Thread: Drop A????

wonder what sort of amp he is playing through ?

might be a problem if amp is not suitably capable of big low end reproduction?!

i dont think iv ever heard of anyone going that low

i think when you get to that you will have issues with the bass tring/s fitting through the ferrules/machine head.......

tell him i'll build him an 8 string with 4 bass machine heads/ferrules, and 4 guitar machine heads/ferrules for the price of hardware lol

there is also the seven string guitar option with the bottom string going to low A...

so it is not unheard of i suppose

I've done a few guitars to drop B, drop C. But a guy I work with has done the big drop A. Good luck getting a nice low action + NO buzz!

It's normally the problem, a young guy who wants to be tougher then Zack Wyldd.

I mean this guy is tryig to do a lower than baritone tuning on a 25.5

Naw, I don't like to send anything out that I don't agree with. I mean it will be impossible to intonate, and deano's right: action will be able to drive a truch thru. I suspect that this kid (I haven't heard him play but I have my suspicions) is trying to dig the tuff sound out of his guitar by detuning rather than by playing.

Anyhow I think I'll fix it up to drop C with Zack Wylde Boomers and he can detune it as he likes. It needs replacement saddles, a new nut, fret job and - no doubt - a good trussrod adjustment. It'll cost him $250 with graphtech saddles and nut - assuming it doesn't need anything else. That should sober his aspirations to dropping to A.

Then I'll talk him into commissioning a 28.5 " baritone, or a 7 string... he he he aint I evil...

Does he want the Heavy gauge strings? You can get away with the Boomers 11-50 in drop C. I often do this setup.

Looks like he's in for the works.

Maybe a little tute on how you do your setups? Im always interested in how people go about setting up guitars. Just food for thought :P

Originally Posted by Deano

Maybe a little tute on how you do your setups? Im always interested in how people go about setting up guitars. Just food for thought :P

sounds good to me....

I prefer to get the tension as close to normal as possible, so I tend to try and use the D'addario string tension guide to find the right size and gauge for the tuning. I can probably come back a bit as its a wizard 2 neck and it will flex a little more readily. If I set up with heavy gauge strings he can downtune to his hearts content and wear the crappy action and the buzz. I dont like things to leave me in less than playable condition.

Undoubtedly this will constitute me "not knowin' nuthin'" but I will stick to my guns. He probably wants to play Meshuggah or something of that ilk.

Artreu (or how ever you spell it) tune to drop C apparently and I figure that will be my justification.

I suggest some rope with barbed wire around it for that real genuine cutting sound.!!!!

I play my rg in dropped c.. it has gone to drop a and sounded OK....not great but playable..my strings are ernie balls..12 to 58 i think.. action is great and no buzz at all

I just worry about the intonation, as the string gets larger, the longer the intonation. The longer the intonation, the greater the variation in tuning in each fret.

Still, if my suspicions are correct this kid probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway. I don't know.

I gotta ring him tomorrow (axe came to me thru the local music shop) and I'll see if he's on the ball or not

I have enough trouble with standard tuning without throwing alternative tunings into the mix......

Go for it Mongrel, you could become Famous.
Cheers Bob,

Originally Posted by GhostGuitarist

I suggest some rope with barbed wire around it for that real genuine cutting sound.!!!!

Yep, preferably around the neck of Mongrel's client

gotta be nice to the paying clients, they always know WAY more than I do - I guess thats why they send their guitars to me...now hold on a minute, how does that work again....