Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

[metal]

well I just got a black Schecter hellraiser hardtail with EMG's and I wanna tune to C I believe it came with 9's , I dont want the strings to be all losse and I dont want them too hard, lets say want the same feeling as 9's tune to standard? I love the way d addario feel! any players with experience in this matter ? thanks alot in advance! BTW excuse my stupidity but how do you tune to C? or drop C? whats the difference between the 2? I wanna play the kick ass riffs from killswitch engage! thanks!

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I'd say at least 11's. Drop C is tuned by tuning everything down two steps (to D) and then dropping the E string down two more steps to C. C tuning is tuning everything down 4 steps.

 

[metal]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I'd say at least 11's. Drop C is tuned by tuning everything down two steps (to D) and then dropping the E string down two more steps to C. C tuning is tuning everything down 4 steps.

what do you mean by steps? i always tune to drop d (standard with the low E tp D) thanks!

 

[sufferinrewind]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I think he meant 2 whole steps. E down to C is 2 whole steps. 4 half steps. From E you go through Eb, D, Db, and finally C. From E to Eb is a half step. From E to D is a whole step.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I call steps frets, notes, whatever....lol. I'm not much of a theory kind of guy. I just plug in, turn it up, and play

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Start out with 10-52, and see if those have enough tension. Ernie Ball's 11-54 set is pretty good, too.

 

[sufferinrewind]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I can tell you now 10s don't really have enough tension. Very slinky. I'd go for 11s or 12s.

 

[taphappy]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I think hellraisers come with 10's. The 2 I played at guitar center both did.

 

[ishoulddie]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Probably depends a lot on the guitar, and especially the scale length. On my SG, i'm using .011-.056 strings for drop C. For standard C i used to use .013-.056. But on my Mockingbird, which has a 25.5" scale, i'm using .010-.052 for drop C, so i'd probably use .011s or maybe .012s for standard C.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I can tell you now 10s don't really have enough tension. Very slinky.

Tony Iommi tuned to C# with a set that went something like 9,9,12,20,30,40. Lotsa people think low tunings require heavy strings, and it's just not true.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

For drop C ....C G C F A D and 25" scale I use 13's. I've got a heavy hand though.

 

[cream123]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

i used some .013's for my qotsa stuff (std C) but now i use 11's. both are fine. i found that the 13's were just to thick for the pickup. or something like that. i switched back to 11s and found it so much....better....sounding. i would go any lower than 11. but i don't like anything lower than 10s in std so.....

 

[Diego]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Tony Iommi tuned to C# with a set that went something like 9,9,12,20,30,40. Lotsa people think low tunings require heavy strings, and it's just not true.

Don't mean to be a d1ck with the thread starter, but usually controlling slinky strings with low tunings requires a lot of practice, precision and a very controlled pick attack, something you wouldn't expect from a beginner... hell, sometimes I broke PICKS back in the day and not strings!

So while what you're saying is very true, I think that for this kid heavier strings would be better.

 

[sufferinrewind]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Tony Iommi tuned to C# with a set that went something like 9,9,12,20,30,40. Lotsa people think low tunings require heavy strings, and it's just not true.

I have 10s on my guitar and I've tuned down to C with it on a few occasions. The feel is extremely slinky. If you like that kinda feel, that's great. But, he said he wanted the same feel as 9s tuned to standard. 10s on a guitar tuned to C is way slinkier than 9s on a guitar that's tuned to E.

I never said that heavy strings were requiered.

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Tony Iommi tuned to C# with a set that went something like 9,9,12,20,30,40. Lotsa people think low tunings require heavy strings, and it's just not true.

It depends wholly on preference. I've got my V in drop-C with 12-58 right now and it's kinda tight in the high registers but works fine.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I use 13-60 in D already, and if I tuned down to true C I´d probably use like 14-66 or something.

Then again, I play 12-52 in standard tuning, so YMMV

 

[El Dorado]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

On a 25 1/2" scale length I use D'addario 10.5's with a 52 or 53 for the low E when I tune to D or Drop C. It sounds nice and chunky, but still allows for easy bending and fast playing. For C I would probably use 11's with maybe a 54 for the low E.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I use .13 to .56 in C standard. With a wound G.

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

I managed drop C with some Fender 12-56s (I think, it could have been 52). I would have prefered the strings to be a tad flubbier though. 11s would have been better I think.

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Whats the perfect gauge to tune to C?

Drop C is just Drup D a whole step down, i.e. what Jolly was referring to as steps, or "half steps". I use a Korg GA30 tuner, they're $20 everywhere here, and you can tune five steps flat with it, or five "half steps", so if you were to tune to Drop D, you'd tune everything regular, and the Low E string two half steps down, to D. For Drop C, you'd tune the top 5 strings two half steps down, and the Low E string four half steps down, to C, so if you were using a chromatic tuner, it'd be CGCFAD, instead of DADGBE. As for string guage, that depends on the scale lenght of the instrument, and how tight/loose you like your strings to feel. I like mine to feel loose enough to where I can get that low end "chug", but not loose to the point where they flop around or you lose control, and not tight to the point where you start to loose the "oomph", or the "jun jun jun" as my drummer refers to it!:laugh2: I use 10-52's in Drop C with great results, and 10-46's for D standard, Drop D, and E standard. And KSE is a great band to start with, especially for getting a bearing on your rythm chops, I pretty much learned to play metal off of Alive or Just Breathing. Good luck bro!