11-52 for drop tuning

fourmations

howdy y'all

i have a few guitars and fancy drop tuning one
that has a floyd

i have lots of 11-52's - would these be a bit sloppy for B for example

i usually play 10-46 at standard tuning
(or the 11's on a jazzmaster)

old subject I know, but I cant be arsed re-setting up
a floyd and them find its not suitable
(and yis all knew it!!)


ta

4

Demeyes

That will be a bit light for B standard if you're used to 10's. You'll want to get strings a bit heavier. You'll be able to tune down that low but it'll be hard to play on clearly.

feylya

If you're tuning to B, I reckon you need 12s, preferably 13's. I know baritones tuned to B take 13's. Don't forget though that baritones have a longer scale to increase string tension while tuned to B so a standard 25.5" Fender scale will be floppy at that tuning no matter what string (within reason)

demanufactured

I agree with feylya, i have 12s on a floyd equipped guitar , its sweet.

Doctor J

In B, playing a floyd, using 13-62's. D'Addario have a baritone set which will go down that low but don't feel like spaghetti.

feylya

Hee, forgot about the Bacchus...

fourmations

thanks for the feedback guys

i tuned my jazzmaster down to B to get an idea
and its sloppy all right, but its not really an accurate test
as the JM has 4 or five inches of string behind the bridge
before it hits the tailpiece,
so 11's feel lighter on the JM than a floyd guitar for example

i will get me some 13's for sure, i dont think 12's would suit me

Does the relaxed tension/heavier strings work itself out or
can i expect to make some truss rod adjusts?

rgds

4

Doctor J

Adjusting the truss rod will only take a few seconds.

Filing bigger slots in the nut will take you a fair bit longer

fourmations

cheers doc

its been a while since i used it
but i think the double locking nut has huge clearances?


rgds

4

Doctor J

Depends on the type. With a Kahler locking nut it's very close, with the Gotoh it's ok. When you're getting to 62's and above there are some tuners which don't have a big enough hole in the shaft either. Schaller locking tuners, for example, won't take a 62. If I'm putting something big on the Eggle I have to strip maybe 1cm of the outer winding from the top of the string so I can get it into the tuner.

Fad

13-56 seem adequate (i use em for drop c)

so get a set of ''not even slinkys'' and your set

but i have never seen em in a shop here

fourmations

hi all

thanks for the tips

got me that d'd baritone set 13-62
its all i could find

I just slapped them on last night
and everything is cool so far, didnt need to do anything
with the nut

It is tuned to A at the moment as
I did not get around to doing the floyd springs
and A is the same tension as the 9.5's were at regular pitch
(i think some truss rod work will be required)

its pretty cool but a bit too sloppy, good for single string work
I will adjust it to B or Bflat later

i have not locked the nut off yet as i was stretching
out the strings and just sussing things out but
tuning was fun, when i even fine tuned the 62
every other string goes way out of tune

i have to start messing with tunings now as well
I am oldskool and never use dropped tuning
(im a slayer, megadeth type metaller)
but in truth Meshuggah are my sole inspiration
for trying this, now to transpose eight string tuning to a six!

the guitar is just tuned to A with the usual concert pitch
arrangement

rgds

4

fourmations

hi all

have it as a seven at bflat with no high e now
and its pretty cool

top string is a bit sloppy still and its a 62
how do sevens keep good tension with a 56
at a b flat tuning, i know rg's are not baritones for example?

rgds

4

deaddonkey

if i want to tune low i buy a heavy set for a 7 string and shift everything down one place

ended up with a set of 14-63s in standard tuning.

(don't even try it)

fourmations

fourmations wrote: »

hi all

have it as a seven at bflat with no high e now
and its pretty cool

top string is a bit sloppy still and its a 62
how do sevens keep good tension with a 56
at a b flat tuning, i know rg's are not baritones for example?

rgds

4

hi all, im dragging this up again

i have tuned my "faker 7" back to B
as the B flat was too sloppy on the top string

but I am still wondering how the RG or jems
can be tuned that low without sloppy issues
they have the same 25.5 scale as mine

my tuning at B has more tension but the
top string still sounds a bit crap
its fine for savage metal and distorted tones
but I fancy messing around with some jazz on my "7"

I am getting string buzz on the seventh fret
on the top and bottom strings
and the top string just sounds dead, no sustain at all
it sounds like a double bass as in its really muted and percussive

I have blocked off the floyd to try and make it more solid

i would prefer it at bflat so I can play 'shuggah stuff

any thoughts

thanks

4

feylya

Did you adjust the truss rod after changing string guage?

fourmations

hi fey

i havent gone near the rod as everything seems okay
with the simple fretting test

the tension has not increased that much
(the floyd is giving me a good indication)

there is actually a bloke on youtube
who has tuned his strat copy to f# with a .70 top string
how the hell did that work out!

some bloke knocking off meshuggah

Eoin Madsen

Going up from 10-46 to 11-52 should allow you to drop a semitone but retain approximately the same tension. I found a formula/calculator for exactly this purpose somewhere on the web last year. Can't remember where it is, but I'm sure it's googleable.

feylya

But he's dropping 2 full tones...

Eoin Madsen

I know. That was a subtle way of pointing out that it isn't going to work. :rolleyes:

feylya

Useful post there Eoin. He's using 13's.

Eoin Madsen

The translation is not at all linear, and he's dropping 5 semitones.

fourmations

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

I know. That was a subtle way of pointing out that it isn't going to work. :rolleyes:

well, whadayaknow, it did work! .......

Im renaming my thread...17-80's for drop tuning!

i am currently in F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb

i bought a 0.80 bass A string and it went straight on,
no adjustment at the nut, no issue with the tuning peg width either
(bass strings have a thinner section for winding)
no problem at the floyd block either! no real tension/truss issues, its
a little tenser that it was but not much!

the set is: 80 - 62 - 46 - 36 - 26 - 17

the 80 is a medium A bass string as mentioned
the other 5 are the 5 heaviest off a d'dadarrio 13-62 baritone set

im delighted with myself, i have been obsessing about 8 strings
and this is a perfect way to dabble without expense,
it would be much more stable with a baritone and i do have some buzzing when playing clean but it a great little experiment
and sounds savage with heavy distortion

im off to try and play meshuggah songs for the rest of my life..!!

rgds

4

rgds

4

Eoin Madsen

fourmations wrote: »

well, whadayaknow, it did work! .......

Really? Why didn't you just stick with the 11s then?

fourmations

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Really? Why didn't you just stick with the 11s then?

ermm, youv'e lost me!?
the 11's were way too sloppy

i had it at b tuning with 13-62 set
now i have it at f tuning with 17-80 set
(8 string tuing with no bottom 2 strings)


rgds

4