Which strings for dropped C tunings?

Hi!
I don't know much about strings. Can anyone recommend strings for dropped C? Should I take thicker or lighter strings? Would lighter strings be better because they are easier to press down or should I get thick strings to train with them?
Somebody recommended these strings to me, what's so special about Ernie Ball strings?

Not Even Slinky® 12-16-24p-32-44-56 EB2626

Your going to want heavier strings. Light strings will not have enough tension to make sound or be very playable in dropped C.

Your probably going to want at least 12 or 13. You may want heavier, but it will be hard to play at first because those are going to be massive strings.

I have no idea what is so special about Ernie Ball's. Personally I do not use them.

Okay. But those heavier strings should also help increasing the finger strength right?

Yes........( apparently the message needs to be at least 10 characters in length )

:D yes :D

I'll only use ernie's. I've tried a lot of different brands and what not and I can hear a difference. They seem to sound great and last a pretty long time as far as strings go. I tried elixers but they feel like I've got butter on my fingers and its annoying to play.

GHS Boomers for both my electrics. I don't think I'll ever try anything else. After buying many different strings for a long time I found that the GHS offered me the best sound and last a long time.

GHS are also pretty cheap. I ordered the Zakk Wylde strings. They are thick man!! :eek:

Careful with getting strings so thick they won't fit in the slots of yer nut. At the least you might get some buzzing/dead strings and at the worst they might break the nut (as happened to me recently after going to heavier strings). They may fit and play just fine, and as mentioned are recommended for playing dropped that low, but just be aware. As far as string brands, I'm not picky myself, but by slight preference and habit I generally use Ernie Ball.

Hi!
What is the nut? Is this a part of the guitar? Do you mean these strings can break the guitar? :eek:

I have a Ibanez Rg270 with a Floyd Rose Tremolo.

The nut is the slim piece on the headstock that holds the strings above the fingerboard, and is the last point of contact before the tuning machines. With a floyd rose, you'd have a locking nut which tightens down. Now as far as heavier strings breaking it, yours is prolly made of metal, so I wouldn't worry about that. Yet they (the strings) still might not fit the slots. I'm not saying don't try em...you should experiment. But if they play with a buzz or are muted, start by looking at your nut slots.



(My experience was with a cheap plastic nut and heavy strings that caused the edge to break off.)

Okay, I'll see what happens. :)

On that Elixer/butter thought...the old polyweb coated strings were very slippery, the new Nanoweb coated strings have a slim coat that you dont even notice (well, barely) I string two of my guitars with Elixers (yes I sue different brands and types on each guitar).
My Prs has Elixer 9's
My Ibanez Baritone has Elixer Baritone strings (they are 12-60's I think...you may want to look into them for drop C tuning)
My Gibson has D'addario 10's
My Cort has D'addario 11's


I see you are playing a tremolo equipped guitar...bear in mind that down-tuning usually works best with stop tail/hard tail guitars...I have heard some stories about inconsistant tuning with down-tuned trem equipped guitars...

Originally Posted by: Andrew SaI see you are playing a tremolo equipped guitar...bear in mind that down-tuning usually works best with stop tail/hard tail guitars...I have heard some stories about inconsistant tuning with down-tuned trem equipped guitars...

Ahh yes...with a floyd rose he'll definitely have to re-adjust the tremelo springs to get it to the normal flat, floating position.

I have been trying different stuff. Martin(Silk and Steel) or D'Addario 12 for my Acoustic and D'Addario 11s for my
Electric.

At work we got 3 packs free of Knucklehead strings. They gave them to me because they don't like them, I got the 9s, 10s, and Customs. I don't think played on 9s since I got my first guitar 5 years ago. So I fear I may bend those out of tune. I normally bounce between 10s and 11s.

Edit: Forgot to add this. Make sure you have Tremolo springs in the back for tension or it will mess up the intonation. 11s NEED at least 4 springs and 13s on up need at least 5. I have 4 currently, and pending on the make of your guitar, you may have to do some unsoldering. My first guitar has weird solder points and it's right where the springs would go. Just check that out. Also, 13s on up will no allow you to play well in standard, you will have to be tuned down at least somewhat.

Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky strings are supposed to be good for detuning. I've played them and like them but I never detuned them much. I can't buy them where I live now. :(

other strings that are good for detuning are the Ghs Zakk Wylde signiture guage Boomers...he has two sets...10-50 and 11-60 (I think) These I found to be pretty good...I used to use the 10's when I played in a metal band two years ago...they were nice, cos the bottom,wound strings are heavy...but light guage unwound strings make for easy bending and quicker solos...

GHS boomers for me, the TNT set, which is 10-52. the thing is, yes thicker strings will be harder to press down, but then when you detune it they become easier to press down because the strings are looser. also I recommend thicker strings because thin ones usually sound really muddy when detuned. the thing with the TNT's is that the low strings (4th 5th and 6th) are nice and thick, so when you're playing power chords they keep their tone. and the higher strings (1st 2nd and 3rd) are thinner so that doing solos and such is easier. also, as mentioned, you have a tremolo on your guitar, this makes detuning a bit of a pain.. but it's possible. but if you want to switch back and forth between standard and detuned, then you're going to have alot of headaches. here's what to do:

put on the new thicker strings (I wouldn't worry alot about braking your nut, it's only a 52, if it were like a 60, then you might want to be cautious) this may make your bridge lift up out of the guitar some when you go to tune your strings, what you're gonna do is open up the back of the guitar, see the springs? well basically, you have the strings pulling the bridge one way, and the springs pulling it the other way, what's happening with the thicker strings is it's pulling too hard on the bridge, so you need to make the springs pull harder, so you should see two screws that are holding the springs in place. turn those screws clockwise a few turns, then retune the strings, look where the bridge is at. what you wanna do is get the bridge to be level with the body, so keep tightening or loosening the screws some, then retuning, until you've got the guitar in tune with the bridge level with the body.. ok, now you can put the back plate back on, turn the amp's gain to 11, and shred away my friend!

Originally Posted by: AkiraTurns on the springs should be done a little bit at a time, say 1/4 turn at a time. He will also need to do his intonation and perhaps adjust the trem height. It might also require some truss rod adjustment. I'd recommend getting it set up at your local guitar shop dude, that's if you want to avoid the headache.

pshht, I imagine that he's playing in Drop C because he wants to play like nu-metal godsmack-like stuff. also, he sounds like a newbie, so I doubt he'd really tell much of a difference if the intonation is slightly off. back in the day when I would drop tune, that's all I did, and I never had problems. nowadays my musical ear has improved, and I no longer detune my guitar. but if I did, I would probably do the whole truss rod and intonation thing.. but seriously, if you're going to be switchin back and forth between tunings alot, you won't want a full set-up, because then when you go back to standard, then everything is wrong again (and could endanger the life of your truss rod!)

I'm a little late chiming in on this one... but I figure better late than never... Tuning down to drop C... I never drop lower than D on a guitar thats set up for standard... As for strings... I highly reccommend the GHS Zakk Wylde Heavy set. They make two sets for Zakk... one is made for standard and drop d... and the other is for stuff lower than that. I would suggest the heaviest set. The extra string size will help compensate for the lack of string tension when you tune way down. This will atleast help keep your neck nice and straight without allowing it to start bowing backwards. If you want to keep your guitar tuned down I would suggest doing what I did. I have two main guitars... both strats... One strat is tuned to drop D and sometimes down to C... sometimes I tune it to open D to play slide on... and its set up with GHS ZW strings... my other strat is always tuned to standard all the time... sometimes I'll half step down. So if you can afford or want to save up... just get another axe and have one for drop tunings and one for standard... it makes it easier at gigs too. Plus... the ZW strings sound a lot meaner than normal gauge strings that are tuned down.