Which guitar do you down tune?

[alex1fly]

Who all has a guitar dedicated to lower tunings? How'd decide which one to go low with? Any tips/advice for converting a regular 'ol standard tuned guitar to D or C standard?

I've enjoyed my SG in D standard and my Strat in Eb standard. Didn't really put thought into it though and just tuned down my .10s. Lately been thinking it'd be cool to have a guitar down there more or less permanently, get thicker strings, etc.

 

[PFDarkside]

I’ve got an EMG loaded Superstrat (Mike’s Clone) in Drop C. It’s got heavy strings and a hardtail so it’ll do down to C standard too.

Also I keep a Strat in Eb, floating.

 

[ICTGoober]

Ibanez GAX-50 loaded with Lace Sensors, tuned down to C with heavy strings.

 

[jeremy]

i had a strat tuned to d for years. hardtail, fat neck, heavy strings, vintage output pups. sounded fantastic!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

My Falbo 8 string is in standard tuning, but has low B and F# strings.

Spent a good bit of today working on stuff around the house listening to Extreme’s Waiting For The Punchline and the last live Van Halen, both 1/2 step low. Coincidentally, when I was messing with my PRS 305 last night, I tuned it to Eb, and it sounds better than standard. Probably gonna leave it that way, at least for now.

I tuned at least a half step down for decades, but have moved back to standard. Every time I try out Eb, it feels like home.

 

[Jeffblue]

I have a guitar (a brass top) that I built especially dedicated for playing in Open D tuning (or Open E) for slide.

 

[Mincer]

I have a Variax Acoustic that can store different digital tunings. I have a few that are weird, downtuned, and droney.

 

[dave74]

Friends don't let friends tune to E-standard. My answer to the OP,,,,,,all of them.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

All my guitars are tuned to Eb. That's as high/low as I'll go.

 

[JamesPaul]

I have three Les Pauls for gigs. One is in standard tuning, one is Eb and one is drop D. Everything else is in standard tuning.

 

[GuitarStv]

Never really down tuned a guitar. If I want low sounds my bass works better for that. I've toyed around occasionally with open G, D, and E for slide playing. Other than that (and the occasional drop D) all my stuff is E standard.

 

[jeremy]

i had that guitar in d std cause i was playing in a blues/rock trio. detuning made things sound fatter but also it was better vocally for all three of us so worked out great

 

[Clint 55]

All my guitars are in D standard. I prefer the fatter tone. Any lower, it starts to sound like a baritone guitar imo. I learned all the notes to convert to that tuning.

 

[JamesPaul]

All my guitars are in D standard. I prefer the fatter tone. Any lower, it starts to sound like a baritone guitar imo. I learned all the notes to convert to that tuning.

So you tune them down to D, but actually play up one step?

 

[Clint 55]

So you tune them down to D, but actually play up one step?

Yeah, I move the fingerings up 2 frets to be playing in concert pitch whether improvising or playing a tune.

 

[LLL]

A=440Hz for all my guitars, except my mutt strat which is Eb.

Big fan of concert pitch.

Eb is easier to play because the strings have less tension and therefore a crutch of sorts; I try not to get hooked into constantly playing it.

 

[LLL]

Extreme's Waiting For The Punchline

That's a great album with a great raw guitar tone.

 

[jeremy]

i put 13s on the d std guitar so it wasnt much different than 11s in std other than the wound g

 

[JamesPaul]

Yeah, I move the fingerings up 2 frets to be playing in concert pitch whether improvising or playing a tune.

Interesting, as we are always tuning down to make it easier on the vocals.

 

[jeremy]

clints vocal range is such that he doesnt need to tune down for those reasons