Author  Message el borbah Posted: 05/25/2007 at 04:16 AM    Post subject: metal necks and drop tuning Hello metal maniacs ......mmh ok...... I wondered if a 450G Kramer could stand a drop C tuning, as long as I know there ain't no truss rod into those necks, so, what about action ? what about settings ? thanks for the answers max blackmarker Posted: 05/25/2007 at 12:09 PM    Post subject: You want to go up in string gauge, at least 12's. Kevin Posted: 05/25/2007 at 9:06 PM    Post subject: Theres a band I made some instruments for that tune that low. We used 13-56 and swapped the 56 for a 60. It worked well. The action does get semi high on the low strings if you want to get rid of all the fret buzz, but it should take it just fine. Your intonation will be a bit off on the upper scale. blackmarker Posted: 05/26/2007 at 2:26 PM    Post subject: Being a slightly shorter scale (^ I'm assuming your instruments were 25.5" ^), he may even want to go higher than that. You are dealing with a 25" scale on that Kramer. Kevin Posted: 05/27/2007 at 02:26 AM    Post subject: Actually the thicker the strings the more the intonation will be off, this will only be amplified by the shorter scale. Take the Silkworm Travis Bean Standard modified to a Bari, the exact strings elude me now, but the intonation was way off on the higher frets. This is mainly due to the fact you cant move the saddles back far enough to compensate for the larger string. el borbah Posted: 05/28/2007 at 05:48 AM    Post subject: thank you all for the infos....actually I play a les paul at 11-58 for a drop C, wich is ok I also play an early 80's ibanez artist in 10-60 for a drop A and its ok too, the saddle path is longer than a Gibson like tune'o. "Actually the thicker the strings the more the intonation will be off, this will only be amplified by the shorter scale. Take the Silkworm Travis Bean Standard modified to a Bari, the exact strings elude me now, but the intonation was way off on the higher frets. This is mainly due to the fact you cant move the saddles back far enough to compensate for the larger string." that' s something I never heard about.... but it seems the 450G's saddles can be moved alot... I'll see that when I'll get it, it's not mine yet ! blackmarker Posted: 05/28/2007 at 1:45 PM    Post subject: ^ That's why many players who down-tune prefer baritone over a 7-string or whatever. You need a longer scale as you go down in tuning to be accurate. Strontiumtom Posted: 07/25/2007 at 05:38 AM    Post subject: Don't know if its any help, but I often detune my artist to drop A for a sludgy grind typea sound. I use Roto 12s and the neck holds up fine, sound is great.