Myth or Not? Interchanging between standard and Drop D.

[blister179]

Does this affect your neck your neck or not? I've heard it does but some tell me that it doesnt make a large impact or none at all. Please explain! Thanks.

[Bricesedge03]

less tention= more back bow. i play a few tunes in drop D. tune down to play it then tune back up. i dont suggest you leave in set for awhile in the drop tuning unless you set it up for it

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Unless the neck is way too rigid to work correctly in the first place, any change in the string tension will have an effect.

How much and noticeable or not, that depends of the construction of the neck and the string gauges.

Regards
Sam

[drewfx]

If you're talking about just dropping the low E down to D and back, I'd say that if the other strings don't go much out of tune in the process (mine don't), it means the neck can't be moving much....

[202dy]

It is dependent on neck stiffness. A very stiff neck will show little or no difference in relief in the near term. A softer neck will show more relief quickly.

Short term (back and forth between tunes): Stiff neck is important here, especially if the player plays hard.

Long term: If the guitar will be played in drop D all the time, the guitar should be set up to play optimally at this tension.

Overall: As long as the truss rod is set correctly for the way the guitar will be used there will be no harmful effect to the neck.

[blister179]

Thanks for replies! You see im getting a fender re-issue 70's jazz bass which i want to keep in stnadard but my band uses Drop D mostly but a few standard tund songs..I have a 6 string ibanez (in standard 6 string tuning) bass i use currently but im unsure bout it. I love it don't get me wrong but its soo heavy on stage and i don't have a back up 6 string incase anything goes wrong.. im considering getting a sr 700 for drop D in having my fender in stanard. In case anything goes wrong i can change the tunings to either bass. What u think? HELP LOL!

[giacomini]

I'm getting a fiver just for the sake of don't dropping the E to D anymore... Anyway, since you have a 6er a lower string isn't the problem and I guess it wouldn't do harm to your neck to keep switching back and forth between tunings on only one string. my 2cent

[walterw]

please

dropping the already loose E string to D and back isn't going to affect a damn thing.

it's when you drop them all down that the neck relief starts to change.

[JimmyM]

ya, i've never noticed a difference drop-D'ing. now on the rare times i've been forced into tuning down the entire bass, i notice a difference, even if it's just a half step. but never just dropping the E to a D. there probably is a tiny difference but it's imperceptible to all but the fussiest of the fussy.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by walterw

please

dropping the already loose E string to D and back isn't going to affect a damn thing.

it's when you drop them all down that the neck relief starts to change.

Perhaps the skinny neck of my old Ibanez SR something is an exeption and perhaps faulty somehow then, but even tuning it standard can be a PITA for someone who isn't familiar with it.

Dropping one string, any string, a whole step on that bass will require re-tuning the rest of the strings also (= the neck is affected). At least if I'm playing with someone I want to be in tune with .

Regards
Sam

[Marton]

I never had any problems with my Hipshot Detuner. And if I had to do I whole setup everytime I use the thing...

[Jimbob Jones]

I spend a lot of time in different tunings; the strings themselves feeling too tight or to flabby is far more of a noticable issue than changes in relief.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Perhaps the skinny neck of my old Ibanez SR something is an exeption and perhaps faulty somehow then, but even tuning it standard can be a PITA for someone who isn't familiar with it.

Dropping one string, any string, a whole step on that bass will require re-tuning the rest of the strings also (= the neck is affected). At least if I'm playing with someone I want to be in tune with .

sure, those skinny "noodle-neck" soundgear ibanezes are touchy that way; just resting your hand on the headstock will push the thing out of tune!

[agreatheight]

I have been tuning between E and D during practices, during shows, at home rehearsing, etc, for 15 years and it will not hurt anything. Will you notice a difference? Sure, the tension of the string goes down so it is looser, and yes, the neck probably moves a tiny bit, but trust me, it's fine. You will get used to it.

[temporalbassist]

Find a bass that stays in tune first. That's my two cents. I've played over 100 different basses and I own three, two of which have little to no intonation problems. Neither one of my basses seems to get fussy even if I tune down to C, but that's just the E string.

I echo everyone else in if you're going to leave it in a tuning, get it set up for that tuning as my Piccolo bass has taken a beating over the last few years because I have not had the time (nor found anyone willing suprisingly) to work on it and fix it up.

[rockstarbassist]

On a quality bass, no way.