ALRIGHT GUYS, on the 14 gauge strings: I use 11s in E standard. 14s are roughly the same tension when tuned down to C standard, and NOT as crazy as many commenters are saying. That said, I think this video attracted some new viewers to my channel, so in hindsight I should’ve been a little more clear about a couple things. For one I play a ton of slide guitar and my channel is very slide-centric. I play slide AND non-slide on ALL of my guitars, but the slide playing is part of my bias towards slightly heavier strings. If you’re a metal guitarist who plays shreddier stuff or just used to 9s in E standard then sure, 11s or 12s will be fine in C standard, which I should have acknowledged in the video. I know a guy who likes 8s in C standard. There is no right or wrong, only what works best for you.
8s in C sounds insane! I use a 11-56 set where I swap out the 56 for a 59, and it's pretty much at the intonation limit of my 24.75" scale guitar on strings 6 and 3. My strat with a 9-42 set in E is tighter all around, so I always assumed 11-59 on a 24.75 scale would be about the same as 8s on a 25.5" scale in E.
@@bobbywest8460 If you like looser strings try getting a 11-56 set and swapping the 56 for a 59. The set I use is the D'addario exl-117 which says on the package it's optimized for D tuning so it's light for C. The strings are: 11, 14, 19, 32wound, 44, 56. The reason I swapped the 56 for a 59 is because it couldn't intonate properly on my 24.75 scale guitar and it felt too loose in comparison to the other strings. Bends are super easy with that setup which is great for helping me not make my wrist problem worse. The tuning stability is off compared to a 9-42 set on a strat (25.5 scale) which feels quite a bit tighter, so you have to be careful with how you pick and stuff like that. I've experimented with many different strings for C standard, and the D'addario standard for C tuning seems to be 12, 16, 20, 34wound, 46, 60. That's a good place to start. I used to use a whole custom set made from single strings, but what I do now is much easier and I don't have problems. Also, if your guitar has a plastic nut cut for standard tuning watch out because putting thick strings like that wore my nut down really fast on one guitar to the point where it buzzes against the first fret. I can't confirm this solves it personally, but to avoid that I suspect it might be a good idea to get it filed to accommodate the strings by a professional rather than letting the strings wear the groove thicker. So there's a commitment to think about involved in this. The guitar I use in C now has a Floyd Rose, so the nut is metal and designed in a way where I don't have to worry about this at all. Kind of said a lot of this in a response to this post a few days ago, but I think my account got shadowbanned.
Also scale length will affect string tension. Is your c-standard tuned guitar 28-5/8", and the LP 24-3/4"? 14s would feel much different on a standard scale length vs a baritone
Devin Townsend plays in Open C because as a kid he tought the song Friends by Led Zeppelin was in standard tuning and he couldn't figure out how Jimmy Page played it. When he found out it was Open C he just never bother with standard again.
Ive used so many tunings in life. Ive reached this point in my 40’s where I just play in E standard and thats about it. I have a few in E flat. But thats as low as I go anymore. And i used to play 7 strings tuned lower
Madison Cunningham is one of my favorite artists, and her use of C standard is such a poweful pairing to her voice and songwriting. Lots of fun to be had when you go low
I absolutely love C standard! I play guitar in my college marching/athletic band and I use a LTD ES256 or Epiphone Les Paul in C standard whenever I play! It makes common wind instrument keys like Bb, Eb, and F in the positions of D, G, and A! C standard is also really heavy, but not low enough to have to go out of the way to significantly change the way I approach guitar tone!
I always practice on my standard tuning guitar, but all the ideas flow on my C standard. All the chords, all the feeling, all the riffs just sound better and thicker strings make it feel powerful even though it really doesn’t make a difference tone wise. C standard till I die
12 gauge is more than adequate for the job, elevens will also be fine and you can make it go out of tune easier by plucking "too hard". Have had my SG tuned to C standard for about 15 years now.
I have 12s on any guitar that I can put them on, they're incredibly versatile. They're not too hard when tuned to standard, but they can go down as far as drop A if you need them to.
I'm in C standard tuning on an SG with 11-52 strings. You get a slightly more relaxed attack, but it sounds awesome with a heavy fuzz through an Orange amp.
C standard is awesome, (dunno why people talking about open c and drop c when they are different tunings lol) most of the music I write is in that tunning, black sabbath, kyuss and qotsa are what got me into that tuning!
Jazz guitarist Tim Lerch has been tuning to Db for quite a while. The guitar ends up being more piano like and he says it’s great for chord melody playing and vocalist accompaniment.
god bless youtube, never thought id find such a detailed video on something like this, but i want to try it out as im continuously singing out of my range so maybe this will help
I use Flatwounds. They are higher tension. Work great for tuning down. I can tune down to C# no problem with 10 Flats. Looser than "normal", but works fine for me. The pro of 10 Flats is you can tune back to E standard and it not be very tight. I have no problem with 11 Flats, but people used to rounds would think it was pretty tight in E Standard. I have a guitar with 12 Flats in E Standard, but it's short scale. My Baritone has Flats too. I forgot what gauge. I think 11s. Works fine. Idk....I used a gauge calculator to figure out how to make it feel like Round 10s on a regular scale guitar. Keep in mind once you open up your nut slots they are opened up. So.....consider trying Flats for tuning down if you usually play Rounds. Get more tension without much gauge change. Anyway...EXPERIMENT! I'm not done experimenting. So....don't use me as a guide. There's feel and sound and setup to consider. To each their own. I do plan to try other stuff myself. It is fun! People like different feel. Strings are cheap enough to do some experimenting. Find what works for you. Start wherever. Can start with what you have tuning down just a little at first. You might like your normal strings down a half or whole step. This is to whoever reads the comments.
Wow, Dylan great video. I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve never thought of doing this and can’t wait to try it today. I am miles behind you but you are very helpful just the same. Thanks again, I’m loving the channel.
I have 13 to 56 on my Edwards HR-145 Horizon II. Tuned down to B standard. It sounds so badass!!! Bending strings is like a hot knife through soft butter... or more like a Sword through the Air, there's very little resistance, but the Floyd Rose is too loose, so when I bend strings, the floating tremolo compensates by releasing some of the tension on the rest of the strings, so double stop bends, especially double stop/single note bends don't work well unless I slightly bend the other string too... hahaha. Anyway, I love baritone guitars and guitars in standard but detuned. The standard lower tuning makes me inspired to write all kinds of tunes that I never would have thought of if I always played in standard E tuning. I love having plenty of guitars that I can customize the string sets to the alternate tunings that I leave a particular guitar in!!! Then I'll write out the neck note diagram and caged and scales/modes for 1 or 2(sometimes 3) keys that work well in that alternate tuning and I'll just start noodling around, and before I know it, I'll play something that sounds absolutely unique and unlike anything I had ever imagined writing!!! And it's all because I started playing with whatever it sounded like it was supposed to sound like... especially when using a multi effects pedal or floorboard... scrolling through random effects with the alternate tuning dictating the flow of the music and the direction that the musical landscape is being called to journey through... it's magical!!! I love it and I am looking forward to getting a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or actually better yet, a 3 bedroom house for my fiance and I'll have 1 room for our business, and another room just for my home recording-studio to re-record my album lost in a California wildfire because I was unable to get my Tascam 32 track out of my room... along with everything else I owned...😮... but it's all good. Tears 😢 and spilled milk, right...??? HAHAHA 😂 Great video. I have an 8 string semi-hollowbody guitar that I use for diatonic-ality with melodic "lead-bass-like runs in between the 2 or 3 note chords in the lower register to fatten up the riffs in standard E tuning that sound thin... but it has to be done consciously in a complimentary way so it won't muddy the sound. But anyway... I hope this comment will boost you in the algorithm. I really like your style and approach. You're a cool cat. Thank you for the idea of using a slide with the string gauge appropriate standard drop tuned guitars... that's brilliant!!! I can't wait to swap out the strings on one of my guitars for a C, C#, or D standard tuned setup!!! I normally play light gauge strings with low action on most of my guitars, with the exception of a couple of my acoustics). So yeah!!! That's going to be awesome!!! I wish you the very best, my friend.
Sounds awesome! I've been playing big hollow bodies and higher gauge strings to try to bring bass to my playing. This sounds like another great way to do that or to take it to the next level.
Thanks Dylan! Man, your playing is such an inspiration. I am a proponent of heavier gauge strings myself, but I never considered going higher, especially if the tuning requires it. Keep up the sick content and the playing. Its been awesome to hear your stuff!!
Thanks for the video! I am a casual player so I have not really given string gauge enough thought. The growling bass sound sparks an interest in me to tinker with it!👏👏👏
Been doing this for a few months inspired by your videos and Joey landreth. I love Joey low sound but I’ve been playing slide in standard since I’ve started watching your videos. Thank you for the inspiration! Love the videos keep em coming!
I've been doing a similar thing for a while now. Love playing in lower tunings. You're a great player. For some reason I get major Marty Friedman vibes from some of your runs.
YES SIR! I did this a while back because my vocal range sits a few steps below standard tuning and I am also a piano player. The Ease of expressing myself really opened up once I did this.
Thank you for these very helpful tips and demonstrations! Having worked over the years with open tunings, I am ready to take these drop tunings on thanks to your video. Great stuff!!!
Ive been using lower tunings such as D & C# Standard for years. Ive been using 10 gauge Elixirs & theyve been working fine for me, but perhaps moving up a gauge or two might not be as hard as what ive heard. I like to play grunge, punk, alternative etc songs in lower tunings & even make songs in those tunings. I rarely go as low as C or even B standard cuz i dont wanna break those kind of strings since theyre expensive as it is. I'm glad that more people are checking out deeper tunings cuz there's whole sounds & worlds waiting to be explored from them that would open up so many floodgates of creative potential! Play whatever however you want to, of course, but these tunings truly add so much depth & possibility to rock songs as we've known them
This tuning sounds absolutely amazing on an acoustic, I use my regular gauge strings too (12-54) and its like they were made for this. That 6th string just sounds heavenly
When I started play guitar in 1996, a big influence was new metal, so I slowly dropped down my guitar tunings over the years. Now I am in Standard B on my main guitars. String gauge I use .013-.062 on a baritone 27" and .013-.056 on a regular 25.5".
That’s really an awesome perspective when it comes to lower guitar tunings. On this whole topic you normally just find content like: “Dude tune your guitar to drop z, it sounds soo heavy!!” (a more metal based guitar player here 😅) but this video is something different. More like tuning a guitar lower to create a tool for more complex sound layers. Great inspiration 👍🏻
With the lower tunings I can see why it makes sense to try and take advantage of the lower neck positions (using a combination or CAPO plus tuning), especially for keys that tend not to have low lowest notes in standard tuning (probably these keys Bb, B,C, Db, D, Eb). Same for chords so you can find some open ringing notes in these lower keys. ). I could see pulling it off for simpler songs that don't have quite as many chords or key changes. However for many jazz songs with lots of different key changes and chords this could be more challenging and the only way I could manage to do it is to think of the song as being a key that the tuning is chosen for so I could navigate then neck as if it was standard tuning. Otherwise trying to remember all the transpositions would take up too much brain power to be able to play. So if you tuned the lowest string to C like in the video and the song was in the key of C I'd have to think of it as being in the key of E (even though it's in C) so I could transpose all the chords to key and use the locations of the shapes I already know. I'd be pretty impressed if you can solo and play chords to a song like Misty ,change the tuning down to a half step. Okay maybe a half step down in possible but down to C would be hard.
My "couch guitar" is a very slim necked short scale (600mm, 38mm nut) with 12-56 tuned to D standard. Made by me for use with arthritic hands. The tension needs to be lower or it hurts to play. Sounds much gruntier than the same instrument with standard E and skinny strings. Thanks for your inspirational slide playing.
It actually would be super cool to see you play a baritone using your playing style. I love low tunings, they just add a sense of mystery to the guitar, especially in the lower register.
What I love about open C is that you get a lot more low end without sacrificing the higher register too much and it works well with most singers (doesn't clash with the vocals as much as a an electric guitar typically does).
Yeah thicker strings for lower tuning makes sense. Especially if you want the strings to ring out the same way as E standard. I’m thinking about doing B Standard on a strat soon,
I have a Tele that loves D standard. For some reason that particular guitar feels and sounds better at lower tunings and higher gage strings. Every guitar has it's own personality you just need to let them be what they want to be.
Every one of your videos is a lesson in music theory for me. I can understand the theory from a mathematical standpoint, but man, how you turn the math and theory into notes is magic to me!
i have been using D standard as my main tuning for one of my bands for 2 years. its really great cus we're a relatively large ensemble (6 members, 3 guitarrists including me) so it helps me get out of the way of the other guitarrists but still not get muddy and mix with the bass. I highly recommend it for other rhythm players (also try drop c!!!)
I feel silly that after all this time I never did this before. I guess I just got locked into always playing in standard E, 440 tuning. I took my acoustic, tuned it to standard C, and was shocked to realize I was able to sing all the songs I always wanted to play, but my low voice couldn’t handle. I ordered 11s for my Les Paul.
Low tunings are real common in acoustic blues, which makes sense because a lot of modern metal musicians love to get influence from old timey styles. In blues theres a lot of c# standard and d standard
My band plays in C standard, I use a 7 string set though so that my three high strings are 13g but my top three are closer to a 10-11g size. It’s such a beefy sounding tuning
Years ago there was a band in washington state that used the higher bass strings for lower guitar strings ( with mods on the guitar) to play some gnarly stuff. Oil filter. Pertty interesting.
Hey Dylan! Metal guitarist here (I also play other styles of music). This video is spot on for low tunings, and I'm really excited that folks in other genres are coming around to using them. One note I would add about string gauges is the tonal differences, especially on the wound strings. When playing with a lot of gain in Drop C (D standard), I've found that anything heavier than 11/12-54s can have a pretty unmanageable low end, even with amp EQ compensation. This might be a problem only for high gain amps though, and I also pick pretty hard. If one is finding that the low end is too much, I would recommend sizing down on the wound strings, and that could solve the problem. I'd love to hear your take on wound G strings in tunings lower than C standard if you ever end up tuning down there. I've gone back and forth, but I also don't play a lot of lead lines so that almost certainly influences my opinion. Great video though, and super tasteful playing :)
I dunno if it's my hearing or my speakers but i feel like anything below D standard starts sounding real muddy and nasty. Works good for high saturated fuzz styles like kyuss used to play, but it's the main reason i can't get behind the more modern metal styles that play with the extended range. In the examples here i feel like the c standard is easily the worst and d seems to be in that sweet spot
@@isaiahburridgemusic B standard is a 4th lower, is like I have an 7 string guitar without the upper E. And it feels like I'm playing 11's, also I didn't had to adjust my truss rod, only the intonation and the nut.
I've been in C standard for about 7 or 8 years now. Always using 9's, sometimes 10's. BB King said it best when he saw Billy Gibbons' fat strings "Why you work so hard?"
but how do you deal with string tension? whenever i downtune a whole step or more on my guitar that has 9s installed, it gets really bendy and goes out of tune easily just pressing down.
@@MrPedromuriel a lighter touch solves the problem. The lack of tension then allows me to ad an almost vocal quality to my notes, allows me to bend chords, and pull off the wild, Gilmour-esque bends. On the flip side, i spent quite a few years of my youth only using the lower 6 from 7 string packs and tossing the high Es. Lol. Initially it was to tune to B... but then I got crazy and tuned up to standard without going back to lighter gauges. Lol. I couldn't afford to re-nut my axe again. Lol. When I got my SG and just tuned it down right out of the box, I found something magical with those floppy 9s in C and C#. Ill never go back to heavy gauges again.
@@strychen hey, that's what tony iommi used, right? 9s in C standard, from some record forward. If it's good enough for the Sabbath, it's good enough for us lol
I haven't bothered to change the stock strings on my new Guild Polara and I have it tuned to D standard with virtually no problems. Whatever works for each player I guess.
something interesting I noticed, is when you capo'd to emulate stadard, it didnt sound like a normal guitar to me. maybe the capo itself provides a difference in sound.
The only bluesman allowed to use a capo...Johnny Winter.....That setup you have is a monster....great for slide....SRV used it i believe....tire up his fingers.
Also awesome is the Joni Mitchell Coyote tuning, C G D F C E . Also works well if you tune the top two C C. May I add one more, used by Curtis Mayfield sometimes. E A C# E A E. Gorgeous voicings to be had.
I go to C standard with 11/56 on a 25.5 scale and 12/60 on 24.75 scale . I dont know what is the scale lengtht of your guitar neck . But 14/62 is kind of really weirdy in terms of balance tension ......
Are Keef’s slide parts on the Stones’ song “Let It Bleed” in open C? I hear that low tonic right at the end of the beginning lick before the acoustic guitar and band kick in.
it starts with C standard, then it becomes, "man what if i dropped tuned this," then it quickly transitions into "hey man have you heard the new white chapel?"
A Perfect Circle uses C# tuning or Db according to one source. I dont think theres a difference but if there is I'd love someone to take the time to school me. Stay blessed 🤘🤙
Nice playing and tone as well m'lad. Please do keep giving us novel (if I ain't heard it it's new to me) off beat spicy bits of musical notion to chew on and inspire. When I tried C# it was love at first listen and when I heard this beautiful thing that love earned a kindred mistress.
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ALRIGHT GUYS, on the 14 gauge strings: I use 11s in E standard. 14s are roughly the same tension when tuned down to C standard, and NOT as crazy as many commenters are saying.
That said, I think this video attracted some new viewers to my channel, so in hindsight I should’ve been a little more clear about a couple things. For one I play a ton of slide guitar and my channel is very slide-centric. I play slide AND non-slide on ALL of my guitars, but the slide playing is part of my bias towards slightly heavier strings. If you’re a metal guitarist who plays shreddier stuff or just used to 9s in E standard then sure, 11s or 12s will be fine in C standard, which I should have acknowledged in the video. I know a guy who likes 8s in C standard. There is no right or wrong, only what works best for you.
8s in C sounds insane! I use a 11-56 set where I swap out the 56 for a 59, and it's pretty much at the intonation limit of my 24.75" scale guitar on strings 6 and 3. My strat with a 9-42 set in E is tighter all around, so I always assumed 11-59 on a 24.75 scale would be about the same as 8s on a 25.5" scale in E.
I’m in C standard with 9’s and it’s awesome. I would like to try heavier…
@@bobbywest8460 If you like looser strings try getting a 11-56 set and swapping the 56 for a 59. The set I use is the D'addario exl-117 which says on the package it's optimized for D tuning so it's light for C. The strings are: 11, 14, 19, 32wound, 44, 56. The reason I swapped the 56 for a 59 is because it couldn't intonate properly on my 24.75 scale guitar and it felt too loose in comparison to the other strings. Bends are super easy with that setup which is great for helping me not make my wrist problem worse.
The tuning stability is off compared to a 9-42 set on a strat (25.5 scale) which feels quite a bit tighter, so you have to be careful with how you pick and stuff like that.
I've experimented with many different strings for C standard, and the D'addario standard for C tuning seems to be 12, 16, 20, 34wound, 46, 60. That's a good place to start. I used to use a whole custom set made from single strings, but what I do now is much easier and I don't have problems.
Also, if your guitar has a plastic nut cut for standard tuning watch out because putting thick strings like that wore my nut down really fast on one guitar to the point where it buzzes against the first fret. I can't confirm this solves it personally, but to avoid that I suspect it might be a good idea to get it filed to accommodate the strings by a professional rather than letting the strings wear the groove thicker. So there's a commitment to think about involved in this. The guitar I use in C now has a Floyd Rose, so the nut is metal and designed in a way where I don't have to worry about this at all.
Kind of said a lot of this in a response to this post a few days ago, but I think my account got shadowbanned.
For non metal guitarists anything below D# and thicker than string gauge 10 is some heresy, black magic, dark sorcery stuff.
Also scale length will affect string tension. Is your c-standard tuned guitar 28-5/8", and the LP 24-3/4"? 14s would feel much different on a standard scale length vs a baritone
Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age also played in C standard a *lot* over the years though he’s moved into E and D standard in recent albums
Man that first queens album is something else, love it a lot
Devin Townsend plays in Open C because as a kid he tought the song Friends by Led Zeppelin was in standard tuning and he couldn't figure out how Jimmy Page played it. When he found out it was Open C he just never bother with standard again.
I’ve been in a similar boat since discovering Devin Townsend!
Ive used so many tunings in life. Ive reached this point in my 40’s where I just play in E standard and thats about it. I have a few in E flat. But thats as low as I go anymore. And i used to play 7 strings tuned lower
What that got to do with C standard?
@@baalgaang1925the letter C sir. The lowest string is the same as open C
Devy turned me on to open C years back. It’s super fun and pretty easy to make most things easier and sound pretty rad
Madison Cunningham is one of my favorite artists, and her use of C standard is such a poweful pairing to her voice and songwriting. Lots of fun to be had when you go low
Ha, this woman is amazing, her song "All I've Ever Known" (and the live at the Chapel version) got me hooked for days when I first heard it ..
I absolutely love C standard! I play guitar in my college marching/athletic band and I use a LTD ES256 or Epiphone Les Paul in C standard whenever I play! It makes common wind instrument keys like Bb, Eb, and F in the positions of D, G, and A! C standard is also really heavy, but not low enough to have to go out of the way to significantly change the way I approach guitar tone!
I always practice on my standard tuning guitar, but all the ideas flow on my C standard. All the chords, all the feeling, all the riffs just sound better and thicker strings make it feel powerful even though it really doesn’t make a difference tone wise. C standard till I die
12 gauge is more than adequate for the job, elevens will also be fine and you can make it go out of tune easier by plucking "too hard". Have had my SG tuned to C standard for about 15 years now.
I have 12s on any guitar that I can put them on, they're incredibly versatile. They're not too hard when tuned to standard, but they can go down as far as drop A if you need them to.
Idk man 12s still floppy
C Standard works so much better when you have a 25.5 scale. I would rather have a longer scale than thicker strings
I'm in C standard tuning on an SG with 11-52 strings. You get a slightly more relaxed attack, but it sounds awesome with a heavy fuzz through an Orange amp.
I've had an acoustic in C standard for at least a decade. I love it!
C standard is awesome, (dunno why people talking about open c and drop c when they are different tunings lol) most of the music I write is in that tunning, black sabbath, kyuss and qotsa are what got me into that tuning!
Jazz guitarist Tim Lerch has been tuning to Db for quite a while. The guitar ends up being more piano like and he says it’s great for chord melody playing and vocalist accompaniment.
That’s my favorite tuning. Most hard rock/ nu metal bands of the 2000’s played in that tuning. Linkin park, mudvayne, 10 years, chevelle, incubus
I did this with a thinline with P90s using 12-56 (third wound) after hearing Madison Cunningham’s music.
Lol same
andy shauf was actually the one who turned me up to low tuning, mainly C# standard on his acoustics. so incredibly warm and distinctive
god bless youtube, never thought id find such a detailed video on something like this, but i want to try it out as im continuously singing out of my range so maybe this will help
I think I first heard Mark Lettieri on his baritone records going so low, a lot of cool stuff. Thanks!
One note about going heavy gauge. You may have to refile your nut and bridge to account for the wider strings.
I use Flatwounds. They are higher tension. Work great for tuning down. I can tune down to C# no problem with 10 Flats. Looser than "normal", but works fine for me.
The pro of 10 Flats is you can tune back to E standard and it not be very tight. I have no problem with 11 Flats, but people used to rounds would think it was pretty tight in E Standard. I have a guitar with 12 Flats in E Standard, but it's short scale.
My Baritone has Flats too. I forgot what gauge. I think 11s. Works fine. Idk....I used a gauge calculator to figure out how to make it feel like Round 10s on a regular scale guitar.
Keep in mind once you open up your nut slots they are opened up. So.....consider trying Flats for tuning down if you usually play Rounds. Get more tension without much gauge change.
Anyway...EXPERIMENT! I'm not done experimenting. So....don't use me as a guide. There's feel and sound and setup to consider. To each their own. I do plan to try other stuff myself. It is fun!
People like different feel. Strings are cheap enough to do some experimenting. Find what works for you. Start wherever. Can start with what you have tuning down just a little at first. You might like your normal strings down a half or whole step.
This is to whoever reads the comments.
Wow, Dylan great video. I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve never thought of doing this and can’t wait to try it today.
I am miles behind you but you are very helpful just the same. Thanks again, I’m loving the channel.
This tuning reminds me of A Perfect Circle and Static-X
I have a guitar that I keep in C standard. I have always used an 11-52 set on it.
I have 13 to 56 on my Edwards HR-145 Horizon II. Tuned down to B standard. It sounds so badass!!! Bending strings is like a hot knife through soft butter... or more like a Sword through the Air, there's very little resistance, but the Floyd Rose is too loose, so when I bend strings, the floating tremolo compensates by releasing some of the tension on the rest of the strings, so double stop bends, especially double stop/single note bends don't work well unless I slightly bend the other string too... hahaha. Anyway, I love baritone guitars and guitars in standard but detuned. The standard lower tuning makes me inspired to write all kinds of tunes that I never would have thought of if I always played in standard E tuning. I love having plenty of guitars that I can customize the string sets to the alternate tunings that I leave a particular guitar in!!! Then I'll write out the neck note diagram and caged and scales/modes for 1 or 2(sometimes 3) keys that work well in that alternate tuning and I'll just start noodling around, and before I know it, I'll play something that sounds absolutely unique and unlike anything I had ever imagined writing!!! And it's all because I started playing with whatever it sounded like it was supposed to sound like... especially when using a multi effects pedal or floorboard... scrolling through random effects with the alternate tuning dictating the flow of the music and the direction that the musical landscape is being called to journey through... it's magical!!! I love it and I am looking forward to getting a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or actually better yet, a 3 bedroom house for my fiance and I'll have 1 room for our business, and another room just for my home recording-studio to re-record my album lost in a California wildfire because I was unable to get my Tascam 32 track out of my room... along with everything else I owned...😮... but it's all good. Tears 😢 and spilled milk, right...??? HAHAHA 😂
Great video.
I have an 8 string semi-hollowbody guitar that I use for diatonic-ality with melodic "lead-bass-like runs in between the 2 or 3 note chords in the lower register to fatten up the riffs in standard E tuning that sound thin... but it has to be done consciously in a complimentary way so it won't muddy the sound.
But anyway... I hope this comment will boost you in the algorithm. I really like your style and approach. You're a cool cat.
Thank you for the idea of using a slide with the string gauge appropriate standard drop tuned guitars... that's brilliant!!!
I can't wait to swap out the strings on one of my guitars for a C, C#, or D standard tuned setup!!!
I normally play light gauge strings with low action on most of my guitars, with the exception of a couple of my acoustics).
So yeah!!!
That's going to be awesome!!!
I wish you the very best, my friend.
Sounds awesome! I've been playing big hollow bodies and higher gauge strings to try to bring bass to my playing. This sounds like another great way to do that or to take it to the next level.
Thanks Dylan! Man, your playing is such an inspiration. I am a proponent of heavier gauge strings myself, but I never considered going higher, especially if the tuning requires it. Keep up the sick content and the playing. Its been awesome to hear your stuff!!
Angel from Montgomery?? Perfect!!
You’re an old soul in a young man’s body… SO refreshing
Thanks for the video! I am a casual player so I have not really given string gauge enough thought. The growling bass sound sparks an interest in me to tinker with it!👏👏👏
Been doing this for a few months inspired by your videos and Joey landreth. I love Joey low sound but I’ve been playing slide in standard since I’ve started watching your videos. Thank you for the inspiration! Love the videos keep em coming!
I've been doing a similar thing for a while now. Love playing in lower tunings. You're a great player. For some reason I get major Marty Friedman vibes from some of your runs.
YES SIR! I did this a while back because my vocal range sits a few steps below standard tuning and I am also a piano player. The Ease of expressing myself really opened up once I did this.
Thank you for these very helpful tips and demonstrations! Having worked over the years with open tunings, I am ready to take these drop tunings on thanks to your video. Great stuff!!!
Really cool, I've been playing a step lower for years. I may try this 2 step lower soon. It sounds great.
Ive been using lower tunings such as D & C# Standard for years. Ive been using 10 gauge Elixirs & theyve been working fine for me, but perhaps moving up a gauge or two might not be as hard as what ive heard. I like to play grunge, punk, alternative etc songs in lower tunings & even make songs in those tunings. I rarely go as low as C or even B standard cuz i dont wanna break those kind of strings since theyre expensive as it is. I'm glad that more people are checking out deeper tunings cuz there's whole sounds & worlds waiting to be explored from them that would open up so many floodgates of creative potential! Play whatever however you want to, of course, but these tunings truly add so much depth & possibility to rock songs as we've known them
This tuning sounds absolutely amazing on an acoustic, I use my regular gauge strings too (12-54) and its like they were made for this. That 6th string just sounds heavenly
I love C standard. I utilize a pack of 13 gage flatwounds with a 14 and 18 on top. It's very musical sounding. This channel is excellent!
Hey Dylan, you're really progressing fast. I love to see you developing your own sound and style. I wish you all the best.
When I started play guitar in 1996, a big influence was new metal, so I slowly dropped down my guitar tunings over the years. Now I am in Standard B on my main guitars. String gauge I use .013-.062 on a baritone 27" and .013-.056 on a regular 25.5".
Madison Cunningham has been doing this for years, check out her ‘Pin It Down’.
I mentioned her in the video! She’s incredible
❤well spoken and that slide was super excellent😅
That’s really an awesome perspective when it comes to lower guitar tunings. On this whole topic you normally just find content like: “Dude tune your guitar to drop z, it sounds soo heavy!!” (a more metal based guitar player here 😅) but this video is something different. More like tuning a guitar lower to create a tool for more complex sound layers. Great inspiration 👍🏻
With the lower tunings I can see why it makes sense to try and take advantage of the lower neck positions (using a combination or CAPO plus tuning), especially for keys that tend not to have low lowest notes in standard tuning (probably these keys Bb, B,C, Db, D, Eb). Same for chords so you can find some open ringing notes in these lower keys. ). I could see pulling it off for simpler songs that don't have quite as many chords or key changes. However for many jazz songs with lots of different key changes and chords this could be more challenging and the only way I could manage to do it is to think of the song as being a key that the tuning is chosen for so I could navigate then neck as if it was standard tuning. Otherwise trying to remember all the transpositions would take up too much brain power to be able to play. So if you tuned the lowest string to C like in the video and the song was in the key of C I'd have to think of it as being in the key of E (even though it's in C) so I could transpose all the chords to key and use the locations of the shapes I already know. I'd be pretty impressed if you can solo and play chords to a song like Misty ,change the tuning down to a half step. Okay maybe a half step down in possible but down to C would be hard.
My "couch guitar" is a very slim necked short scale (600mm, 38mm nut) with 12-56 tuned to D standard. Made by me for use with arthritic hands. The tension needs to be lower or it hurts to play. Sounds much gruntier than the same instrument with standard E and skinny strings. Thanks for your inspirational slide playing.
I beleive Madison Cunningham used super thick strings and that tuning for "Pin it Down". Sounds Awesome, big thumbs up!
I use 62-12 strings for my C Standard setup.
It actually would be super cool to see you play a baritone using your playing style. I love low tunings, they just add a sense of mystery to the guitar, especially in the lower register.
FWIW, I love the aesthetic of that guitar. The headstock is rad!
D standard has been my fav, especially on one of my acoustics
as a doom / sludge metal guitarist, C standard fuckin rocks
What I love about open C is that you get a lot more low end without sacrificing the higher register too much and it works well with most singers (doesn't clash with the vocals as much as a an electric guitar typically does).
Yeah thicker strings for lower tuning makes sense. Especially if you want the strings to ring out the same way as E standard. I’m thinking about doing B Standard on a strat soon,
I have a Tele that loves D standard. For some reason that particular guitar feels and sounds better at lower tunings and higher gage strings. Every guitar has it's own personality you just need to let them be what they want to be.
Awesome video, Dylan!!
Every one of your videos is a lesson in music theory for me. I can understand the theory from a mathematical standpoint, but man, how you turn the math and theory into notes is magic to me!
Taking theory knowledge and applying it musically was a challenge for me too back when I was first learning it, so I’m happy I can help with that now!
Thoughts on Umphreys McGee and Neighbor as bands? Man I wish you could sit in with them.
i have been using D standard as my main tuning for one of my bands for 2 years. its really great cus we're a relatively large ensemble (6 members, 3 guitarrists including me) so it helps me get out of the way of the other guitarrists but still not get muddy and mix with the bass. I highly recommend it for other rhythm players (also try drop c!!!)
Beautiful Guitar! You have me thinking of getting some 14s for one of my guitars!
Excellent playing!
I feel silly that after all this time I never did this before. I guess I just got locked into always playing in standard E, 440 tuning.
I took my acoustic, tuned it to standard C, and was shocked to realize I was able to sing all the songs I always wanted to play, but my low voice couldn’t handle.
I ordered 11s for my Les Paul.
Low tunings are real common in acoustic blues, which makes sense because a lot of modern metal musicians love to get influence from old timey styles.
In blues theres a lot of c# standard and d standard
I can definitely hear the advantage here within the framework of a 2, or more, guitar band. "Rich sounding" was exactly the thought I had.
First sime I've heard C standard is Jimi Hendrix playing Hear My Train A-Comin' with a twelve strings acoustic!
C standard just sounds perfect to my ear.
Problem with thick strings is the thickest strings sound like mud in the high register especially above the octave fret.
Tune up to E standard on video...I want to see how much damage the tuning key shrapnel causes!
He said "quite a bit lower than standard tuning" lol. I used to play in drop a with 11s. Awesome video I personally love c standard.
My band plays in C standard, I use a 7 string set though so that my three high strings are 13g but my top three are closer to a 10-11g size. It’s such a beefy sounding tuning
Years ago there was a band in washington state that used the higher bass strings for lower guitar strings ( with mods on the guitar) to play some gnarly stuff. Oil filter. Pertty interesting.
C standard has been my standard tuning for decades. Standard e for my nylon string. I wonder how a nylon would sound in c standard?
I used that tuning with .013 - .056 stainless in duet with a Native American Flute player.
I think I need to do this on one of mine. This looks fun!
Hey Dylan! Metal guitarist here (I also play other styles of music). This video is spot on for low tunings, and I'm really excited that folks in other genres are coming around to using them.
One note I would add about string gauges is the tonal differences, especially on the wound strings. When playing with a lot of gain in Drop C (D standard), I've found that anything heavier than 11/12-54s can have a pretty unmanageable low end, even with amp EQ compensation. This might be a problem only for high gain amps though, and I also pick pretty hard. If one is finding that the low end is too much, I would recommend sizing down on the wound strings, and that could solve the problem.
I'd love to hear your take on wound G strings in tunings lower than C standard if you ever end up tuning down there. I've gone back and forth, but I also don't play a lot of lead lines so that almost certainly influences my opinion. Great video though, and super tasteful playing :)
If I normally play 9s would you still recommend 14 gauge? I kinda feel like 12 might be thick enough for me. I like to bend often
I’d suggest at least 13s if you’re gonna play slide and non-slide on it, but 12’s should work if you’re not playing any slide
@@dylanadamsguitar cool not a slide player personally. Thank you
I dunno if it's my hearing or my speakers but i feel like anything below D standard starts sounding real muddy and nasty. Works good for high saturated fuzz styles like kyuss used to play, but it's the main reason i can't get behind the more modern metal styles that play with the extended range.
In the examples here i feel like the c standard is easily the worst and d seems to be in that sweet spot
Listen to some Pat Martino. He used 16s in standard tuning.
So... a baritone guitar?
i just ordered a set of 17s-64 to play in B standard, i'll keep you guys posted on how they feel
A prayer for your truss rod 😂
@@isaiahburridgemusic B standard is a 4th lower, is like I have an 7 string guitar without the upper E.
And it feels like I'm playing 11's, also I didn't had to adjust my truss rod, only the intonation and the nut.
I've been in C standard for about 7 or 8 years now. Always using 9's, sometimes 10's.
BB King said it best when he saw Billy Gibbons' fat strings "Why you work so hard?"
but how do you deal with string tension? whenever i downtune a whole step or more on my guitar that has 9s installed, it gets really bendy and goes out of tune easily just pressing down.
i love 9s btw dont get me wrong. i hate using 11-12s on my droptuned guitar but it is what sounds better to me.
@@MrPedromuriel a lighter touch solves the problem. The lack of tension then allows me to ad an almost vocal quality to my notes, allows me to bend chords, and pull off the wild, Gilmour-esque bends. On the flip side, i spent quite a few years of my youth only using the lower 6 from 7 string packs and tossing the high Es. Lol. Initially it was to tune to B... but then I got crazy and tuned up to standard without going back to lighter gauges. Lol. I couldn't afford to re-nut my axe again. Lol.
When I got my SG and just tuned it down right out of the box, I found something magical with those floppy 9s in C and C#. Ill never go back to heavy gauges again.
@@strychen hey, that's what tony iommi used, right? 9s in C standard, from some record forward. If it's good enough for the Sabbath, it's good enough for us lol
@@MrPedromuriel all hail the mighty Iommi!
I haven't bothered to change the stock strings on my new Guild Polara and I have it tuned to D standard with virtually no problems. Whatever works for each player I guess.
something interesting I noticed, is when you capo'd to emulate stadard, it didnt sound like a normal guitar to me. maybe the capo itself provides a difference in sound.
Sounds much better on an actual baritone
Yeah, that's a great sound!
The only bluesman allowed to use a capo...Johnny Winter.....That setup you have is a monster....great for slide....SRV used it i believe....tire up his fingers.
I play D standard. All the bands I play in have horns, and it's more conducive to the keys they like.
My acoustic guitar is in C standard. It is a cool sound. 👍
Also awesome is the Joni Mitchell Coyote tuning, C G D F C E . Also works well if you tune the top two C C. May I add one more, used by Curtis Mayfield sometimes. E A C# E A E. Gorgeous voicings to be had.
It would be interesting to hear a third track with a Nashville tuned guitar
SRV strings, but tuned to a reasonable tension.
Slowly morphing into Joey Landreth 😅 great stuff man
I go to C standard with 11/56 on a 25.5 scale and 12/60 on 24.75 scale . I dont know what is the scale lengtht of your guitar neck . But 14/62 is kind of really weirdy in terms of balance tension ......
Are Keef’s slide parts on the Stones’ song “Let It Bleed” in open C? I hear that low tonic right at the end of the beginning lick before the acoustic guitar and band kick in.
What fretboard radius do you have on that black tele?
it starts with C standard, then it becomes, "man what if i dropped tuned this," then it quickly transitions into "hey man have you heard the new white chapel?"
You don’t need 14s for C standard at all. I play in C with the Ernie Ball Mondo Slinky hybrid set (10.5-52). Also 13s on acoustic.
Albert King tuned to C, F, C, F, A, D.
I have a Strat set up in Eb and one in E standard. They sound and feel different.
What is the reason for the flat part on your slide?
Love that tele! Would love to hear you talk about it in general. Who makes it? Is that a satin charcoal frost metallic finish or just a satin black?
Mule Resophonic Guitars
GOOD JOB, WELL DONE
Awesome!!!!!
A Perfect Circle uses C# tuning or Db according to one source. I dont think theres a difference but if there is I'd love someone to take the time to school me. Stay blessed 🤘🤙
Nice playing and tone as well m'lad. Please do keep giving us novel (if I ain't heard it it's new to me) off beat spicy bits of musical notion to chew on and inspire. When I tried C# it was love at first listen and when I heard this beautiful thing that love earned a kindred mistress.
Swedish Death Metal tuning