy.
Carcass is amazing.

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 02:22 PM

I hear ya.

That opening riff is killing me too. And the timing feels weird to me with this riff. When it goes from the single note stuff to the chords in that intro it feels like it jumps 1/2 a beat or something.

I love this song.


I hate this song.

Posted by: Fullmetal_Tmd Oct 10 2008, 03:33 PM

Epiphone stock pickups aren't the best for low tunings. I used to have my Epiphone SG tuning to B also for playing some Doom metal. Really, the sound was really weak and it sounded dull, shrill, and muddied. Since then, I've tuned it back up to C, and its better than it was before, but its still not the best sounding guitar =/.

What you mainly hear nowadays are probably guitars packed with EMGs, they handle drop tunings exceptionally well. There are a few passive pickups that sound good in drop tunings, but I don't know any of them

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 03:36 PM

Good info, thanks!

Posted by: RIP Dime Oct 10 2008, 04:28 PM

True dat, stock Epiphone pickups probably are the problem. Actives are probably your best bet, even though I think Meshuggah use passives(I may be totally wrong, they use Lundgren pickups), and they tune down to F. But I've never had success tuning below C# Standard with passives. Maybe D activators would work, but I've never tried them.

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 04:31 PM

I've been eyeballing the Seymour Duncan Blackouts.....

My immediate concern is the nut. The 6th and 5th strings arent fitting down in the nut either. I wonder if thats part of the problem. Though I'm playing fretted chords above the nut so I dont think that'd be it.....

Posted by: Fullmetal_Tmd Oct 10 2008, 05:07 PM

if you have a women in your house, chances are you can probably find a finger nail file (or any kind of file). you can use that to expand the holes in the nut (thats what i did). you probably don't need to file it much, just run the file on each side like 3-5 times, and the strings should fit better.

if you have a women in your house, chances are you can probably find a finger nail file (or any kind of file). you can use that to expand the holes in the nut (thats what i did). you probably don't need to file it much, just run the file on each side like 3-5 times, and the strings should fit better. even if you plan on switching to thinner strings in the future, tuning should be stay stable

Posted by: jer Oct 10 2008, 05:13 PM

THe nut is plastic I believe. Yeah, it cant be that tough to file out I dont think. But a nail file that thin?
I dont know about that.....

I'll see what I can find.

I just discovered a luthier shop here in town. Perhaps I'll take it there and see what they say. A guy I know had a new nut put on by them that is made of bone. It brightened up his Les Paul Studio a bit.

Posted by: Ian Bushell Oct 11 2008, 06:06 AM

Carcass!! WOW there's a name i haven't heard in years.

Posted by: jer Oct 11 2008, 06:09 AM

Hey man, THEY ARE ON TOUR!!!!!

Posted by: Ian Bushell Oct 11 2008, 06:11 AM

Yes rather do that!
Becareful with this after all it is your guitar.

In my opinion real low tuning works way better for groove orientated rock/metal rather than speedier stuff.
It's still doable you just have to get the right combinations.

I tried an 8 string the other day...that was totally ridiculous. Forget about losing definition...it lost everything!


Yeah! Rock n roll actaually i have heard the name recently:p They played in S.A a couple of weeks back.
Didn't go to watch was playing myself that night.

Posted by: jer Oct 11 2008, 06:13 AM

Well I threw this whole idea out the window.

My Epiphone LP at B?

Not without me throwing $200+ at it.

Screw that.

I took it back to E with D'Addario 9's. Then I remembered I had a Bill Lawrence XL-500 laying around.

So after tearing the garage apart to dicover I did in fact own a soldering iron but no solder I ran to Radio Shack and rectified the problem.

Now my Les Paul sounds good.

And the B and C tuned stuff can happen on my Jacksons with Duncans and EMGs. They handle that stuff JUST FINE!

Posted by: Ian Bushell Oct 11 2008, 09:05 AM

Awesome, glad you finally got that sorted out

Posted by: Noangels Oct 11 2008, 02:46 PM

8 stringer!,you must have lost your bowels playing something that low!The elusave brown note!



Yeahh your Jackson soloist will handle big strings and downtuning easy,mines always tunes to drop C:)

Posted by: kjutte Oct 11 2008, 04:33 PM

Huge factor.
Also your amp settings play a big big role.

Posted by: Marcus Siepen Oct 12 2008, 01:09 PM

The epiphone stock pickups will for sure influence your sound here, they are not designed for such low tunings. I would definitely recommend EMG 81 pickups here.

Posted by: jer Oct 12 2008, 02:43 PM

Great info and avice from all of you guys.

THanks!!!!!