[mcA896]

i have been playing for about a year now...i like playing heavy stuff such as hatebreed and slipknot, but i cannot tune my guitar as they do. in the song live for this by hatebreed the tuning is CGCFAD. would i tune the other 5 strings off low E and then get the low E to C? i know that my tuner cannot do this sort of thing.

 

[Enginerd A2]

You're describing Drop C tuning aka Drop D tuned down one whole step. I don't have a guitar in front of me, but I think one way would be to tune the eight fret of the low E to the A string (of just tune it to A with the tuner, I suppose you could also tune the third fret to E). This would drop the lowest string to C. Tune the A string to the 6th fret of the E (now low C) string. Tune the rest of the guitar to the fifth fret of the prior string (except the 5th string, B, which is tuned to the fourth fret of the G string). You dig? I think that's right, but again I don't have a guitar in front of me. OR you can buy a chromatic tuner. Also, be aware your strings will feel like dental floss tuned that low (floppy and loose), unless you have relatively heavy gauge strings - like 13's maybe? Probably some more serious guitar player will chime in and say your intonation will be off, also, but if you're anything like me it already is.

 

[Enginerd A2]

Disclaimer: there's probably an easier way to do it, i.e. tune to drop D and then tune everything down a step, but you have to be able to tune your guitar to itself. Otherwise, get a chromatic tuner. If you can tune to drop D and play the bridge pickup through lots o' gain, you qualify to be in my band. I'm not good.

 

[BUCKET]

PM or wait for sirknight6 to find this thread, he'll hook you up.

 

[urbaindk]

I second Enginerd A2. You need a chromatic tuner and some really thick strings otherwise you'll be playing with noodlie strings. If you don't have a chromatic tuner, tune the D and A strings with the tuner and tune the rest of the guitar to those. (and get a bass amp - woof woof)

I love alternate tunings. So much fun to mess with. Expand your horizons and get some Sonic Youth records and old slide blues guitar stuff such as Robert Johnson and have yourself a time.

 

[bluebug32]

I agree. Start at dropped D and then work your way down. What kind of tuner do you have? It might be worth it to invest in one that can do strange tunings in a snap, since that's what you play the most. Isn't it fun having 2 expensive hobbies?

 

[Zark]

Get the thickest strings you can find. At that tuning a regular set will be flapping in the wind. And a chromatic tuner.

Your other option would be an Eventide harmonizer and doing regular dropped D. The harmonizer can drop you a whole octave or more.

Are you trying this on a fixed bridge or a tremolo equipped guitar? tremelo's make changing tuning a royal PIA.

 

[H8R]

Get the thickest strings you can find. At that tuning a regular set will be flapping in the wind. And a chromatic tuner.

Your other option would be an Eventide harmonizer and doing regular dropped D. The harmonizer can drop you a whole octave or more.

What, has this kid got money to burn??

 

[Zark]

All right, maybe not the thickest, but stepping it up to 10g set would help.
You can 'kinda' get away with your typical 9g string set, but they feel pretty floppy tuning down 2-2+ steps.

What, has this kid got money to burn??

I dunno, maybe he has $2g's burning a hole in his wallet. Bwahahaha, I know they are bank. I've always wanted to play with one.

 

[MMike]

??? 10's aren't exactly fat...

 

[pnj]

wouldn't a pitch shifter do something along those lines?

tune down to D then us a pitchshifter to go lower?

 

[S.K.C.]

... I've got a re-issue of the mid-80's Digitech Whammy pedal.

You can drop the entire pitch of the guitar down a whole octave, but because it doesn't have the sexy and expensive innards of an Eventide (Zark ) it tends to glitch a bit when tracking...

It works really well for all that Tom Morello type stuff, and if you like the harmonized Queen vibe - it does that too...

 

[pnj]

I have an Elisis Quadraverb. it's a rack mount thing and I don't have the foot pedals so using it kind of sucks. infact, I never use it. but it has pitchshifting built in. you can go up or down two octives, I think....

 

[Enginerd A2]

What, has this kid got money to burn??

Tuned down PRS Custom 24: $3000
Hot EMG or Seymour Duncan Bridge Pickup: $150
Cranked Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier: $2000
Numetallimpbizkitlinkinparkdisturbed Guitar Sound: $Worthless$

Kidding! Well, sort of.

 

[MMike]

Numetallimpbizkitlinkinparkdisturbed Guitar Sound: $Worthless$

I'd say that's pretty accurate!

 

[Enginerd A2]

Yeah, I bag on it, but I'd love to have a Mesa. Any Mesa, really.

I also don't consider the tones in question bad, they've just been done to death. Oh, derailment here we go.