Intonation and drop tuning

[Alicia Willis]

Hey guys ! So, I ALWAYS play in standard tuning. But, wanted to finally try my hand as some avenged sevenfold rhythms. So I tuned my fender strat to drop D. My issue is....it’s getting out of tune almost immediately ! Like literally I can play two strums and boom it’s gone. I’d rather not change my intonation as it’s don’t going to be a permanent tuning change....is there anything I can do to help alleviate this or is it basically just an intonation issue ? Thanks y’all !!!

 

[Manvir B]

@Ed Seith is a guitar wizard, he'd know.

 

[Edward John]

Try going to the next string gauge, that usually helps, and keep adjusting it, if your guitar has been in standard then it takes a little adjustment.

 

[Adin Shepherd]

Just switching to drop D shouldn't cause any major intonation issues, especially at the bottom end of the neck. I dropped mine from standard to drop C in my riff challenge video without major issues. What string guage do you use?

 

[Dominik Gräber]

Normally I abuse my Strings for a few Seconds after I downtuned, tune again, repeat. After some harsh strumming/Tuning Reps it stays in time for me. Probably not the best way to Go though

 

[Rute Rodrigues]

HM that's weird, it never happened to me

 

[Ed Seith]

Hey guys ! So, I ALWAYS play in standard tuning. But, wanted to finally try my hand as some avenged sevenfold rhythms. So I tuned my fender strat to drop D. My issue is....it’s getting out of tune almost immediately ! Like literally I can play two strums and boom it’s gone. I’d rather not change my intonation as it’s don’t going to be a permanent tuning change....is there anything I can do to help alleviate this or is it basically just an intonation issue ? Thanks y’all !!!

Your intonation is not the problem. AT ALL. I promise.

If it's a guitar with a trem, that's your problem. So, which guitar are we working with and what kind of bridge is it?

 

[Ed Seith]

Oh wait, you SAID it! Fender Strat. With the trem. So with a trem - any of them - it's NEVER as simple as retuning one string to change tunings. The minute you retune one string to a different pitch, you change the overall tension on the top part of the bridge. You need to retune the whole guitar if you switch to drop D, and then again when you switch back, unless you buy and install something like a tremol-no or tremstopper thingie.

It's a pain in the ass.

For a floating bridge guitar of any kind, you're best off staying in one tuning.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

They say you have to allow the guitar to settle 2 days after a tune change. My floyd Rose's never had that issue personally. I could just be that the guitar is tense from the change and needs to settle.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

I missed the floyd rose part too. Yeah that's probably a 45 minute change if you arent used to it. Best to buy a 2nd if you plan to tune change a lot.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Oh wait, you SAID it! Fender Strat. With the trem. So with a trem - any of them - it's NEVER as simple as retuning one string to change tunings. The minute you retune one string to a different pitch, you change the overall tension on the top part of the bridge. You need to retune the whole guitar if you switch to drop D, and then again when you switch back, unless you buy and install something like a tremol-no or tremstopper thingie.

It's a pain in the ass.

For a floating bridge guitar of any kind, you're best off staying in one tuning.

Yes it’s got a trem. I’ve returned the whole guitar and it still goes out after a few minutes of playing. It’s incredibly frustrating. Is there anything else I should be looking into or is that basically it?

 

[Alicia Willis]

I missed the floyd rose part too. Yeah that's probably a 45 minute change if you arent used to it. Best to buy a 2nd if you plan to tune change a lot.

I don’t have a Floyd rose. Had one on a schecter and hated it lol. Never again ! It was nice sometimes but a pain in the ass others.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Fenders are notorious for being a bit temperamental when it comes to the trem. But basically, yeah - What Ed said. It requires a full retuning to go to drop D. And then when you tune back up you'll need to retune again. HOPEFULLY. I have a Strat that actually needs the trem tension re-adjusted to go from reg to drop D. Just like a Floyd. Wish I had better news for you. Maybe look into some sort of trem lock. It's a concession no matter what you do.

 

[Ed Seith]

I don’t have a Floyd rose. Had one on a schecter and hated it lol. Never again ! It was nice sometimes but a pain in the ass others.

Any tremolo bridge is going to be like this, to one degree or another, unless you can "deck" it (tighten the mount/pivot screws making the trem either pitch drop only or fixed) or use some other device to manage the tension. I did a VERY LONG video explaining how floating trems work while I was changing string gauges and tuning on an Ibanez. It might be helpful if an hour of me rambling won't make you drink heavily.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Any tremolo bridge is going to be like this, to one degree or another, unless you can "deck" it (tighten the mount/pivot screws making the trem either pitch drop only or fixed) or use some other device to manage the tension. I did a VERY LONG video explaining how floating trems work while I was changing string gauges and tuning on an Ibanez. It might be helpful if an hour of me rambling won't make you drink heavily.

Already got a cold one in hand I’m going to check out your video ! Thanks Ed ! You da man !

 

[Alicia Willis]

Fenders are notorious for being a bit temperamental when it comes to the trem. But basically, yeah - What Ed said. It requires a full retuning to go to drop D. And then when you tune back up you'll need to retune again. HOPEFULLY. I have a Strat that actually needs the trem tension re-adjusted to go from reg to drop D. Just like a Floyd. Wish I had better news for you. Maybe look into some sort of trem lock. It's a concession no matter what you do.

Thanks Papa G ! I’m I’m gonna attempt it again and if not, screw it...back in standard we go !!! Lol.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Just switching to drop D shouldn't cause any major intonation issues, especially at the bottom end of the neck. I dropped mine from standard to drop C in my riff challenge video without major issues. What string guage do you use?

ehhh tbh I’m not 100% as I’ve been playing around with diff strings lately but I think I’ve got elixir 10/46 on there now. Very light strings.

 

[Adin Shepherd]

I use the same gauge,

I didn't realise the Strat trem set up would be that affected by going drop D, as Ed and Papa Gates both mentioned, that's likely where the issue will be.