I hate to see my other non-Ibanez guitars just sit around and rust. I*Have decided to drop-tune the Les Paul to a. I have not done this before and have a question for those who have…

What string gauge do you use? I play with 9’s on my standard tuned guitars.

Thanks in advance for helping the old guy.

I used a strat for sometime and I drop-tuned it to B. Had to use 11's. Still went out of tune though...

I would use 11's on a les paul because of the smaller scale.Good luck.

GHS has sets of Boomers (.011-.053?) and Nickel Rockers (.011-.058?) that are geared towards low tuning... in fact, they're called "Lo-Tune" sets.

The reason i put question marks on the gauges is because there's a conflict between what juststrings.com says they are and what GHS says they are... amazingly, i think GHS' site is incorrect, since the gauges they list for the Lo-Tune Boomers are exactly the same as their thin-thick set (.010-.052).

I'm probably going to try the Boomers on a guitar i'm building specifically for drop-tuning. If they're a bit too loose, i'll try the Nickel Rockers, since they're made from a harder alloy and apparently have a stiffer feel.

Thanks guys. I was thinking 11’s. I guess I wasn’t far off. Thanks for the links Darren. I was not even aware of strings designed for low tuning. Since the Paul does have a short scale, I need all the help I can get in the string department. I considered drop-tuning one of my UVs, but I just don’t want to mess with the truss and screw up the perfect action they have.

I have new tuning machines for the Paul and a set of BBQ pickups that I haven’t used. I know the pickups are hot, but have never tried them. Might as well give it a shot. I’ll be stylin’ with the KoRn sound in no time. Then all I need is some dreds in my hair and I’ll feel like a young man again. :silly:

Go .11 ! My black SG sounds awsome and very heavy with these!

buy Dave Manegan baritone packs
he also has strings for Dropped D tunings

I use 11's on my LP and it's tuned to B. Stays in tune fairly decently.

I use 10-46 for Eb, gonna start using 10-46 also for D standard (Mick Mars uses Ernie Ball 10-46 for D tuning).

I have 12-54 on a 25.5" scale ESP with a floyd tuned to B standard, and it wont stay in tune on the treble strings at all. Sounds and plays terrible. I even have the bridge blocked to dive only. I will try 11's next time. Had to adjust everything to get it somewhat playable for now.

I used 13s for B to B on a 24.75" inch scale ESP/LTD Viper with passive EMGs. It worked well through big Marshalls but not so good through small practice amp.

It's a really huge sound and the 13s stayed in tune better than 11s which were just too slinky on shorter Gibson scale. Something as light as 11s may work on a longer Fender scale.

Maybe I should try the 13's? My ESP is almost unplayable with the 12s at B tuning as far as staying in tune, even with a bridge block for dive only on the Floyd Rose. The dunlop strings I bought were designed for alternative lower tunings too. I would understand the tuning problems if I was using a full floating bridge, but this guitar has been rock solid for years, even when it was setup for full floating. I play through an old 90's Line6 Flextone II 100watt 2x12 combo amp with various pedals(tube screamer, EVH flanger, EVH phase90, boss HR-2 harmonist, Ibanez wah) and all pedals are turned off. I have to turn the gain and bass knobs way down to clean up the muddiness. Even then, it still sounds like a turd. I know there is nothing wrong with the ESP as far as intonation, electronics, tuning stability, truss rod, etc....I am constantly fighting to keep the G,B, and E strings in tune. String tension feels similar to my other guitars with 9s, tuned to standard and Eb. Maybe someone else has been in a similar situation also, when trying to decide what gauge string to use for low tunings.

The one thing that shored up the tuning with my ESP and 13s on B to B was to have a wound third string. With that third string staying put, it seemed to help the unwound second string holding a little better, too.

When I went to the 13s I also widened the nut slots, too and that helped tuning greatly. I was able to go back to 10s and standard tuning with no noticeable problems. I only re-intonate when I go to the really heavy strings and tweak it back when going to standard tuning.

That sounds like a good idea for the wound 3rd string. Makes sense. Widen the slots on the locking nut with a file?

My bad. I just have a regular Gibson style nut. For locking nut I don't have a clue.