Problem with drop tuning...

[jgcable]

OK, here is my problem. I joined an 80's hair metal cover band. They are doing everything from Skid Row to Ratt to The Scorpions to Crue to Whitesnake etc...
They tune to D (a full step down) because it makes it easier for the singer to hit all the notes.
I am having a VERY tough time dealing with the drop tuning. Nothing sounds right to my ear. Sometimes I am not even sure if I am playing in the correct key. Also... I HATE the way my guitars feel and my amps sound with the drop tuning. I am using 11 gauge strings to keep the tension similar to what I am used to but the low tone of the full step down really sounds muddy to me.
The guys in the band told me I would get used to it after a while. Well.. I'm not. When I get home and grab a guitar that's tuned normal (E or Eb), it sounds and feels worlds better.

Have any of you experienced this? Sometimes I am convinced I am playing songs in the wrong key when I am not. For instance... the guitar solo in Jump by Van Halen. It doesn't sound or feel right and I am playing it perfectly.

I am thinking about bailing out on this new band strictly because of the tuning. I hate it. My guitars hate it. My amps hate it.

[Grandturk]

Yup. It does sound different. Your ears are tuned. That said, a lot of that music was already tuned down - Crüe was always in D, VH mostly always in Eb. Guns - Eb, Hendrix - Eb, etc etc

[pianoguyy]

Which is why certain styles of music are all tuned similar.
80's hair metal was Eb. The more modern metals are D and C#.

It affects overall tone.

[jgcable]

Which is why certain styles of music are all tuned similar.
80's hair metal was Eb. The more modern metals are D and C#.

It affects overall tone.

Yep, and what probably hurts me more is I have relative/borderline perfect pitch. More times than not I can string up a guitar and tune it by ear and have it almost dean nuts 440. All the other bands I have been in were tuned E or Eb. The only songs that sound normal that this new band does are the Motley Crue songs. Kickstart My Heart is already in D.
Anyway... my ears are not digging it at all.

[markD]

I am in a new band doing Drop C and some D standard for the same reasons you are. I had a HUGE problem with it at first as most my current stable of guitars were not "digging" the tuning. I went and got 2 specific guitars for this band - one for the Drop C, one for D standard. That helped, because the instruments were different and new, so it kinda let me psych myself out regarding the pitch. Next thing I did was get a new amp so the tone I was hearing was different than my usual tone - again, to psych myself out.

At this point, I am good with the chord pitches. Playing leads and scale runs still seem off for me, but I just plug away at it daily and it keeps getting easier/more comfortable.

But, if your ears aren't digging it - and you can't adjust - it be better to bail than force yourself into something you hate.

[metalone]

You really have to change your tone settings and maybe amp for drop tuning s, I have been doing drop C for about five years now and it took some time to get it dialed in
If I plug in a sevens string I have to change my settings for it compared to drop C, It is strange if you are used to only standard tuning

[VoiceX3]

It really does change everything about your tone, but for the most part that can be remedied without changing anything on your amp. Obviously you will have to set up guitars just for this tuning but changing out pickups and heavier strings can do the job. I had to tune my KV2 down to drop A for one of my old bands and being a JB player normally the stock pickup just didn't work well for this AT ALL. I went with a pickup I don't love tuned to 440 (Dimebucker) and it totally changed the sound for the better. It actually tightened it up a lot and is much more defined in the lowend. You may have to try a few different pickups, but you'll find something that works I'm sure.

[Firebird V]

Or tell them to get a new singer that can hit notes in E or Eb... :P

[roodyrocker]

I feel for you. My band does 80's hard rock covers too. For years I used 3 different tunings depending on the song. To minimize wasted time between songs with guitar changes, many years ago we decided to do everything in Eb tuning whether the original was in E or Eb except for Motley Crüe which I used one Soloist for in D. Well, we also did Slaughter's Up All Night using D tuning. Since then we no longer do Slaughter and we now just use Eb even for Motley Crüe. That way my only guitar changes are for fixed bridge vs trem equipped guitars. D tuning sounds fine on record but to me it always sounded mushy and muddy live as you described and my D tuned Soloist was tried with 10's and 11's.

[straycat]

I can't deal with anything below D std it all sounds like crap to my ears.
I keep my Kahler'd DiMarzio mutt in D with the trem blocked for Crue type stuff.
E flat I can deal with just fine but it throws me off with lead runs which I'm not all that great with anyway because I'm normally a rhythm player.
I feel your frustration man I really do.
I got invited to jam with some guys and when I heard they tune to C I passed on the offer.Having to completely change everything on the guitar as far as set up was too much hassle.

[neilli]

I struggle with tunings lower than Eb too, especially drop D - for some reason, it NEVER sounds in tune to my ears..

[veemagic]

I am so glad I am not the only one who feels this way too. It has been said before, but it is so true. My ears are trained to certain keys, or more importantly a certain register, that when I stray from that so drastically it sounds alien to me. Sure in my head I know what I should be playing, but it sounds so wrong, that I don't want to play it. The last band I was in a few months ago was playing a bunch of stuff from Flyleaf and Halestorm. Everything they do is in C or D tunings. I absolutely couldn't stand it. So we transposed everything up. Our singer could handle it, so it turned out to not be a huge problem. Unfortunately John, you have the opposite issue. I think its one of those things that if you immerse yourself in it. Dedicate one guitar, set it up right, play that tuning night and day, and it may begin to start sounding natural.

[pianoguyy]

Bands need ONE tuning.
Learn a song in whatever key/position you want. But play it based on the band tuning.

I really hate seeing a band trying to detune and then re-tune their guitars on stage.
Even if you are switching guitars for the tunings, it better be quick. I didn't pay for 'quiet time'.

[Electric]

So long as the guitar and amp are setup to properly handle the tuning, I don't have too much of an issue with any tunings. I can see where if you had primarily played in just one tuning for years and years where your ears can become trained to expect that particular tuning. In my case, I have always jumped around from tunings ranging from standard tuned 6's all the way down to Drop G on a 7 string. I have multiple guitars, each optimized for whatever tuning they get used for. Certain amps are much more sensitive to tuning changes than others as well. Some amps just don't seem to handle lower tunings that well at all (although this shouldn't be the case since you're only going 1 step down).

[sambencuda]

What scale length are your guitars? anything less than 25-1/2 will feel really sloppy even with heavier strings. My original band is almost exclusively tuned to Drop C. String gauging could help. I use a custom gauge thats 11-58 an it holds up pretty well. It depends on the guitar as well. My PRS Custom 22 hates anything below Eb. As far as tone, gotta find it. Totally different than standard tuning. Honestly, I can see going 1/2 step down for a singer because half the stuff is Eb anyway. Bring another guitar for the D stuff(Crue, etc). A whole step down for a singer though... Thats a bit much IMO.