Drop D!

[Morbid]

Alright fellas. I'm currently in the midst of tuning one of my guitars to Drop D. I've adjusted the floating bridge accordingly (so I think), but it just doesn't sound in tune if I strum or pick any more than the strength of a feather!

On the guitar I'm using Ernie Ball Super Slinky 009s. Perhaps I need a higher gauge set, or maybe just a higher gauge for the D (E)?

So what do you guys think?

 

[TheShreddinHand]

For me, I would keep the pack of 9s for all your strings except the 6th string. And just buy single strings of 046s or 048s or so for your D string.

-Eric

 

[koogie2k]

You can Drop D with 9's. I use 10's however as I just like them.
Shreddinhand's suggestion is a good one too.

 

[Morbid]

Cool, thanks a lot guys. I appreciate it!

 

[DaPatrooch]

Definitely up the guage for the low e string, so the tension would be similar to that of a guage 42 string tuned to e. To compromise, you could always go for hyrbid slinkys.

 

[Sticky1973]

I love Hybrid Slinkys on a Drop D.

I'm on a hardtail, granted, but they just feel right.

 

[73h Nils]

I'd be tempted to try Skinny Top Low Bottoms for that.

 

[torgeot]

I've been using 10's and buying a single 52 or 54 for my D (E), but we're also tuned down 1/2 step (Eb) so the D is a Db

 

[redeleon]

we are in Drop C tuning and he gauge 10-46 is still holding up pretty well..
(Sterling JP50)