How do I tune my guitar to B to play at the gates songs?

[TheTrooper]

how do I tune 2.5 steps down and can I do it on an acoustic

[Hammurabi]

Depends on the guitar scale length and the string gauge. If the guitar has a 25.5 scale and you're decked out with 12s go right ahead. If the guitar you're talking about has a 24.75 scale and it's fitted with 09s you're not going to be able to tune anywhere near that, it won't stay in tune half a minute if you can even do it.

You would tune to a B by either using a 7 string guitar or tuning the lowest string 5 semitones and all the other strings down three.

Start:
e
b
g
D
A
E

tuned to b:
Db
Ab
e
b
F#
B

[Edited by Hammurabi on 02-06-2004 at 11:47 AM]

[noticingthemistake]

I used to buy a 5-string pack for my 4 string bass. You might be able to do the same with a guitar. But yeah, what I did was just restring it as such (BEADGB).

[Seve420]

Just get strings for a 7 string guitar as noticingthemistake said with the largest starting at .056. I've found that steel string acoustics can be tuned down and still sound good.

[Cryptic Excretions]

I've had little experience with such a drastic down tuning on my guitar as it really kinda sounds like crap on mine. Might be different for others though. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to hit those notes I'd have to wait until I got a 7 string guitar since it's a guitar that's made for that kind of note and I wouldn't have to worry about tuning back up. Course now I use my pedal effect to lower the pitch down however many steps I want. Only flaw with that is it means I can't use the wah pedal in the same song. Such is the sacrifice though, I guess.

[alkaline]

use a chromatic tuner and you will be able to tune it to b