# What scale is required for drop E?



## conffa (Jun 15, 2012)

I have found a decent deal and I am planning to buy my first 8-string, a Schecter Hellraiser C-8 swapped /w Duncan Blackout-8's (for 800 bucks in total). It has a scale of 26,5" and my questions are: 

Is that enough for a good drop E tuning with for example 0.080w+ string gauges? Are the strings too floppy and do they lack tension with this setup? Do I have to get a 27" (Ibanez, LTD) or even order a Agile (30")? I live in Finland so thats kinda lame paying taxes and shit.

Recently I have been inspired by bands like Hacktivist and Vildhjarta that use low tunings. Drop F seems pretty sweet too but the lower you go the more brutal it gets imo =)

Thanks in advance!


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## Jordan Djenital Warts (Jun 15, 2012)

Here you go:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ex...good-scale-length-drop-e-tuning-8-string.html

Welcome to the forum


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## conffa (Jun 15, 2012)

holy shit that thread made me sad, all posts revolving around 27"-30" scales :----(

I wish I'd live in the states ;_;


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## Konfyouzd (Jun 15, 2012)

26.5 isnt that far from 27. Just get the right strings.


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## quattro19tdi (Jun 15, 2012)

My lowest string is E on a 28.625'' scale with .080 string. The tension is perfect for me  I'm sure you can make it work on shorter scale with just a little bigger gauge.


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## yuureikun (Jun 15, 2012)

quattro19tdi said:


> My lowest string is E on a 28.625'' scale with .080 string. The tension is perfect for me  I'm sure you can make it work on shorter scale with just a little bigger gauge.



I totally agree with this. I think some people obsess way too much over scale lengths to get certain tunings. Plenty of people play drop E on their 27 inch scale guitars, so it shouldn't be difficult to tune the same on a 26.5 scale length. Just test out string gauges until you find what works for you.


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## ForThisGift (Jun 15, 2012)

People always ask questions like this as if there is a correct answer. This is a case of preferrence and nothing more. The most direct effect that the scale length has on your guitar is determining the gauge you are going to need to get your preferred tension. I know that there are further issues with the strings sounding muddy above a certain gauge, but that can have a lot to do with your amp/modeler settings and your play style as well. 

Personally, I like _roughly_ 18lbs of tension at E1 (leaning towards the lighter side of 18 if available gauges get in the way). So my 27" has a .090 while my 28.65" has an .084. My advice to you would be to find a string or set of strings that has a tension you enjoy playing and using an online tension calculater to back into that feeling for the rest of your strings. I like to setup my guitars for progressive tension. So I start the high E between 15-16lbs of tension and progress to ~18lbs on the bass side. 

I hope this helps.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 15, 2012)

You're gonna need something in the range of 85 to 95 on that Shcecter, conffa.


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## MF_Kitten (Jun 15, 2012)

28" or more if you want it to sound really string-like. 27" or less can work, but requires bigger strings, and i don't think it's assatisfactory. Doesn't feel right. 30" scale is perfect for it though.


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## Rook (Jun 16, 2012)

I wouldn't say 30" is perfect, there's a trade off. Shorter strings tend to sound more musical whereas as you increase the length you get less and less of the sweetness an harmonic content, they get more and more fundamental and that's it.

I think drop E is perfectly manageable at 26", given my own research into it recently. An 80 is relatively loose compared to what I'm used to but with the right setup and decent right hand technique it sounds perfectly good. Particularly as you won't e using it for fast runs or anything.

Or will you? 

But anyway, sling an 80 on the schecter, drop it to E and let us know if you like it, and there's your answer


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## Brill (Jun 16, 2012)

I saw on youtube some guy got Down to C on an 8 string, Scale was 25.5" He was using a .130 I think. So it really doesn't matter what you scale length is, You can always make up for it by having a thicker string, or Higher tension strings.


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## Bigfan (Jun 16, 2012)

I's say about 30.

Feet.

(Or according to many people who play in that tuning, somewhere around 25.5"-30" depending if you give two shits about inharmonicity or not.)


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 16, 2012)

Since you are playing that kind of music use whatever you want because youll just be hitting 0's


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## MF_Kitten (Jun 16, 2012)

Fun111 said:


> I wouldn't say 30" is perfect, there's a trade off. Shorter strings tend to sound more musical whereas as you increase the length you get less and less of the sweetness an harmonic content, they get more and more fundamental and that's it.



that's demonstrably false. what happens is that you extend the amount of upper harmonics and fundamentals, giving you a wider sound. you still have all the mids, they're just not as prominent as the mid range.

Balance it out with warmer sounding pickups, and you'll be fine. Also, if you want that sound on the low strings but not the high strings, you go fanned frets.

The biggest tradeoff is high string tension and finger reach. And it's not a massive tradeoff for most i believe.


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## Rook (Jun 16, 2012)

^whatever, I'm not a mechanical engineer 

Either way I personally don't like the sound of longer scales, nor do I like how much harder it is to bend compared to a shorter scale for a given tension.


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## jephjacques (Jun 16, 2012)

It's just like any other guitar tuning. You can balance out your scale length with your tuning and string gauge and vice versa. There's no "wrong" answer* as long as you're happy with your sound.

*okay maybe 24.75" scale is not so great for drop-E


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## conffa (Jun 17, 2012)

Its nice to see a few responses =) I have come to the conclusion that I just go over there and test the guitar out and see how it feels. Transitioning from a 6-string to a 8-string is always a process that makes you think of these kind of questions.


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## Metal_Webb (Jun 17, 2012)

Owning an 8 string Schecter, you'd want at least a 0.085 on there if you don't want it to be a loose, flubby noodle that sounds like dick past the 5th fret.


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## Explorer (Jun 17, 2012)

At 25.5", my four 8-strings have .090 for the low string in standard E (EADGCFAD). 

Regarding "inharmonicity," I believe the core of the argument is that one should play about the fifth fret on any instrument, according to the math. The tone will offend. 

Me? I haven't worried about theoretical arguments on a website, since I play above the fifth fret on all my instruments.


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## Rook (Jun 21, 2012)

Just a quick bump, I just realised there's only 1lb tension difference for an 80 gauge string tuned to E1 going from 26.5" to 28" in scale.

There goes that little niggle that was making me think 'hmmm maybe I'm missing a trick here'

The difference as you increase the pitch only gets smaller.


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## no_dice (Jun 21, 2012)

I have a Hellraiser C-8 Special in F# with an .084, and an Agile Intrepid 828 with a .074 in E, and I prefer the Agile, all day. The differences may all be in my head, but I just personally enjoy the sound and feel of longer scales on the bass side infinitely more.


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## stigmatodiaboli (Jun 21, 2012)

owned a schecter, had to trade it for an agile so the low end wouldn't be so muddy. 27-28" scale are perfect. you don't have to get huge strings for the top, usually about .76-.80. it makes it way more comfortable to play. i loved the quality and craftmanship of the schecter, but the agiles are great, and the scale length really makes the difference.


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## conffa (Jun 24, 2012)

I recently noticed that Bermuda plays a Schecter Hellraiser C-8 in drop C# below octave so thats pretty fucking beefy  and it sounds great

I have bargained the price down to 600 euros, thats under 800 usd. You think it's worth the money? Or should i go lower?


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## Ocara-Jacob (Jun 24, 2012)

I've got a .074 on my Schecter (26.5" scale). It's a little floppy, but its definitely workable. 

^Also, depends on the condition of the guitar.


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