Does Drop D twist your neck

[Tristan Martinek]

Hello
I’m afraid that keeping my schecter in Drop D twist my neck.
I bought it from second hand and the guy that played it had 9-42 in E standard. When I received it, i cleaned it up and mounted my 10-46 tuned in drop D.
But should I buy a bigger gauge for my low string ? My neck is concave in my low strings and buzz, while my high strings are okay.
Moreover, I bought times ago an unbranded strat for customizing it, that already had a twisted neck but I didn’t care ’cause I want to buy a scalloped neck for this one.
But not long ago I snapped my High E and didn’t replaced it. Yesterday I looked the neck curvature and he came back almost straight !
So if the lack of tension in high strings counterbalance the lack of tension of Drop D tuning, shoud I buy a larger string for my drop D tuning ?

 

[Tristan Martinek]

If Papa Gates or Syn could see this and tell how their gears are set up, it would be incredible ^^
I got a Schecter Synyster Special

 

[idssdi]

I personally use 10-52s for drop d. In general it works like this: more tension means higher at stress means higher chance of breaking/twisting. In general tuning your guitar higher equals more tensio onn the string so more stress on your neck. A bigger string also creates more stress on your neck but you should be ok leasing your guitar in drop d since That is less tension on your tickets string than putting it in standard tuning. The physics behind this is a solid mechanics thing and I still have to pass That course so maybe I canswered give a better explanation later

 

[Kevin Welton]

If you have put thicker strings on it then the neck tension may need adjusting! If you don’t know what you are doing then it is best to take it into a shop for a setup rather than trying yourself! Adjusting the neck is a relatively easy job once you know how to do it but if done wrong it will destroy the neck and it will need replacing! it’ll end up costing more than paying a shop to adjust it for you

 

[Tristan Martinek]

Thanks Ids, I’ll check theses gauges out
Hey Kevin, it’s not about thicker strings for the whole neck, only the low string that is tuned a step lower.
According to D’addario, each string of a 10-46 set pull between 7 and 8.6 kg (15.4-19 lbs) when tuned in E standard. So if one string pull less, the neck will bend, and not from stockhead to heel, but from low string to high string, so it’s not a truss rod action.

 

[Kevin Welton]

Fair enough, but if you are having issues with the neck twisting then it would probably still be a good idea to take it to a shop, tell them what tuning you want and get them to set it up for you

 

[Christopher Lonski]

No, twisting and warping happens more because of moisture and humidity than anything else. Heavier string gauges will pull your neck forward, but thats why you have an adjustable truss rod in the neck so you can compensate for that bend. My best advice is dont give your a guitar a bath! I imagine that would not be good for it.

 

[Tristan Martinek]

These two guitars had never left my room since they got in… I don’t sweat… And I saw guitars that almost slept outdoor, with rusty strings that had a neck straight. Humidity is not the point here.
But think about it : doctors fulminate against everyone who got their backpack on one shoulder, and women that got heavy handbag, because the weight is not equally distributed on the spine, and can make the spine warp… Where’s the difference with the guitar neck ? If strings pull harder on one side, it will twist where the tension is higher, not necessarely forward or backward.
But yeah, wash a guitar is still not a good idea

 

[idssdi]

It’s important how you set up you’re guitar especially with a floating bridge. But in general when there’staat to much tension the neck will always bend in the direction of the body which in That case means you use to heavy strings in a tuning which is too high for that type of string. Then there is the thing That the headstock doesnt really exert a force high enough to make the body bend upwards the neck will practically never bend away from the body unless it is really broken. This is basically newtons law: every action leads to an opposite reaction and in this case this leads to a balance

 

[Tristan Martinek]

I know how to set up a brdige, a neck, how to change string gauges…
I am talking about a twist like this, not something that can be fixed by truss rod

 

[idssdi]

I’Ve have never really seen a twist like thato and I dont think the strings will cause That. It could be a production fault or conditions of the place the guitar is stored in (yes humidity and temperature affect wood). I’met pretty sure this sort of twist like in the picture is more Likely to happen on a Low end guitar

 

[Cody Kennedy]

I understand your concern, and your question is actually a really good one! I would say that you shouldn’t worry about it too much, most guitars are setup to withstand this sort of thing. This can be affected by your intonation, the saddles in the bridge tend to be setup specifically for each string, and if you really feel like your low string is a problem, you can always adjust the bridge accordingly, or you can do what most people recommend, which is take it to a professional, but I recommend doing it yourself ’cause its not that hard to learn and saves you a lot of money.

 

[Ryan Athey]

Short answer: No
Don’t put your guitar through crazy weather/humidity changes and you should be good.

 

[Jake Young]

Everyone makes valid points..but you’re good man! No worries!

 

[Tristan Martinek]

Yeah Cody, I would have set up the saddle of a Tune o Matic higher for a drop tune, but in my case it’s a floyd, and you have to high the hole piece, not only one string :/
And still no, my guitars are stored in a dry and warm place, without even sweat. And one is a unbranded china strat copy I admit, the other one a Schecter Synyster Special, not really a low end guitar ^^

And we can easely see on mine that it’s warped :/

 

[Ryan McKale]

Im pretty sure from different vids ive seen sin just runs EB 9-42s and its his model. i have the custom s and i run 9-42s in drop d. you just want to make sure your floyd bridge is level when changing gauges or tunings

 

[Tristan Martinek]

I just bought 9-46 hybrid slinky, so I’ll have to play with the Truss rod but I think it will be good, stay tuned.

 

[Nero Shredder]

I don’t think 9-46 or even 10-46 would be enough to twist your guitar’s neck in drop D tuning. Just make sure you’ve adjusted the tension of the springs in the back and the height of the bridge. Also, if you messed around with your guitar’s neck, don’t mess with anything else and leave your guitar in place for a few hours at least, because it takes some time for the wood to “adjust”.

 

[Tristan Martinek]

Okay, 3 days after set my 9-46 in Drop D, the neck is straight.
Not even needed to touche the truss rod.
So in my opinion use hybrid gauges if you use drop tunings kid !