Need help from the Metal Masters

[jackthehack]

Is there anything special about designing or setting up a build to use C Standard Tuning; would this lend itself to a baritone rather than a normal scale length neck???

 

[kataar]

How heavy a guage of string are we lookin at? cause I have some 46-9 hybrids on a strat and they sound nice and extra crunchy tuned down to C.

 

[Xplorervoodoo]

I had a schecter 25.5" scale tuned to Open C, which is close to C standard, and it held up fine.  I was using 12s though...

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I suppose that there is only one way to find out if the C tuning is better suited to a bari neck...  Seriously though, I think that the bari necks are more common in surf and country for a reason, there is more twang to it.  My metaller buddies argue this point forever and there is no real solution.  The looser strings accentuate sludge, the fatter strings are better suited for twang.  That being said, with proper setup any of those situations should work.  I was looking at bari strings a while back and some go to 82's.  I dunno, that would be like power lines to me...
Patrick

 

[Nando Vallart]

Zakk Wylde tune some of his LP in B and it sounds great....

 

[jackthehack]

Thanks to those who've replied and in advance to anyone else who can shed some light. I use X-light strings and cannot imagine trying to play with one of my axes which all have .009 strings and action set as low as possible when I tune down to standard C.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Uh... I would say that at least .011" is needed :tard: Won't be as "hard" as in usual tuning... :dontknow: But .009" will feel softer than... (deleted before I get banned of the forum  :laughing7

 

[kataar]

Zakk Wylde tune some of his LP in B and it sounds great....

Zack uses 13s doesnt he? beastly thick...  :dontknow:

Jack... have you already tried tuning down to C on any of your axes already? if anythin you can just boost up your E A and D up a guage. that helps a little bit, especially when your tuned that low. That way you dont feel the extra thickness because of how slinky it is. thats why I do it anyway.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Zack uses 13s doesnt he? beastly thick...  :dontknow:

Not that "hard" to play in B tune... In E I've to agree that is pretty hard to bend...
In traditional and bemol tuning he uses .010"

 

[nathan a]

Jack, I know I'm not one of the metal guys (by a long shot), but personally I would try a baritone neck with light baritone strings, low B (C in your case) around .062-.065. My baritone is strung super heavy, .090 guage low B. They're playable, I promise. The telephone line feeling goes away.

I bet you could probably also manage with a standard scale length and heavy strings, .012s or .013s. Baritones are just cool, though.

 

[dbw]

I play 12s in standard tuning.  They get a bit floppy if I tune down to C.  I'd say 13s are a good place to start if you want to tune to C.

 

[thumb55]

what kind of sound are you looking for? 

 

[SrDeMaFp]

I'd stick with a normal scale length as opposed to baritone. When I was playing in C Std. I believe I used 12-54 strings. 10/11-52 might be better suited for you, depending on scale length. I got away with a 10-52 set on a 24 ¾ scale in Drop C but, opted for a higher gauge afterwards. It really depends on what feel you're going for.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Personally, I increase a string guage for every whole step of detuning.

I play .10's for standard A-440 (EADGBE)
I play .11's for D Standard (DGCFAD)
etc...

Each instrument gets a full setup, ie; neck adjust, trem spring adjust, re-intonate for the new setup.

I've found that each instrument setup for the guage, pitch, & tension performs best when sticking to what it's indended for.  With that in mind, I don't alter tunings on each instrument except for the occassional Drop-D or Drop-C, & I engage the Tremol-no for either Dive Only or Hardtail mode, then just detune the low E fine tuner on the Floyd.

 

[Sixbender]

I have a 25.5" scale Steinberger with the Transtrem. For those unfamiliar, it is a trem that locks...not only in "E", but also in 5 other tunings on the fly. My last cover band played very heavy rock, and many modern songs have lower than standard tunings.
On the Steinberger I run 009 to 046, and when I lock it down into low C, or B, it sounds just great. If I was using that function for clearner sounds, then the tone suffers a little with the light strings...kind rubber-bandy. But on the heavy crunch tones, live or on recordings, it misses nothing. On other songs I played an Ibanez with dropped tuning and heavier strings...and the tone is different, but not "better", not heavier, not chunkier.
So, for the metal question, imo once there's enough gain, string size takes the back seat for the most part.
Hey, Billy Gibbons uses .007's? He has a pretty dang good tone most of the time, anyway.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Technically a Baritone is tuned like a 7 string without the high E (BEADGb) .. I dont think I'd ever actually string a guitar that way, but maybe the strings guages woudl match up better for you.  Use a 7 string set without the E. but tune it to your C standard instead of true Baritone tuning.

 

[jackthehack]

Talked to guy directly; been playing an ESP with a 24.75 scale neck and .054-.012 set, will be designing a build for him around that.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Go for 24,75"!!!
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=xCBb5NvzQpE
It's B tuned, I'm not wrong!

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Go for 24,75"!!!
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=xCBb5NvzQpE
It's B tuned, I'm not wrong!

I believe in that video it's actually Bb (Zakk tunes down live)
Anyway, that's my favorite BLS song

 

[Nando Vallart]

Oh thank you, Mike!

Well, it's better if it's even more low tune... People always fear that will get muddy in 24,75" playing metal and it isn't truth... In deed I dislike 90% of the metal tones with 25,5" scale...