Changing from 9's to 12's.

[wilkinsi]

I'm thinking of putting 12's on one of my WR1's, just to see if I can get one down to B. There is one Nocturnus song called "Nocturne in B" . I think its just the chord guitar in that tuning. The heaviest I'm using is 10's on my Coral Sea Warrior, which is tuned to D. I'm trying to see if I can get a better tone by using thicker strings and lower tunings instead of the pitch shifter in my Boss GT-10 MFX. It has been suggested I try C - should I go with 11's for that? I did think of getting that Morpheus Drop Tune, but can't remember whether it was better sounding than just putting thicker strings on and downtuning the guitar. I can't see anyone buying that BKGF WR1 or trading a Soloist for it, so I may as well use it as a guinea pig for different string guages. The question is, at what point do you have to start fucking with the truss rod? So far, I've only tightened the spring claw to stop the trem on my Coral Sea from tilting away from flat, though I wouldn't consider 9's to 10's is much of a drastic change. 9's to 12's on the other hand..

[thetruthguy]

9s at E and 10s at D are about the same tension, so I'd think 11s at C and then 12s at B would continue to be the same tension. You're putting on heavier strings but tuning lower, so tension won't change much.

[wilkinsi]

Great, thanks

[Hellbat]

I'm using these http://store.daddario.com/category/1...lain_3rd_12-54 on my C Standard tuned guitar and they are JUST making it there. I'd think another half step down to B would make things pretty floppy...

I'd try and find a 13-56 set or something, but a lot of those will have a wound third string.

[Musician78]

My rule of thumb that seems to work with minimal adustments requred is Increase the gauge by one for every whole note detuned. For ex. E=10s D=11s C=12s B=13s

[Grim]

I would use 12s for C, 13s for B and 11s for D.

10s in D is a bit... slinky...

[Trem]

Same as people are saying. basically 1 gauge up for 1 step down. You can mix and match certain strings till you get the feel right if you have too. I use ernie ball not even slinky 12's tuned to D, but i switched out like 2 of the strings from the beefy slinky set, can't remember which at the moment. The not even slinky set probably would be fine tuned to B, you may find that you will have to balance a little compromise between tension and thickness that will be comfortable to you. Experiment.

[wilkinsi]

I'll get packs of both 12's and 13's and see which suits best.

[Devotee]

11s in C are quite comfortable but i would go with 12s or 13s to get a fatter tone, plus i like to 'fight' the guitar a big when i play. Like Trem said, you can always mix and match guages, like use 13s for more oomph on the bass side and 12s for the treble side to give you more comfort when playing leads. Either way, you're ALWAYS going to sound better ACTUALLY drop tuned rather than using a pitch-shifter.

[Chad]

Since E tuning and B tuning share many common notes, I'd just take a set of 9s, ditch the high E, shift everything down one string, then experiment with single strings for the low B. In my experience, the low B is the one I end up being the fussiest over anyway.

In other words, a pack of 9s are typically: 9, 11, 16, 24, 32, 42.

I'd try: 11, 16, 24, 32, 42, then get some singles for the B. I'd probably try 52, 54, & 56. You might want to experiment with the F# (formerly B) and D (formerly G) string as well. I typically like a plain string for the G string, no matter the tuning.

Oh yeah, you might want to take a photo of your intonation and shift that for each string too. That makes roughing in the intonation a lot easier.

[bratfink]

I set 2 of my guitars in B, one a floyd and one a kahler.

Use 12-52 or 12-54 (it depends on which make of string you buy). In terms of tension it doesn't matter too much as long as you are in that ball park because you can re-adjust the spring tension in the trem.

I would avoid those dunlop 'metal core' strings, they don't seem to last very long or sound very good.

I have had the best luck with the Elixir 'Heavy' gauge set. They are 12-52 but the 3rd string is wound wihich you may find odd.

You will need to re-adjust intonation when you are done. And since you are on a 25.5 scale length you will never get the low B in perfect intonation, most guitars built for this tuning are a 27 scale length. But in reality the difference is so small you can get away with it.

[wilkinsi]

I wonder how Nocturnus got away with using a 24.75" scale 6 string in B :think: There aren't any 27" scale guitars out there I like.

[toejam]

I set 2 of my guitars in B, one a floyd and one a kahler.

Use 12-52 or 12-54 (it depends on which make of string you buy).

?!? That must be kinda floppy. I wouldn't use anything less than a 56 for the low B.

[bratfink]

I wonder how Nocturnus got away with using a 24.75" scale 6 string in B :think: There aren't any 27" scale guitars out there I like.

Plus Carcass, Entombed or any of the early Grind/Death bands that played in B in the early days before baritone guitars were readily available.

I don't think the intonation is as much of an issue as some people make out, after all it is only 1 string that is outside the range the guitar was designed for. I only mentioned it since if you go much lower it will start to be a problem.

[bratfink]

?!? That must be kinda floppy. I wouldn't use anything less than a 56 for the low B.

each to their own, I don't like my strings to be that tight. I find the tension in B with 12-52 is similar to Eb with 9-42 on my trem fitted guitars.

I can't speak for hardtails since I don't own one.