Drop Tuning and Dropping Knowledge
So a guy walks into your shop, asks for a setup than says he wants in drop a. Most of these guys are
playing schecter, esp ltd, Ibanez and dean. More than likely they have a favorite artist that plays in this
tuning and they want to play their idols songs in the proper tuning. Lets go over this demo guitar
Scale: 25.5
Tuning: Drop C#
Strings: D'Addario 10s
This is very reasonable setup, and should set to spec without a issue but lets say they keep the strings
the same but tune to drop B. You will be able to set to spec, and maybe slightly lower, but the strings
will start to loose tension, causing them to feel “floppy, or lose”. So what do you do in this aspect.?
Here is my run through when a customer comes to me personally
1. Identify what the artist is trying to accomplish.
2. Ask the customer if they are willing to change the gauge of strings to make the setup more
efficient. (in some cases, a different guitar is even necessary)
3. Identify if they play rhythm or lead, and how intense they pick
4. Make aware that any inconsistency in the fret work or neck can cause issues during the setup
5. Do the setup
Drop D to Drop C
Set guitar to standard spec.
For lead, I lower relief to around .005 to .007 and action at standard spec.
For rhythm, I keep the setup close to spec, sometimes I increase the action by a 64th across the board
Drop B to Drop A
Set relief to around .010
Set action around 2 32nds to 3 32nds from treble to bass respectively
For lead I try to slightly lower relief and bring action as close as I can to 2 32nd on the treble and 2.5
32nd on the bass.
For rhythm I may increase action depending on how the instrument feels. In case of cheap imports, you
may have to raise relief and action for clean playing.
Anything under Drop A I refuse to do if its on a six string with a scale length less than 25.5.
I find
PRS can handle Drop A to E Standard
Gibson's sweet spot is Drop C to E Standard, some can handle B
Fender is great for Drop A to E Standard
Ideally, anything lower than drop A would be on extended scale or multi string guitars.
Here is my rule of thumb.
Drop D 9s, 10s, 11s, 12,s
Drop C 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s
Drop B 11s, 12s, 13s
Drop A 12s, 13s, 14s
Drop G 14s, 15s
Check out my sheet for drop tuning specs for more info on string gauges and tension on necks.