12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

[GuitarStv]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

so much of it comes down to personal preference and what you are trying to do. there are guys out there that bend the **** out of 13's on a tele in standard tuning and guys that cant bend 10's in tune on a les paul. i put 11s on everything (electrics anyway) and always play in standard tuning unless im doing a specific song in an open tuning. i can get by on 10s and could make it through a gig on 12s but 11s feel right to me. if 9s on a lp feel good, then use em. same with 13s, if you like em then use em.

+1


Different string guages sound slightly different, but they can feel wildly different to play. Being able to play well enough to connect with your instrument is worth way more than any tonal fact . . . because if your playing is crap it doesn't matter what tone you're getting. Use the strings that you find comfortable.

 

[Aceman]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

My issue isn't the feel or the tuning. It's that he's changing from C# to E with some frequency.

You can change a half step or a string gauge usually with no problem.

But both going from E with 10's to say Eb with 9's, you'll most likely see/feel a noticeable difference.

From C# to E - same deal likely, whatever gauge.

 

[jeremy]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

i would never be happy with the same set going from e to c#, way too much difference. when i had a d standard tuned guitar it had 13's, tried 12s for a while but liked the bigger ones better.

 

[OKC]

12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

I agree. I don’t even play the same songs or use the same pic on different strings. on my E flat guitar I use 9-42 and use a jazz pic. on my drop C guitar I use a light top heavy bottom and use a tortex green pic. Completely different songs. Then I have a Martin and I use whatever it calls for with a light pick for chords and a jazz pic for articulated chords.


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[dave74]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

12-56 at E would feel like a bass to me.

 

[Lunatic_Guardian]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

Listen to Ace, you will be wrecking you guitar's neck.
Long term maybe get another guitar to have different tunings, short term the idea of a drop tune pedal is great.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

If tuning all over the place with a single set of strings was gonna cause problems, people who dive bomb with Floyds would have necks exploding constantly.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

Listen to Ace, you will be wrecking you guitar's neck.
Long term maybe get another guitar to have different tunings, short term the idea of a drop tune pedal is great.

It won’t hurt the guitar neck. Necks have a truss rod to counter the strings’ tension.

If you put heavier (higher tension) strings on the guitar at standard pitch you will have to adjust the rod tighter. But if you then tune down to C or something, you will probably have to loosen the rod back to wear it was for lighter gauge at standard pitch.

So nothing will get hurt as long as you set the guitar up. If you’re doing drastic tubings on the same guitar that gets to be inconvenient. So people set up different guitars for different tunings.

But you can tune a standard guitar in DADGAD or something with no problems.

The worst that can happen is your truss rod isn’t adjusted right, and either you have up bow and high action, or it will back bow and fret out.

Today I was setting up a Jazz Bass to play tuned down to C#. I only had to put medium gauge strings on and adjust the truss rod to get the neck straight. Then set the intonation after I adjusted the action.

What hurts a neck is putting on heavy strings and allowing it to upbow for prolonged periods of time.


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[GuitarStv]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

If tuning all over the place with a single set of strings was gonna cause problems, people who dive bomb with Floyds would have necks exploding constantly.

I use a Floyd on a guitar with 11s. My guitar hasn't exploded in the past ten years . . . but from the responses in this thread, it's a ticking time bomb!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

It's not a time bomb. Necks can handle it. It'll just give you screwed up intonation and relief in one tuning or the other, and either very tight tuning or very loose tuning in one of the tunings (depending on which tuning the guitar is optimized for). For this reason alone, I'd get a second guitar for one of the tunings. Sour intonation is a total deal killer IMO.

 

[OKC]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

If tuning all over the place with a single set of strings was gonna cause problems, people who dive bomb with Floyds would have necks exploding constantly.

People who have Floyd’s would never tune their guitar up and down with these drastic changes.


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[Lewguitar]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

I use a set like that on all of my acoustic guitars. And a set like that on my slide guitars: one a Tele and the other a Strat.

In the 40's, 50's and 60's, before white people were playing the blues and bending strings, sets like that were the NORM.

Often they were flatwound too!

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

I prefer 0,11-49's on my Epiphone Wildkat. 009's on strat's I've had.

The 0,11's makes the guitars sound thicker, heavier, but still able to bend.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

People who have Floyd’s would never tune their guitar up and down with these drastic changes

I was referring to removing all the tension and immediately putting it back, which is what happens when you divebomb a trem.

 

[OKC]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

I was referring to removing all the tension and immediately putting it back, which is what happens when you divebomb a trem.

Like taking all the strings off and cleaning the fretboard?


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[GuitarStv]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

Like taking all the strings off and cleaning the fretboard?


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If you can take the strings off, clean the fretboard, and then tune back up in the time it takes to divebomb . . . my hat's off to you sir!

 

[OKC]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

If you can take the strings off, clean the fretboard, and then tune back up in the time it takes to divebomb . . . my hat's off to you sir!

Could you imagine the set-up on a guitar like OP posted? I just had my guitar plek’d and I’m still thinking there is room for improvement. I can’t remember exactly but the truss rod adjustment is like 1/4 of a turn every 24 hours isn’t it? It sounds like a recipe for a guitar that isn’t going to be good in any tuning.


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[weepingminotaur]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

Just get a second budget guitar for E standard. Crazy to go from C to E and back again.

 

[Aceman]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

It won’t hurt the guitar neck. Necks have a truss rod to counter the strings’ tension.

I'm not saying you can't do it. The neck and truss can almost certainly be adjusted to whatever gauge/tuning you like.

What I'm saying is that it is a) Not gonna sound right if you just change the tuning from C# to E to D to Db.
- Intonation will be all over the place
- So will the action

And, if you want it "Set up" in between songs, you might be doing that day to day, or week to week.
- Adjusting the truss and intonation will be a huge PITA that often

And - forgot this one but true: Jacking the tension around that much that often CAN (I didn't say would) ruin the neck
- Possibility of excessive warping, lose / raised frets, etc. or worse eventually
- Depends on the guitar and the neck and the truss. Cheap guitar...maybe not so good.
- I have seen a neck blow from a dive bomb whammy guy before! Cheap neck/rod? Probably...

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: 12-56 Strings in Standard E tuning?

If your neck explodes from whammy use, you can safely walk away from the gig as a living legend.