Tuning your guitar 1 octave down.

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Vagodeoz said:
I tune it like that too, except that my lower D I take it even lower to make it a C. You can play riffs and chords easier and you can go all the way down to a C chord.

Or grab some bass strings and plug them in.... if you can...
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Thats pretty much taking a drop d guitar(just having the low e be a d), and lowering everything down a note...drop d makes it easier to do power chords, since your turning them into bar chords..sorta.
 
Unsprung said:
I've got my Fender So Cal Speed Shop Strat tuned C - C, strung with .12's. No problem with slack, and it growls and snarls like it's supposed to, for being tuned that low.

Matt
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I run my Strat in B most of the time on "heavy bottom, light top" type strings without any real problems. I actually prefer heavier strings when tuned that low, but it is my only electric at the moment and these strings let me bring it back up to E when I'm not is a metal mood.
 
I'm of the 1/2 step down persuasion myself. I use Boomer 11's because I get some nice tension. I like my strings kind of stiff.
 
I tried this a long time ago for a recording I did, but with another kind of purpose in mind.

With the strings tuned down an entire octave on my Fender Strat with scalloped neck I could manage to get a sound close to what a sitar would be, but that was mostly because of the scalloped neck. Chords woudl sound like crap, but it worked for single note lines and 2-string riffs. It helps if you play some kind of middle eastern melody :D

Run it clean, with no bass, mids and treble all the way up, and a bit of flange and you'll be praying to Ganesha in no time :p
 
take the string outta the package, unravel them, and strum now its down an octave. notes being, EADGBE :D
 
tune it down an octave, put the capo on the 12th fret. Step 2 should cancel out step 1. after that start playing staiway to heaven on the 17th fret.
 
Everyones got a spot on the amateur hour @ the comedy club.
 
tom18222 said:
i honestly think the strings would be too loose to even render a note. but down a whole step would be tuned to standard D.
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I would suspect this to be the case. Try tuning down a whole step instead, and see if you like the sound. Never done it myself, but it would probably yield interesting results.
 
Personal experience here, you CAN tune down an octave. The guitar in question was a Schecter C7 Blackjack, a seven string with a 26.5" scalestrung up with Elixir 10-68's.

low E (only a 4th below standard 7-string tuning, and on a guitar with a scale an inch longer than normal) WAS pretty loose, but it was playable. It was an absolute blast, too, if you grabbed a pinch harmonic and threw some wide vibrato on it, well, I couldn't stop cackling like a schoolgirl on LSD while I was grooving away. Instannt Meshuggah.

I retuned to standard an hour later, but if you want to go that low, it's workable. Just, go easy on the gain, and dial up a fairly bright tone or your guitar will turn to mud.

I recorded some clips, I should try to dig them up...
 
detuning

I've been getting into this a lot lately after listening to way too much Peter Mulvey.
I learned a couple of his tunes, and one of my favorite ones to play is his cover of Paul Simons "Stranded in a Limosine" where he plays with the capo on 1-5 with the E string tuned down all the way to a low A.


My next favorite tuning is Open G, with a Drop C.

And I've just written a tune in another tuning that I ripped off of mulvey with 1-5 tuned down a full step, capo on 1-5 on the fifth fret, and the E string tuned down to G#.

You could say just put the capo on 3.. but even though the notes are the same.. theres a noticable difference in the tone. It's very percussive because the strings are loose enough to "snap" on the fretboard in a very pleasant and musical way.

Nothing against standard tuning, but the really low notes are an exellent compliment to his voice, and mine, and it's a guarenteed head turner when playing live. I like to play the "guess the tuning" game with the audience... you'd be suprised how many people only guess "drop d"

As far as writing and playing... unless you're a music theory expert, it forces you to play by feeling rather than intellect.

And... I think this is a "record" for the amount of times I've "encapsulated" words in "quotes" in one post.

P.S. I'm an acoustic player, I don't know how well these tunings would work with an electric.
 
muttley600 said:
So did you tune down an octave or a fourth?
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I tuned to an E an octave below standard for a six, which happens to be a 4th below the B which is "standard" for a seven.

I mean, "octave" is a relative measure here, so it depends what you want to call your starting point, but if you're talking about E standard, then yes I've tuned an octave below that before.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I tuned to an E an octave below standard for a six, which happens to be a 4th below the B which is "standard" for a seven.

I mean, "octave" is a relative measure here, so it depends what you want to call your starting point, but if you're talking about E standard, then yes I've tuned an octave below that before.
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No you didn't from the sound of it you tuned your low B down to E and the rest in fourths, that is not tuning a six string standard tuning down an octave. You have tuned each string down a fourth. Unless I'm missing something about what your doing? So that is not at all the same as tuning down an octave. Do it on a 6 string and without using very heavy strings it is going to be pretty hard to get a decent balanced sound. Like I said unless I'm missing something??

To mimic the same thing on your seven string you would tune your low B or C down an octave and the E A D G B E down an octave as well. Try it.
 
muttley600 said:
No you didn't from the sound of it you tuned your low B down to E and the rest in fourths, that is not tuning a six string standard tuning down an octave. You have tuned each string down a fourth. Unless I'm missing something about what your doing? So that is not at all the same as tuning down an octave. Do it on a 6 string and without using very heavy strings it is going to be pretty hard to get a decent balanced sound. Like I said unless I'm missing something??

To mimic the same thing on your seven string you would tune your low B or C down an octave and the E A D G B E down an octave as well. Try it.
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What's the difference between using a 6 or 7string? I basically run my 6 string as if it were a 7 without the high string. I doing so I run the same gauge strings as I do when I tune up to E. With suitable strings there is no reason I couldn't go lower. The original question had to do with whether a guitar could be set up one octave lower than standard. The short answer is yes.
 
Fade said:
What's the difference between using a 6 or 7string? I basically run my 6 string as if it were a 7 without the high string. I doing so I run the same gauge strings as I do when I tune up to E. With suitable strings there is no reason I couldn't go lower. The original question had to do with whether a guitar could be set up one octave lower than standard. The short answer is yes.
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The short answer is no you can't or not very successfully. Because if you tune you seven string down an octave you tune it from

B or C
E
A
D
G
B
E

to, yes you guessed it

B or C
E
A
D
G
B
E

Not to

E instead of B or C
A instead of E
D instead of A

etc etc. This is tuning down a fourth not tuning down an octave.

Try it. Take your seven string and tune every string down a FULL twelve frets. That is tuning down an octave. If you "run your six string as a seven without the high string" you are tuning down a fourth not an octave.

Just for the record the original question made no mention of "suitable string gauges" or whatever.
 
muttley600 said:
The short answer is no you can't or not very successfully. Because if you tune you seven string down an octave you tune it from

B or C
E
A
D
G
B
E

to, yes you guessed it

B or C
E
A
D
G
B
E

Not to

E instead of B or C
A instead of E
D instead of A

etc etc. This is tuning down a fourth not tuning down an octave.

Try it. Take your seven string and tune every string down a FULL twelve frets. That is tuning down an octave. If you "run your six string as a seven without the high string" you are tuning down a fourth not an octave.

Just for the record the original question made no mention of "suitable string gauges" or whatever.
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Ditto ...... you're not coming anywhere near tuning down an octave. As muttley points out ..... you're tuning down a 4th which is 8-1/2 steps short of an octave.
 
I used to have my strat tuned down 2 steps to C-standard, but I use heavier strings anyway. Still though, I got fed up ith it. It works well for chords, but palm muting fast and cleanly became and issue with the strings being flappy. Also playing anything on the E, A or D strings on 1 string sounded very wobbly due to the flappiness of the strings and therefore extreme sensitivity to any kind of bending. I can see how it would work for sludge metal, or something like that, but not death or thrash metal. I keep my guitar tuned down just 1 whole step now.

And the difference between and 7 string and a 6 string tuned like a 7 string is tension. The low B on a 7 string is thicker than the average E string. And so doesn't go so flappy and wobbly when tuned to E. The other main difference is that you still have your high E, whereas you wouldn't on a 6 string tuned to a 7. I generally keep my 7 string tuned down a whole step to A.
 
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