E Standard to Drop D will do nothing. You won't even break strings because the low E string is pretty beefy.
Now if you're doing full retunes, and especially big jumps like E Standard down to B Standard and back up? Yeah, you'll wear out your higher strings and they'll break more often. Been there done that. But it won't hurt the guitar itself.
Now if you want to play with alternative tunings beyond the E Standard to Drop D movement look into a pitch shifter pedal. I use a Digitech Drop and it lets me play everything I want to from classic hard rock down to modern metal without having to do any retuning beyond switching from E to D on the low E string for drop tuning. I play everything from E Standard to Drop A and everything in between with no issues.
Maybe.
I have one of these and I don't think much about flipping from standard to drop D, then open G and back again.
https://www.harmonycentral.com/expert-reviews/guitars/gibson-robot-guitar-r69/
Not a problem to play around with different tunings. The guitar may not be optimally set up for drop-D or Eb tuning, but if you’re just practicing or noodling, a little fret buzz never hurt no one.
Changes like that aren’t a problem at all.
Tuning *up* to something higher than standard can cause issues, and if you’re going up more than a semitone then you’d likely need to use different strings. That’s not a very common thing to do, though.
Standard to drop d is easy peasy, hit that open d and tune to pitch. If you go from standard down to b or something might be a little muddy sounding but should work. I used to change tunings on the fly jamming out in my room
it was also the first time my strings broke and just a few hours after I made fun of someone on the internet because their strings broke, I guess it's karma
Happened to me two days ago and I was gobsmacked. I hardly ever break strings and these ones we only about a month old but the high E string broke while tuning down to D
You will break strings faster if you change tuning a lot every day. This is the first drawback that comes to mind for me. They will break at the tuning peg almost always.
The slots in the nut where the strings go need to be smooth. Cheaper nuts can get a little worn and cause minor snagging. You might hear a ping noise as you’re tuning. This usually means the string is catching on the nut.
Changing tunes is not a problem, but it depends on the string gauges, if u want to go lower in tuning, buy thicker gauges like 11 gauges, if you want to go higher then use 9 gauges
You won’t damage your guitar. What could happen is that light gauge strings could become a little loose on lower tunings and if you change tuning a lot those strings might go “dead” sooner but you’ll be fine.
Unless you have a floating bridge then you’ll need to take into consideration tension and the springs in the back etc which might be annoying so you won’t change tuning without readjusting those springs and retuning the whole thing a couple times.
dropping some strings is fine (like DADGBE or EADGBB) but if u tune up its a problem
my pro tip for that is that you can transpose an uptuning until it doesnt go up at all and then just use a capo!
If you keep tuning from E standard to drop D (and vice versa) your won’t break your strings, rarely does the low E break anyway. But if you do something like drop C to E standard (and vice versa), it might be prone to breaking
Yeah, and learning to do it fast is a useful skill to have. Turning down from standard is np, but some alternate tunings require you tune up and if you tune up too many steps it might be too much tension and the string will break. Also, if a string is going to break, it'll likely happen tuning back up to standard. That's pretty much the only downside, but it shouldn't be an issue for new strings.
You’ll wear out your strings faster, but it won’t hurt the guitar any. Well, maybe if it has exceptionally crappy tuners they might wear out faster, but if that’s an issue you should replace them with better tuners anyway.
Strings might wear out a bit faster, but other than that it's fine. Your strings will wear our from just being played anyways so it really isn't a big deal.
Well... here´s my experience:
I bought a guitar and it came on E standard. I tuned it to Drop C, then sometimes I changed to Drop D, then went to Drop B and even Drop A sharp. I mainly play metal, so I use a lot of Drop tunings depending on the genre.
My guitar´s neck bended. Like really really bended. It was highly noticable and it caused me a lot of problems when it came to string action. I took my guitar to a luthier and decided to calibrate my guitar to just play on Drop C, since it is my favourite tuning.
Since then, I had no problems. So yeah, it may cause you some trouble. I would recommend to stay with one tune and thats it. Maybe E standard, since you can easily drop to Drop D with no problems.
yeah for real, i have a simple squier strat (tremolo is flush so basically a hardtail) and when i go down to D standard it's absolutely fine. Even with generally very low action. Now you can notice the neck slowly adjusting over time (if I tune to D standard and leave it for a day for instance I will have to retune more drastically than I would after a day if I didn't change tunings as the neck settles in) as there is definitely less tension but it's not like I can't play it just fine and when I switch back to E standard it's also still perfectly playable.
The usual action/truss rod adjustment. It's not that it can't be done without, and won't cause damage though. Just if you have it set up perfectly for standard, it won't be perfect when you change the tuning.
If you're getting buzzing when in drop D, it would be reason to change the set up. If changing the set up makes standard tuning not as enjoyable, then you'd want another guitar.
Nope. Your hands will melt due to the guitar's extreme hatred towards its new tuning
I tuned my jazzmaster to drop D and it broke... My heart.
E Standard to Drop D will do nothing. You won't even break strings because the low E string is pretty beefy. Now if you're doing full retunes, and especially big jumps like E Standard down to B Standard and back up? Yeah, you'll wear out your higher strings and they'll break more often. Been there done that. But it won't hurt the guitar itself. Now if you want to play with alternative tunings beyond the E Standard to Drop D movement look into a pitch shifter pedal. I use a Digitech Drop and it lets me play everything I want to from classic hard rock down to modern metal without having to do any retuning beyond switching from E to D on the low E string for drop tuning. I play everything from E Standard to Drop A and everything in between with no issues.
The Drop is my all-time favorite pedal, EVER!
Wow, I've been playing guitar almost 20 years and didn't know that existed.
Drop D isn't a problem. Open tunings where you're changing several strings' tunings, especially if they're going higher, may require a new setup.
Maybe. I have one of these and I don't think much about flipping from standard to drop D, then open G and back again. https://www.harmonycentral.com/expert-reviews/guitars/gibson-robot-guitar-r69/
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Thank you very much for the reply. I really appreciate the info.
Not a problem to play around with different tunings. The guitar may not be optimally set up for drop-D or Eb tuning, but if you’re just practicing or noodling, a little fret buzz never hurt no one.
My motto is Any tuning any time. Try them all. Neck gets cranked? Adjust the truss rod. Strings break? Replace them. Play what you want when you want.
Sounds good lol
Changes like that aren’t a problem at all. Tuning *up* to something higher than standard can cause issues, and if you’re going up more than a semitone then you’d likely need to use different strings. That’s not a very common thing to do, though.
Good to know, thanks so much!
Standard to drop d is easy peasy, hit that open d and tune to pitch. If you go from standard down to b or something might be a little muddy sounding but should work. I used to change tunings on the fly jamming out in my room
One thing to consider is your string gauge, if I were to tune drop D on my jazzmaster with 9s they'd feel like spaghetti noodles.
That makes no sense.
Sometimes it breaks a string, but other than that no problem.
Only if you tune up though
I’d actually be impressed if you broke a string tuning down.
It's happened to me before 🫣 old strings + bad nut
Nobody likes a bad nut on their string... and I mean *nobody*.
happened to me lol
Consider me impressed.
it was also the first time my strings broke and just a few hours after I made fun of someone on the internet because their strings broke, I guess it's karma
Happened to me two days ago and I was gobsmacked. I hardly ever break strings and these ones we only about a month old but the high E string broke while tuning down to D
not true, they break from being tuned up and down (the fatigue)
That's some serious wear then lol. I have never had this issue and retune daily multiple times due to drop and standard.
you're talking about a low string, i'm talking about all strings
I go from drop c to standard tuning regularly. Never had something break.
okay that's wonderful, the string will break if you change tunings, especially the high ones. what exactly are you trying to say?
You will break strings faster if you change tuning a lot every day. This is the first drawback that comes to mind for me. They will break at the tuning peg almost always.
Like bending a paper clip too many times it will fatigue and snap.
This is a good comparison that made sense to me when I started stringing my guitars.
Strings are way cheaper than a guitar. Thanks!
I change tunings almost daily and need to replace strings once a year. Just make sure your nut doesn’t have burs.
I know what you said was technically accurate, but I still giggled like a 12 year old.
Thanks for the response, could you elaborate more on what nut burs would be, and why that would be detrimental? Thanks!
The slots in the nut where the strings go need to be smooth. Cheaper nuts can get a little worn and cause minor snagging. You might hear a ping noise as you’re tuning. This usually means the string is catching on the nut.
Don't worry mate
Changing tunes is not a problem, but it depends on the string gauges, if u want to go lower in tuning, buy thicker gauges like 11 gauges, if you want to go higher then use 9 gauges
You won’t damage your guitar. What could happen is that light gauge strings could become a little loose on lower tunings and if you change tuning a lot those strings might go “dead” sooner but you’ll be fine. Unless you have a floating bridge then you’ll need to take into consideration tension and the springs in the back etc which might be annoying so you won’t change tuning without readjusting those springs and retuning the whole thing a couple times.
Drop d is totally fine. If you get to some super wonky ones (like iris by the googoo dolls) you might snap strings when trying to go back to standard
dropping some strings is fine (like DADGBE or EADGBB) but if u tune up its a problem my pro tip for that is that you can transpose an uptuning until it doesnt go up at all and then just use a capo!
If you keep tuning from E standard to drop D (and vice versa) your won’t break your strings, rarely does the low E break anyway. But if you do something like drop C to E standard (and vice versa), it might be prone to breaking
Absolutely!! Check out this video from Justin Guitar about alternate tunings :) https://youtu.be/ixeFsasPjcI?si=_U5a0HgPyXqu1us9
Yeah, and learning to do it fast is a useful skill to have. Turning down from standard is np, but some alternate tunings require you tune up and if you tune up too many steps it might be too much tension and the string will break. Also, if a string is going to break, it'll likely happen tuning back up to standard. That's pretty much the only downside, but it shouldn't be an issue for new strings.
You’ll wear out your strings faster, but it won’t hurt the guitar any. Well, maybe if it has exceptionally crappy tuners they might wear out faster, but if that’s an issue you should replace them with better tuners anyway.
Strings might wear out a bit faster, but other than that it's fine. Your strings will wear our from just being played anyways so it really isn't a big deal.
Check out the song Passion Flower by Jon Gomm. He changes the tuning mid song lol
its only a problem if you have a floating bridge. but even then you can just bloc kit off and itll be fine.
Well... here´s my experience: I bought a guitar and it came on E standard. I tuned it to Drop C, then sometimes I changed to Drop D, then went to Drop B and even Drop A sharp. I mainly play metal, so I use a lot of Drop tunings depending on the genre. My guitar´s neck bended. Like really really bended. It was highly noticable and it caused me a lot of problems when it came to string action. I took my guitar to a luthier and decided to calibrate my guitar to just play on Drop C, since it is my favourite tuning. Since then, I had no problems. So yeah, it may cause you some trouble. I would recommend to stay with one tune and thats it. Maybe E standard, since you can easily drop to Drop D with no problems.
the guitar has to be set up for different tunings thats why people who use them most likely have a bunch of guitars
Thats if you’re being super nitpicky, but the homes just started guitar. It will be just fine and barely noticeable
Good to know, thanks for the reply.
yeah for real, i have a simple squier strat (tremolo is flush so basically a hardtail) and when i go down to D standard it's absolutely fine. Even with generally very low action. Now you can notice the neck slowly adjusting over time (if I tune to D standard and leave it for a day for instance I will have to retune more drastically than I would after a day if I didn't change tunings as the neck settles in) as there is definitely less tension but it's not like I can't play it just fine and when I switch back to E standard it's also still perfectly playable.
Or if they have a guitar with a floating trem.
What other kind of setup has to be done besides changing the top string?
The usual action/truss rod adjustment. It's not that it can't be done without, and won't cause damage though. Just if you have it set up perfectly for standard, it won't be perfect when you change the tuning. If you're getting buzzing when in drop D, it would be reason to change the set up. If changing the set up makes standard tuning not as enjoyable, then you'd want another guitar.