To downtune or to not downtune? (clarity issues)

[liquidsmoke]

Magic is everywhere, maaaan.

[Pissy]

We don't really downtune.  A few songs are in dropped D, but that's it.  It mainly has to do with getting more out of the key for the songs we're in than getting low down.

One song LordFinesse tunes up a half step for some reason.  He explained this to one of our local buddies, and his response was ...  " wait, you tune .....up?

Again, that's all about gaining access to certain notes as he's a bit of a chord hound.  His style is very much soloist only with chords rather than tweedling.

[RAGER]

^^I remember the first time this dawned on me about 20 years ago.  I was in the process of writing a song in f and i wanted a lower open note to ring out while i was picking other strings so I thought fuck it I'll tune up my E string.  Derp.  main reason I tune down is to accommodate my vocal range.

[eyeprod]

^^ same here. vocal range.

I also like the extra snarl I get from tuning down a step. On the other hand, there are times I miss the bite of standard tuning.

[fallen]

New trend.

I play 7s and uptune to high A standard or up B.

[eyeprod]

I don't know if tuning up is good idea. The extra tension could very well fuck up your guitar.

[Lumpy]

Uptuning is the new downtuning.

[Mr. Foxen]

I don't know if tuning up is good idea. The extra tension could very well fuck up your guitar.

No more that going to a heavier gauge in standard. More string breakage is the main downside, since they are put on teh wrong side of their design limitations. Whenever you change tuning or gauge setup should be adjusted accordingly.

[The Bandit]

I only know how to play in standard tuning... 

[Chovie D]

I only know how to play in standard tuning... 

you should give some other tunings a try.

[Lumpy]

Put on a Sonic Youth album and go nuts (I only play guitar in standard tuning too, and really badly).

[fallen]

On a serious note I almost always use alternate tunings that leave the top 4 strings untouched for lead purposes but there are some real good ideas that can come from the idea of tuning higher strings standard or up and then drop tuning lower strings to put a much larger spectrum of notes available within 2 or 3 fret chord shapes.

The place I've been trying this idea is on lap steel where I will drop an 8 string tuning onto a 6 string, just skipping some of the duplicate notes. The same thing could be done transposing a tuning from an 8 string guitar that would be tuned down to drop E up to E. On an 8 it would look like E - B - E - A - D - G - B - E. Transposed to a 6 it could be E - B - A - D - B - E and then transposed up to use smaller strings if you don't want a 100 gauge string on the bass E. Something like A - E - D - G - E - A, starting from a .62 or bigger string on the low A up to a 7 on the high A.

The chords you could get out of a crazy tuning like that could be really nice. Might try that on one of my guitars once I can pick up a light enough string for the high A.

[spookstrickland]

I actually would like to get a 3/4 scale guitar tune it to an octave above a regular guitar and do some cool octave unison solos.

[eoin_not_ian]

I once had a band that played in drop e flat, which involved tuning up and down at the same time. I have no idea why the hell why we decided to do this.

[eyeprod]

I don't know if tuning up is good idea. The extra tension could very well fuck up your guitar.

No more that going to a heavier gauge in standard. More string breakage is the main downside, since they are put on teh wrong side of their design limitations. Whenever you change tuning or gauge setup should be adjusted accordingly.

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. A guitar is designed to handle a certain range of tension.  Running heavier gauge strings is a totally different thing than tuning up to A standard (which sounds completely retarded imo). The slight adjustments I make to my guitars when I downtune is based strictly on intonation. There is no need for anything more than a turn of a screw at the bridge.

You tune the thing up to something extreme and there will be much more that needs to happen than running 7's and adjusting intonation. You'll be stressing the neck and twisting the fuck out of that truss rod to compensate. Bad idea. Why is it suggested that you detune your strings when storing a guitar? To relieve stress on the neck.

Anyway, why would anyone follow a trend on guitar? The tried and true is where it's at, and I thought this board was all about that. pfft, A standard.  WHY?

[liquidsmoke]

Thin strings and a truss rod adjustment if it needs it

[Mr. Foxen]

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. A guitar is designed to handle a certain range of tension.  Running heavier gauge strings is a totally different thing than tuning up to A standard (which sounds completely retarded imo). The slight adjustments I make to my guitars when I downtune is based strictly on intonation. There is no need for anything more than a turn of a screw at the bridge.

You tune the thing up to something extreme and there will be much more that needs to happen than running 7's and adjusting intonation. You'll be stressing the neck and twisting the fuck out of that truss rod to compensate. Bad idea. Why is it suggested that you detune your strings when storing a guitar? To relieve stress on the neck.

Anyway, why would anyone follow a trend on guitar? The tried and true is where it's at, and I thought this board was all about that. pfft, A standard.  WHY?

If your guitar breaks before your strings, the guitar was broken or shit to start with, ditto with the truss rod not having a large enough range of adjustment. The design tolerances of a guitar aren't nearly fine enough that it was designed for a specific range. When Fender set the standards, heavier strings were in general use too, by today's standards. Suggesting people slacken their strings when storing guitars is pretty much easier than suggesting people not buy such shitty guitars. When shipping them, it might be a useful tip.

[taylo)))r]

My band uses the whole dropped C tuning, and we have songs with the bottom string dropped to A, while everything else stays in dropped C. If you don't have your guitar set up right, and use a heavier gauge string, shit can sound really bad. I like the lower tuning for my vocal range, and it sounds sweet if you are properly set up too.

I echo a lot of the sentiment here though, heavy is heavy, regardless of tuning.

[Chovie D]

I actually would like to get a 3/4 scale guitar tune it to an octave above a regular guitar and do some cool octave unison solos.

uptuning already exists. Its called the nashville tuning. Top four string are an octave higher than normal, other two (thinest) strings are normal. Used mainly in the studio on acoustic guitars.

Theres not much to relearn to play in downtuning...just bar instead of powerchord and avoid that low e string when soloing.
(Ill usually track solos in standard tuning, even over downtuned songs for that reason). every guitarist should be able to play in downtuned mode without too much adjustment...

Other than that and standard I would highly suggest giving open G a try. alot of stones and zeppelin will make much more sense.
Thats a really fun tuning.  I  could play "Start Me Up" all day long.

[mutantcolors]

Devin Townsend plays in open B and he aint exactly a guitar slouch.

[peyotepeddler]

I actually would like to get a 3/4 scale guitar tune it to an octave above a regular guitar and do some cool octave unison solos.

uptuning already exists. Its called the nashville tuning. Top four string are an octave higher than normal, other two (thinest) strings are normal. Used mainly in the studio on acoustic guitars.

Theres not much to relearn to play in downtuning...just bar instead of powerchord and avoid that low e string when soloing.
(Ill usually track solos in standard tuning, even over downtuned songs for that reason). every guitarist should be able to play in downtuned mode without too much adjustment...

Other than that and standard I would highly suggest giving open G a try. alot of stones and zeppelin will make much more sense.
Thats a really fun tuning.  I  could play "Start Me Up" all day long.

yes sir, first heard of that tuning when learning alice in chains "stay away", nifty indeed!

[Barnhard]

Clarity, especially in multiple guitar bands is often a frequency problem. True, thicker strings are a good help, and help maintain the feel of your instrument (similar tension to standard tuning). I always have an eq of some kind on my board. Try cutting out 200hz and 400hz on the guitars and removing EVERYTHING below 100hz. That'll open up the frequency spectrum for your drummer's kick and for the bass guitar.