Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

[strat_master]

Hi Guys,

It seems i have delevoped the habit of tuning my guitars to eb all the time (half a step down) I was wondering because at time si will have to retune up to standard tuning, does this damage my guitars switching tuning all the time or leaving it in one for a long period of time? SAy i tune to eb more often would my guitar require a set up change in the neck or anything? hwat about for even lower tunings? or alternate tunings like open tunings?

Thanks for the help and advice guys

Jason

 

[strat_master]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

Oh and one mroe thing, im talking about acoustic guitars and electric guitars (i own a cheap acoutsic and a strat)

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

I don't see any problem with that - as long as your neck has a truss rod, which it most-likely does. You might be adjusting your truss rod alot, though.

If you're not familiar with David Wilcox, you should check him out. He is sort of a master of alternate tunings. He tunes up and down and all over using one guitar. Does it live.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

If you change your tuning or gauge, you've got to check the intonation.
Personally, I think 11's in Eb tuning have the best tone, but you've got to adjust your guitar, no matter what the strings and setup are.

 

[bryvincent]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

don't worry jason. retuning won't damage your guitars. think of this, using the tremolo specially floyd rose (dive bombing) is worse than that.

 

[mongrollo]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

It can be very damaging in acoustics. A friend of mine change tuning from standard to DADGAD and the neck got twisted. But if you change the pitch of all the string at once I don't think there'll be any problem.

 

[strat_master]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

hmmm well i tend to tune down to eb alot, but i never bother to adjust the trus rod in neither my strat or acoustic. i hope it doesnt warp the neck, as i have no knowledge how to proerly adjust a neck.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

I've been tuning my Ibanez all over the place, and have even had my strat in E, Eb, D, Db, drop D, drop Db, and drop C.

Nothing has ever gone wrong with my cheap MIM strat so I'm sure it's fine.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

I've never had a problem with switching back and forth. You shouldn't either. Steinberger even made a Trem device that let you store up multiple tunings, so they apparently anticipated that need on occasion.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

how do you store multiple tunings?

 

[MattPete]

Re: Tuning and Damaging Your Guitar?

The Steinberger trans trem is what he's talking about. I thought it would change the key, but not the tuning, but I've never played with one, so I'll assume he's right.

The Hipshot Trilogy also allows you to change tunings on the fly.