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Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

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  • Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

    A while back the high E broke on one of my guitars and I've found that I don't really use it all that much. Even when strumming an open D chord I tend to skip over the last string.

    What do you guys think about getting a new nut so that I can slide all the strings to the right one spot and toss in a low B string?

  • #2
    Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

    Go for it. More than likely, minimal filing on the existing but will accommodate the low B.

    What scale is your guitar? Just swapped the 60 on my 25.5” Ibanez RG for a 62, and I like the slightly higher tension better.
    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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    • #3
      Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

      Will it effect string spacing? Won't the low B will take up more space than the high E did?

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      • #4
        Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

        So you basically want to convert to a baritone?
        Scale length might affect the string tension on the low B.

        But honestly I’m very curious if this works for you. If it does, I may follow suit.

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        • #5
          Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

          It's on a Strat. If I decide to go this route I might actually keep the SSL-2s I already have in there and see if I can't make respectable lower gain styles of music on it.

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          • #6
            Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

            Interesting. I'd love to know how this turns out.
            Administrator of the SDUGF

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            • #7
              Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

              You could try a Chet Atkins Octobass setup to see how you like it before cutting a new nut.

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              • #8
                Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

                Nut slot and tuner hole might need work. Saddles for intonation might be at the limits of travel.

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                • #9
                  Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

                  Don't overthink this. Go buy a 7 string set, ditch the high E, and install the other strings. If you don't want to do any modification, go 12-54 or so. It will not be perfectly intonated, but anybody who plays a guitar with straight frets doesn't have perfect intonation. The tension won't be ideal, but it'll get you in the ballpark of knowing whether it's worth modifying the nut and whatnot.

                  Seriously, all the old school metal guys who tuned down to B took a set of 10s, added something like a 56, and started a new genre of music.
                  “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                  • #10
                    Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

                    Bassists do this fairly frequently, instead of using a five string. It's called BEAD.

                    On a guitar, I would probably find the jump of a third (from G to B) for only one string be hard to work with. So I would probably opt for B standard tuning (B-E-A-D-F#-B) instead of just moving everything over one and adding a low string (B-E-A-D-G-B).

                    You also might want to find a heavy gauge plain string for the D string, if you dislike the feel of the wound 3rd string.

                    You might need to fabricate shorter saddle for the low string, but maybe not.
                    Originally posted by LesStrat
                    Yogi Berra was correct.
                    Originally posted by JOLLY
                    I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

                      how you going to solo on num nutz!heres no high e

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                      • #12
                        Re: Replacing High E With Low B On 6 String?

                        ^ agree with BEADF#B. Sticking with standard intervals will help.

                        Be careful if you get into baritone tunings. Though I spent the last few years staying in standard for Eb, I just spent an hour playing my new 8 string. The low F# is somehting else.

                        EDIT-

                        RE: not being able to solo without a high E, you're only losing the highest 5 notes from the high E. If that renders you unable to solo, well...
                        Last edited by JB_From_Hell; 04-21-2019, 07:58 PM.
                        “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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