Drop F tuning on a 7 string?

[Mr.WizardNeck]

I was thinking of getting a 7 string and tuning the normal 6 strings to C and then dropping the biggest one down and was told it would be an F. True? If so, how would this sound, has anyone done it before and what guage would be recommended?

[Andelusion]

I think you'd want a baritone to be honest, that low string is going to be VERY flabby.

[jim777]

Originally Posted by Mr.WizardNeck

I was thinking of getting a 7 string and tuning the normal 6 strings to C and then dropping the biggest one down and was told it would be an F. True?

You could make it F, but if you kept the relationships the same it would be G.

[Roland]

You can't make a good-sounding F-powerchord. The inherent lowness of the note causes the fifth (in this case, the C) to overpower the fundamental F, regardless of how good 'a guitar you have. Single-notes are okay, but powerchords just turn into a haze.
The more sensible thing would be to tune to G, as previously mentioned, eventhough that would put strain on your tonal quality already. Nonetheless, if you tune to G, you should use a .070, if you have a standard "25.5-scale.

[Mr.WizardNeck]

It's a Dean Evo 7 (if I can actually get it) and I'm unsure of the scale.

[Sigar]

It's 25.5"

[Of Angels]

A .70 will work on a 25.5" scale if you tune it to G... if you want to go down to F or even sub-octave E on that short of a scale, use an .80 and you won't have problems with stability or tone... of course, the nut on that guitar would have to be cut to accommodate either of those strings... but from my experience, an .80 gauge actually sounds monstrous when tuned to F, rather than dead and flabby.

[Lefty Robb]

Is there a need to go that low, I know Devin does G and thats crazy low...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaZQ...eature=related

[jim777]

At F why not just get a bass or a sampler?

[varador]

+1 yeah dude if you like downtuning so much, just get a bass... drop F... jesus, what the hell for?

[Of Angels]

To be brutal, duh.

Besides - if he gets a bass, he'll still need another dude to have a bass tuned an octave lower. I still haven't figure out how that's possible, but oh well.

My drummer and I play that low just to dick around sometimes... it's kinda fun, haha.

[Variant]

Originally Posted by Of Angels

To be brutal, duh.

Besides - if he gets a bass, he'll still need another dude to have a bass tuned an octave lower. I still haven't figure out how that's possible, but oh well.

My drummer and I play that low just to dick around sometimes... it's kinda fun, haha.

Long scale would help here (think RG1077XL or ESP Stef 7), though I used to go drop-G with a .070 on my RG7620 (25.5"). While it worked and the string tension was fine, your real hurdle is will likely be the pickups. The result will almost surely be some combination of muddy and boomy no matter how you EQ things. Personally, I'd reccomend a switch to an EMG or Lundgren in the bridge before doing anything that low.

As for the bass: Subcontra tunings, while not very common, are entirely possible (hey, the Warwick Dark Lord comes in F#0). Again, good (active, IMHO) pickups are a big part of the solution here, and a massive single string for the lowest notes. My bass is tuned one octave below my RG2228 eight string (which one step down to E1), to E0... about 20 hertz. :-)

[partyonpat]

i play gcgfea on a esp ltd-1000 and it's fine, you just have to get the right strings

[Karl Hungus]

Originally Posted by jim777

At F why not just get a bass or a sampler?

It's a guitar, with guitar pickups, and going through a guitar amp. It's not going to sound like a bass, even at that kind of tuning, and the point of downtuning is not to replicate a bass.

So honestly, telling someone to just get a bass is maddeningly unhelpful.

[p4vl]

I'm confused. Some of you are willing to use guitars with an additional string and pay extra for custom finishes and special hardware, but you think that tuning it really low is too unorthodox? Why stop with standard tuning+1 or dropped D+1?