How many tune their guitars a half step down?

gchord · 12-04-2003, 11:34 PM

I was wondering how many people here tune thier guitars a half step down.I tune my electrics standard,but I tune ny bass and acoustic a half step down.When I sing,I can't reach the high notes like some of you that are younger,and besides my voice sounds better when played that way.I tune my bass a half step lower because I like to use big strings I play one fret down.Just curious who else here does that.

**beanbag** · 12-05-2003, 03:52 AM

I tune my guitar down sometimes, but not half a step...if I tune it down, I usually go all the way down to C. It makes singing those really high songs a lot easier on my poor alto voice lol.

MightyCheese · 12-05-2003, 07:54 PM

I like to tune my electric down a half step. I like the feel it has then, and also just the rumbling of the low notes...

georgeo · 12-05-2003, 11:39 PM

my friends band does alot of music down a half step.

sometimes i tune my electric down a halfstep then capo 1 all the time, unless it is handy to play open.

Mrstickball · 12-05-2003, 11:44 PM

I use Eb tuning quite often......I also use C# and D......C# is a great tuning for heavyness. Sharp and flat tunings tend to be heavier than normal tunings (if you get the attack right)

GMartin2R · 12-06-2003, 02:35 AM

i typically dont unless there is good reason to do so... like the song i'm attempting to play requires it... aside from that it's in standard. i have noticed though that the tone of my acoustic changes when i drop the tuning. especially on the B string, almost like the tone becomes a little more muddy or something. it's not quite as crisp and sharp as it is at full tuning... interesting...

bobthecockroach · 12-06-2003, 08:14 AM

Yuck, I hate tuning down a half a step. Actually, I hate most common alternate tunings. If I'm gonna tune to something else it's going to be something WEIRD (DAEFCF). I hate drop-D.

You don't have to tune down to play in those keys so why can't you just play in them if you prefer to sing in them?

Jay42 · 12-06-2003, 08:46 AM

Eddie Van Halen almost always plays a half-step down. He said Eb is the note of the dial tone on the telephone lines in America. I never thought to test that out but I suppose it is.

**Rainer.** · 12-06-2003, 09:46 AM

No, I never tune to Eb. If I'm tuning down, I'll go all the way to D. But usually I'll tune drop-D to get lower (Hey Daniel, why exactly do you hate drop D?

).

Jay42 · 12-06-2003, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainer123

(Hey Daniel, why exactly do you hate drop D?)

My hunch is that it's not a hatred for an actual tone range but rather because drop-D has become bourgeois - thanks to Creed using it in almost every song and each Nu-Metal band mindlessly following suit.

**Rainer.** · 12-06-2003, 10:00 AM

It's just a tuning...

Gott ist kühl · 12-06-2003, 10:06 AM

i hardly ever drop my tuning.. its always in standard. if i were to drop the tuning it would be drop C or something.

gchord · 12-07-2003, 01:45 AM

The reason I tune mine down that is because I sing in a low voice,I guess I could change the chords around,nah,too much thinking involved.I don't understand why you would tune when playing electric,it just does'nt sound right to me.When I do a solo,with my acoustic,it sounds good,and I don't have to stand on one leg to reach the high notes.

GMartin2R · 12-07-2003, 03:36 AM

Quote:

I don't understand why you would tune when playing electric,it just does'nt sound right to me.

maybe not for lead guitar but for rhythm and stuff like that tuning down could be a compromise to getting a 7 string... unless i'm not reading your statement correctly...

bobthecockroach · 12-07-2003, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainer123

(Hey Daniel, why exactly do you hate drop D?

).

Because most of the time it's pointless. When most people use it, it's just for power chords and it only gives you two more. In instances of really heavy metal (where there's no possible way to play as fast as they do in standard tuning) I can understand using it but not in the way the trendy nu-metalers use it. They'll say "Oh, this song is in Drop-D" and not even use the D note or "Oh, this song is in standard" when there's no reason you couldn't play it in drop-D. Actually, I hate most instances of someone saying what tuning a song is in. It's just notes, it doesn't matter how you tune it to play them as long as you're playing them. I guess that's why I hate drop-D. The way it's used and that it only gives you two more notes. NOW, when you're playing a classical song (like Canon in D) sometimes you will NEED that low D. It is in these cases that I like drop-D.

Mostly I hate it because of the trendy way to use it.