A quick question about drop B tuning

[Ben Thorpe]

Just wondering, if I made the necessary modifications to go down to drop B tuning (thicker strings, new nut etc.), can I still go to standard E tuning? I just don’t want to modify my Pacifica for drop B tuning, then try to go back to standard E tuning and it rips the bridge off or something! Cheers!

 

[Noah Berends]

Thicker strings brought up to standard are *very* high tension. You’ll find things like bends harder. As far as a nut goes, it might be a bit loose depending on how much of an increase in size it is. An alternate route is using a pedal that alters your tuning, I’ve used Digitech’s Drop for a little over a year now and it works great. It digitally alters your sound to put your guitar in lower tunings, no latency or delay. It’s very handy especially for live shows where you only have one guitar or for Floyd Rose guitars where retuning becomes an afternoon project.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

It depends on what string gauges you are going to use. I once used 11-48 and it worked perfectly for Drop C but if I tuned it to E standard it still worked great but my fingers almost fell off cause it’s not that easy to bend anymore.

 

[Jake Young]

Unless you’re playing live shows with a lot of songs in that tuning..I wouldn’t really worry about modifying your guitar just to get down to drop B. Especially if you also plan on using the same guitar for standard and everything in between. A set of 10s will do fine. Unless you just absolutely hate the “slinky” feel/sound of the strings when tuned low. If you really want to take the modify route, I’d plan on staying in the lower range of tunings or your guitar won’t be very comfortable to play. Another note that could be a whole different subject in itself is intonation. If a guitar is set up in a specific tuning, there may be a few notes that sound just a bit off when you change to anything other than what you were in when it was set up. But like my first statement..if you’re not doing live shows..you’ll be alright either way!

 

[Richard O'connor]

Why not try just dropping the E string down to B? The way Mark tremonti does on songs like come to life and farther than the Sun. You can still do those heavy chunky riffs and keep the other strings in standard that way. I quite like doing it this way.

 

[Tory Capman]

I’ve found it more productive to just invest in more guitars and try to keep each one at its own tuning. Not every guitar has to be your best high-end model. Maybe have one or two of those for the tunings you use most. But I’ve got a guitar only for drop C/D standard tuning. I’ve got one a half step down from standard, and I’d like to get one for drop B tuning as well. I find Ibanez makes more affordable guitars that are pretty good quality on the low end. That’s what’s best for the guitars/strings too, rather than switching the tuning all the time