Need help with this... MM Petrucci Neck...

[JungiePR-EVO]

When I got my MM Petrucci model, the guy in the store told me that the guitar came with a gauge 10 in the strings and tuned one hole tone down (D tune). When I got the guitar home I change the gauge of the strings to 9 and tune the guitar as normal (440 E).

One of my friends told me that after changing the gauge of the strings in a guitar I need to setup the neck to the new strings gauge. What I want to know is this:

Is there a big difference when changing strings with a gauge of 10 to strings with a gauge of 9 even if the other strings (gauge 10) where tuned one hole tone down (D)?

I mean, is there a big change in pressure, to reconsider working with the neck?

Thanks a lot…

 

[OrangeChannel]

I'd keep the 10's to be perfectly honest. You'd be gypping yourself out of some tone with anything lighter....and to boot it was designed for them.

 

[JungiePR-EVO]

The thing is that it was tuned one hole note down and where I play, they tune in 440 E.

 

[ex3.8]

If you go to the FAQ's i beleive you will find the info but......
You are doing the recomended thing buy reducing the string gage by one step for every 1/2 step up in tuning.
Same goes for the opposite..... 1/2 down in tuning, 1 guage up in strings.

You still may need a good set up but you shuld be fine for a while

 

[JungiePR-EVO]

Yesterday I did some adjustment to the neck and it came out great.

Another thing that I'm thinking is about the intonation... Do you guys think that I would need to set that too?

 

[OrangeChannel]

The thing is that it was tuned one hole note down and where I play, they tune in 440 E.

Dream Theater doesn't really tune down. Depends on the song, JP has axes setup for specific tunings. The 10's are standard in e 440 on these axes. I miay go back up to 11's ate some point in the near future.

 

[NorM]

Yesterday I did some adjustment to the neck and it came out great.

Another thing that I'm thinking is about the intonation... Do you guys think that I would need to set that too?

If you adjusted the neck then you changed the overall length of the strings. Granted it was just a little but it did change. As a standard pratice I always check intonation if I make a neck adjustment.