Strings

[99_not_out]

I just tuned my pigged 'SG as follows, basically moving everything down 5:

B E A D G B

But I want the low string to be even lower ... in fact maybe a whole octave down:

E E A D G B

Damn Warpigs and their lovely bass response :twisted: Or at least that is my half-thought through potentially crazy plan. I have it strung with 12's at the moment, but the low E isn't heavy enough to take any lower tuning. I'll probably move the rest to:

1 14
2 18
3 28w
4 38w
5 48w
6 ??

What gague should I go to for the low 'E'? And anyone have any idea what is the heaviest gague that will fit into an Epi SG's tuners?

If I snap the neck I'm holding you all to blame :)

[HairyChris]

Ugh. F# at around 28.5 scale is OK at .080, so you're looking at a really silly gauge for E on a shorter scale. This certainly won't fit in your tuners....  :?

[Antag]

IMO it would be impractical: the E on a 4-string bass is something like .100 or .105, but that's on a 34" scale.  To achieve decent tension on a 24¾" scale, the string would need to be ludicrously heavy.

Then there's the practical question of whether the low B from a 5-string bass set would even fit through the tuner holes, along with the probability that it wouldn't intonate correctly if it did (the bridge on my Gothic V is already at the limit of its adjustment with the bottom string tuned to Bb)

I use D'Addario 13-62 baritone strings on my Gothic V tuned to Bb - even with such a heavy gauge string it flaps around a bit.  

Yes, it's tempting with the Warpig to take everything to the extreme :twisted: but you can have too much of a good thing... ;)

[99_not_out]

Yeah, I was thinking itsjust  too low for the tuners I have.
I might just get the heaviest string that will fit and see how low it goes and stick there. Maybe a 60 ... anyone have any idea what the largest gague that will fit into standard tuners is?

And yes, the Warpigs do keep taking you lower, don't they :twisted:

[Will]

You could get atleast a 60 in there, thats probably the limit I am thinking though

[Antag]

It's not just the tuners - it's the scale length & adjustability of the bridge that also make it impractical to tune so low.

D'Addario made a 6-string set for the tuning you want: the XL156 set for the Fender VI bass (IIRC they called it the baritone bass for a while, & Music Man made something similar), but that instrument has a 30" scale.  There's no way you'll get acceptable playability with a 5¾" shorter scale length.

As for what will fit, I know that the .068 from D'Addario's 14-68 set fits.  I think Blackmachine get a .084 to fit a standard Sperzel, so I'm guessing that the limit is somewhere around there....

[99_not_out]

Ta for the info Antag.  Hadn't thought about intonation ... or really thought it through at all other than thinking last night "I wonder how low I can make this go ..." :)

I'll get something around the .060 ~ .068 mark and see what its like.

[Sifu Ben]

When I started using a 0.52 bottom string on my Epi SG I had to do some major work on the saddles with a needle file.

[Stevepage]

60 is going to be too little. Even I use a 60 for my Low B on my 7 string. I'd suggest at very least an 80.

[zf]

I currently use a .012-.060 set in drop-C (CGCFAD) on my ESP Ec-1000. Had to fiddle with the tuner a bit to get the .060 to go through. .058 went through no problem. .060 for the C is just right for me, I use .010-.052 in standard E and this set has approximately the same feel in drop-C.

[MrBump]

Have you thought about taking up the bass instead?

[Sifu Ben]

MrBump FTW  :lol:

[MDV]

Youre gonna need something like 15 to 80 and a drill  :twisted:

Oh, and I doubt youre gonna like it. On that scale its likely to be mud.

[adamj]

or buy a 7 stringer ;)

[WezV]

or buy a fanned fret !!!