# Lowest tuning with a 25.5" scale guitar



## skykill3R (Nov 28, 2011)

What is the lowest tuning you have achieved with an 25.5" scale guitar and with what string gauge? i have an ibanez rg1527 with .10 to .56 strings, tuned one step down. i would like to try some 8-string guitar tunings but i think that the scale is too short to go more than one step down.


----------



## Ishan (Nov 28, 2011)

For me (notice the "for me") anything below G is not manageable on a 25.5" scale. G#/Ab sounds great with the right strings tho.


----------



## Greatoliver (Nov 28, 2011)

Depends how much tension you like, in my opinion. I use a 70 for my RG in drop A, and that is perfect tension for me. If I were to go lower however, I would have to use a thicker string, and the thicker the string, generally the less bright tone you get. I find that drop A is good for me.

That being said, people tune to the E an octave below standard on 25.5" - it certainly is possible.


----------



## Kamikaze7 (Nov 28, 2011)

On one of my (5) 7-stirngs, I am using a C-C w/ a low G tuning and it holds fine. String guages used are a 13-17-26-36-46-56-66. And there's also my 8 (an FM408...), which is also a 25 1/2" scale using a set of 10-56 and a 70 for the standard E-E w/ low B & F# and that holds fine as well.


----------



## AATTWDIS (Nov 28, 2011)

I always hate to chime in with what has already been said but it all depends on preference.

I've had certain 25.5" guitars set up in drop G# and it feels great with a 60-13 + 10 set. Other times I need a 70+ to keep things tight. Don't go crazy with the low string but don't be afraid to try some singles. I always ask my local shop what the biggest single they have in stock is, haha!


----------



## Riggy (Nov 28, 2011)

I've got an RGA7, and the lowest that's been in so far has been GDADGBe (Not exactly low) with 10's on. My RG321EX has been in Drop A# forever and that handles it fine with 12's on, and both have the same 25.5" scale.

My 7 is going to be in F#AEADF#B soon, I'm still trying to figure out what gauge to use for it, or whether or not to just use a Morpheus Drop Tune.


----------



## fps (Nov 28, 2011)

I'm using a Carvin DC727 currently half a step down with drop Csharp and drop Gsharp bottom two strings and it's good for what we're doing, which is sludgy ugly stuff. Bottom string's only a .56


----------



## GhostsofAcid (Nov 28, 2011)

The lowest I've ever tuned on my 25.5 rg7321 is f#, but my lowest string was only a 60 something, so it wasn't really usable. Ended up settling with g#. I went through a whole uber low turnings phase, then I decided I liked boring old c standard the best so now I tune to that with a high f.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 28, 2011)

Depends how much travel your saddles have.


----------



## xeL (Nov 28, 2011)

I have a PRS copy sat in E,E,A,D,G#,B# with a 11-49 set (11 removed) + .072, 24.75" scale.

It sounds horrible with the stock pickups.


----------



## asher (Nov 28, 2011)

Have an Elixr Nanoweb in .68 on my RG7421, works great for G#. Quite good for A too, bit tight for Bstd. Probably could go lower without much trouble.


----------



## devolutionary (Nov 28, 2011)

I was on G with a .072 (you try getting a .080 in NZ, it's a mission) and it was pretty bad. No clarity, no volume. But if I had a .080 I imagine it would be more than doable.


----------



## idunno (Nov 28, 2011)

With my 25.5's I go down to drop A with a .74 guage which is a little loose. The .74 is just doable down to G# but id prefer it a tad tighter. but it gets a nice bouncy sound to it.

If you get a .80 (guitar string) you could make it to F# or F, provided your saddle goes far enough back and your bridge can handle it.


----------



## Mordecai (Nov 28, 2011)

Greatoliver said:


> Depends how much tension you like, in my opinion. I use a 70 for my RG in drop A, and that is perfect tension for me. If I were to go lower however, I would have to use a thicker string, and the thicker the string, generally the less bright tone you get. I find that drop A is good for me.
> 
> That being said, people tune to the E an octave below standard on 25.5" - it certainly is possible.




quoted for truth, i also use a .70 in Drop A and i love the feel/tension of it. certainly you can probably go lower with it id say depending on how you intonate the instrument it can definitely be done to go a bit lower.


----------



## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 28, 2011)

I have my rg7321 in F standard with a .70 for the low F. I get plenty of clarity with it.


----------



## Waelstrum (Nov 28, 2011)

The lowest that I'm aware anyone has tuned on a 25.5" scale is when Explorer tuned down to Bb0 (an octave below the op's lowest string). He may very well chime in on this topic, and if you're lucky, he'll explain how to do it. As I recall he got a giant string (obviously), a special short saddle to intonate correctly and probably some other stuff.


----------



## troyguitar (Nov 28, 2011)

Waelstrum said:


> The lowest that I'm aware anyone has tuned on a 25.5" scale is when Explorer tuned down to Bb0 (an octave below the op's lowest string). He may very well chime in on this topic, and if you're lucky, he'll explain how to do it. As I recall he got a giant string (obviously), a special short saddle to intonate correctly and probably some other stuff.



That's pretty much the answer. If you want to use "normal" guitar strings, like .080 or smaller, then I suspect tuning down to F or so will be the limit plus or minus a half-step depending on preference.

Unless you need bass tension like some people here, then you can't tune lower than A


----------



## Dayn (Nov 28, 2011)

I've done Ab with .066 at 25.5". It worked well, I perhaps could have done with a .064... possibly .062.

I said it worked well, but I didn't really like the sound at all so... I've done C with a .056 instead. Sounded nice!


----------



## GSingleton (Nov 28, 2011)

I keep mine in drop Z. I really like the feel of the 1500 gauge strings.


----------



## book_of_lies777 (Nov 28, 2011)

Karl Sanders of Nile plays in drop A using a Dean '79 series V, which has a 24 3/4" scale(and various other guitars as well). He uses SIT .010, .012, .017, .038, .050, .070 guitar strings and Dunlop Tortex Sharp picks 1.35mm.

You should be able to do A no problem with a 25 1/2" scale guitar.


----------



## idunno (Nov 28, 2011)

I dont know how people play with such spaghetti strings! At 25.5 in standard I need at LEAST a 10 gauge set with a 74 on the seventh. Might try an .80 for G#.


----------



## in-pursuit (Nov 28, 2011)

I went down to dropped G# with a 64 for a while, I imagine that I could probably go down another full tone with something between 70 and 80 but I've got a feeling that anything below that wouldn't be to my liking.


----------



## Hemi-Powered Drone (Nov 28, 2011)

Technically you could tune as low as you want, but after a point guitar strings will just slack up too much and it will barely sound at all.


----------



## Purelojik (Nov 28, 2011)

F# standard with 14-70. but i'd rather stay at A standard drop G with 13-68. yea there really is a difference. im using Crunchlab/Sd jazz pups. Mahog body with maple cap maple and ebony neck.


----------



## Thor_ (Nov 28, 2011)

skykill3R said:


> What is the lowest tuning you have achieved with an 25.5" scale guitar and with what string gauge? i have an ibanez rg1527 with .10 to .56 strings, tuned one step down. i would like to try some 8-string guitar tunings but i think that the scale is too short to go more than one step down.



Why on earth do you think you'd need a .056 for D tuning?

But to be on topic, I've used a .064 for B flat tuning and a .070 once for dropped A. I did this on a floyd rose guitar and had little trouble with intonation, and the strings had more than enough tension.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 28, 2011)

Lowest that sounded good to me was an 85 tuned to G.


----------



## Explorer (Nov 29, 2011)

When I was tuned in full fifths, my 25.5" ran from Bb0 (.125") to B4 (.007 Octave 4 Plus). (My 28.625" was tuned a whole step lower, from Ab0 to A4.)

At this point, all four of my 25.5" 8-strings are tuned EADGCFAD, with a .090" on the lowest string. I'm a fan of light and extra-light strings, and the .090" is in line with the progressive tension of the rest of the strings.

I was lucky to have noticed early on that the Schecter 8-strings had a shorter saddle on the lowest string on their Hipshot saddles. I wrote to Hipshot and found out that they sell them, so I ordered quite a few. I had to have someone grind off about 2mm off the end of the saddle for the lowest string, and I had to get a shorter spring. I've found that I feel less constricted if I have the shorter saddles on everything from A2 on down in pitch.

I don't like taking a chance on breaking a tuning machine, so I unwind the wrappings of the lowest strings so I can feel the core through the machine, but can still have at least half a wind around the machine. That keeps the wraps from unwinding from being free/unanchored and just rattling around between the machine and the nut. 

Something which I had thought would be self-apparent, but which isn't to everyone, is that a lot of guitar amps don't do well with an instrument which goes down to at least E1. I hadn't really thought that someone might judge a low-pitched instrument due to an amp which is inadequate, but when I took one of my guitars to a local shop which has a huge stock of used pedals, the guys who work there wanted to play my guitar while I and one of the employees went out for lunch. I came back and they were talking about how bad the low end was, but they were playing through some standard guitar amp. I plugged it into a larger keyboard amp with better and flatter frequency response, and they were surprised that it sounded better. *sigh*

I think if I were to grab a single amp for my purposes, I'd probably pick up a larger Trace Elliott acoustic amp. 

----

In reading lots of threads here, I've found there to be two main sorts of posters who assert it just doesn't work to tune so low: those who have never tried it but were just repeating the common wisdom, and those who didn't put a large enough string on the bottom to have a tension even approaching the rest of the strings. 

OP, if you're going to attempt going low, then base your string choices on the appropriate tension. As most string sets lighten up towards the bass, you might instead investigate the idea of progressive tension, in which the tension gradually increases as you go lower. 

----

Anyway, these are just my opinions and experiences. No one has to like them for themselves, but it works for me. 

Good luck!


----------



## wlfers (Nov 29, 2011)

book_of_lies777 said:


> You should be able to do A no problem with a 25 1/2" scale guitar.



Yep. I do A standard w/ a pack of 9 and a halfs and a 56 on the A. I don't know if they make 9.5 packs for 7 string- probably an answer I could easily find by searching =D.


----------



## skykill3R (Nov 29, 2011)

hey, thank you all for your replies 
i think that the main problem is the saddles, they are already way to far, almost near the end of the tremolo, with my 7th tuned to A and a gauge of 0.56. 
I'll try an 0.68 for a G tuned 7th string and see if i can achieve correct intonation.
If not i will have to change the saddles? my tremolo system is ibanez edge pro 7


----------



## hereticemir (Nov 29, 2011)

I know that band god among insect tune down to f standard but they use a custom set with a 90. i believe it is.


----------



## BabUShka (Nov 29, 2011)

I'm currently using 10-46 with a 59 on bottom: Drop A tuning with a 25.5 scale Ibanez. 
For standard tuning, its perfect. Drop A, playable.. But next time im going for a thicker string gauge for the 7th string for tighter drop A. 

As for my 6string Epi with 24.75 scale, I can tune it down to B with 54-12 strings without problems.. I dont know why I have to use 59 to archieve the same with a 25.5" scale 7stringer.. Weird, but thats not a problem.. Kinda feels manly to play thick gauges on a 7stringer in drop tuning.


----------



## Stealthtastic (Nov 29, 2011)

You can get any tuning, with any length.
Just have to have new strings every time you want to change tunings. haha


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 29, 2011)

guitar-rob89 said:


> You can get any tuning, with any length.
> Just have to have new strings every time you want to change tunings. haha



No, depends on the amount of trevel your saddles have too.


----------



## Floppystrings (Nov 29, 2011)

Roger from Mortician has been playing in G standard since 1994.

His strings don't even look that big.

Roger J. Beaujard - Guitars

His guitar isn't really "clear" but more like a wall of sound:


----------



## Atomshipped (Nov 29, 2011)

Thor_ said:


> Why on earth do you think you'd need a .056 for D tuning?
> 
> But to be on topic, I've used a .064 for B flat tuning and a .070 once for dropped A. I did this on a floyd rose guitar and had little trouble with intonation, and the strings had more than enough tension.


 Personally I use 10-52's for DADGBE and I wouldn't mind going even thicker...some people just like more tension.


----------



## Dvaienat (Nov 30, 2011)

I've heard of people using a 25.5 for F# and E1 before. You just need very thick strings. 13-60 + 80 being ideal for F# and 14-68 + 90 for E1. I have intonated my 24.75 at F using a 74, so you needn't worry about the intonation on a 25.5.


----------



## ImBCRichBitch (Nov 30, 2011)

I go Drop G on my Mockingbird, and sometimes F# on my Warlock. I havnt tried going lower but maybe you can. Wont know till you try.


----------



## Floppystrings (Nov 30, 2011)

Oh and, what about Meshuggah's Nothing, the original non-reissue.

That was 25.5 scale with F# I think, (somethin mega low).


----------



## AcousticMinja (Nov 30, 2011)

As low as you want! 
But yes, with the proper setup, right string tension (more to taste, really), etc... I think you'll be fine going as low as you feel like.

I use a .119 on my 25.5" 7 string in C1#


Be experimental! It's lots of fun.


----------



## CrownofWorms (Nov 30, 2011)

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> I have my rg7321 in F standard with a .70 for the low F. I get plenty of clarity with it.



Same Here, but its F#. I don't understand why people are having tension problems with that kind of gauge strings.


----------



## BIG ND SWEATY (Nov 30, 2011)

CrownofWorms said:


> Same Here, but its F#. I don't understand why people are having tension problems with that kind of gauge strings.



yea for real I think .70 is thick enough even for E but it gets a bit floppy around there but then again there are people that use a .70 for drop B. and some people will not tolerate any string flopage whatsoever.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Dec 2, 2011)

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> yea for real I think .70 is thick enough even for E but it gets a bit floppy around there but then again there are people that use a .70 for drop B. and some people will not tolerate any string flopage whatsoever.



I use 70 for B. For low F is use 100 gauge.

Part of it is preference in string feel and part of it is out of necessity.
I don't like any string flop in the lower registers, and I simply can't tune a 70 to F and then proceed to fret/pluck it without knocking it WAY off pitch. If I play as gently as I can it's barely possible and I can't get any sustain out of it, and doing anything remotely "aggressive" just isn't going to happen.


----------



## Explorer (Dec 2, 2011)

CrownofWorms said:


> I don't understand why people are having tension problems with that kind of gauge strings.



You're talking about having your lowest string with a tension lower than the tension on the thinnest high E4 string (.008) in a set of D'Addario Super Lights. It's not a problem that you prefer a lower string tension on your lowest strings than even KK Downing would choose, but it's surprising that you can't imagine why some might want more tension than a super light set.

I prefer a higher string tension because it makes it harder to deflect the string, and therefore makes it harder to drive the string out of tune by the simple act of fretting it, and eliminates intonation issues as well. I prefer a minimum tension of 16 lbs. at the low end.


----------



## mphsc (Dec 2, 2011)

AcousticMinja said:


> As low as you want!
> But yes, with the proper setup, right string tension (more to taste, really), etc... I think you'll be fine going as low as you feel like.




I tune to G# "standard" with a set of D'adarrio 12's with a wound third then a 70 for the b string.


----------



## Floppystrings (Dec 4, 2011)

I tune to G standard and a 70 works even with my 25" scale ARZ307.

Anything past this and I would need a baritone to keep the string sizes normal. There is some buzz, but only when I get macho manny.


----------



## Ginsu (Dec 4, 2011)

I use a .68 and a normal 10-46 set for drop A, on my RG7321, it's just right.  Sometimes I'll use a 64 on the low string though, so it goes a little sharp when I pick harder...I like the sound of it.


----------



## havocvulture10 (Dec 4, 2011)

Im playing in C# standard with a 46 gauge low C# in my Hellraiser fr, which I'm pretty sure is a 25.5 scale. 
Feels pretty good actually. I'm not a fan of high tension. 
C is probably the lowest it could handle with a 46, but I wouldn't go there.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Dec 4, 2011)

The Hellraiser is 26.5 in. That's still really light though.


----------

