Looking to tune an old squier to F

[Reynolds]

I don't have the money for a real 8 string guitar, and for my purposes I would probably never use the higher strings anyways, so I just want to liven up an old guitar I don't use much anymore. It's already in a bit of an odd tuning, Bb Eb Ab Eb Eb Eb, haha.

I've been toying around with the idea in my head, trying to figure out what would be the best way to go about accomplishing this. Would the scale impede the quality? What gauge strings should I use? Should I buy a bass guitar pickup to get a better low end? Any suggestions?

 

[vampiregenocide]

Your going to need waaaay thicker gauge strings man, and almost definately a new nut for em. It'd be easier with a cheap 7.

 

[Reynolds]

I certainly realize I need thicker strings, I wish I had the money for a 7 string right now, but I'm still paying off a keyboard I treated myself to...

I just want something as close as I can, within budget.

 

[vampiregenocide]

Yeah. It should just about work with new strings and nut. It won't be great but it should do you.

 

[caughtinamosh]

You're gonna need fuckin' suspension bridge cables to tune that low... especially due to your 25.5" scale, which is also gonna make intonation quite difficult. Strings that thick sound really bassy (you might even need to go to bass strings), so you're gonna have to tweak your amp settings majorly - a lot more high end, but I see no reason why it couldn't be done. You're gonna need a new nut (or have your existing nut filed out) too. A new pickup might be in order too, especially if your current one is stock. I would go for something like a Bare Knuckle Miracle Man (although they are expensive).

Best of luck man, this is a tough one

 

[Reynolds]

You're gonna need fuckin' suspension bridge cables to tune that low... especially due to your 25.5" scale, which is also gonna make intonation quite difficult. Strings that thick sound really bassy (you might even need to go to bass strings), so you're gonna have to tweak your amp settings majorly - a lot more high end, but I see no reason why it couldn't be done. You're gonna need a new nut (or have your existing nut filed out) too. A new pickup might be in order too, especially if your current one is stock. I would go for something like a Bare Knuckle Miracle Man (although they are expensive).

Best of luck man, this is a tough one

I'm not expecting amazing results or anything, but thank you for the support. ^^

What kind of strings should I get? Would a generic nameless bass pickup work for a man that happens to be low on cash?

 

[TomAwesome]

You won't need suspension bridge cables unless you need that F to feel really tight. Somewhere between .070" and .080" should work fine. Remember that ESP has a 25.5" 8-string that's tuned to F# stock, so it's not an impossible thing to tune that low at 25.5". The bass pickup probably isn't worth the trouble. Just get a good guitar pickup. One of my guitars is tuned to low Eb, and it works fine with the crappy B.C. Rich BDSM pickup.

 

[Se7enMeister]

use .10's with .60 for the B and an .80 + for the F

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

Ask a user named All Your Bass, he did the exact same thing your thinking of except using a hello kitty strat

It kind of worked too.

 

[Se7enMeister]

One of my guitars is tuned to low Eb, and it works fine with the crappy B.C. Rich BDSM pickup.

brutal

 

[Metal Ken]

having tuned to G on a 25.5" scale, i'd say at least a 75 for F.

 

[Reynolds]

Ask a user named All Your Bass, he did the exact same thing your thinking of except using a hello kitty strat

It kind of worked too.

That alone gives me enough hope to pursue this journey. Hahaha.
I just have the stock crap pickups that came with the thing, but afterall, I'll be alone in my room playing along with Meshuggah songs the majority of the time I'll spend with it.

It's too bad I'll never be hardcore enough to have a low F hello kitty guitar... do you think he does birthdays for little girls?

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

That alone gives me enough hope to pursue this journey. Hahaha.
I just have the stock crap pickups that came with the thing, but afterall, I'll be alone in my room playing along with Meshuggah songs the majority of the time I'll spend with it.

It's too bad I'll never be hardcore enough to have a low F hello kitty guitar... do you think he does birthdays for little girls?

Maybe..

Just search for his post in the extended range forum.

 

[Reynolds]

If there is anyone that would want to sell me a custom set of strings I would be on that immediately. I'm experiencing great difficulty finding the gauges I need.

 

[troyguitar]

If there is anyone that would want to sell me a custom set of strings I would be on that immediately. I'm experiencing great difficulty finding the gauges I need.

If you just want to cheaply and quickly try it, there is a (GHS?) Zakk Wylde LOW set that is something like 11-70. It might be a little on the thin side still, but will be a good starting point...

 

[Reynolds]

If you just want to cheaply and quickly try it, there is a (GHS?) Zakk Wylde LOW set that is something like 11-70. It might be a little on the thin side still, but will be a good starting point...

That's a great idea, I'll get right on that, though admittedly I'm not so much a fan of his work.

Of course, if someone informs me of strings that would better suit me I'll buy some of those too, experiment with it a bit.

 

[caughtinamosh]

If you just want to cheaply and quickly try it, there is a (GHS?) Zakk Wylde LOW set that is something like 11-70. It might be a little on the thin side still, but will be a good starting point...

When Zakk Wydle's sig strings are too thin, you know you're tuning in the brown sound registers. But +1 to this idea, it would make a good initial set.

 

[Reynolds]

I just did a bit of work on google and ordered a set of baritone strings that go to 72, I thought it might give me an edge over the zakk strings. ^^ When they arrive I'll immediately fix that thing up and get back to you guys. Big thanks to everyone.

 

[Variant]

That alone gives me enough hope to pursue this journey. Hahaha.
I just have the stock crap pickups that came with the thing, but afterall, I'll be alone in my room playing along with Meshuggah songs the majority of the time I'll spend with it.

It's too bad I'll never be hardcore enough to have a low F hello kitty guitar... do you think he does birthdays for little girls?

I think he's using a .110 because he likes the tension.

But I'd say on 25.5", an .080, more likely an .085 would be necessary here. I've got a .080 on my 27" RG2228 for E1 and it feels great at that tension.

 

[XeoFLCL]

Remember, if you go TOO high with gauges though, you won't be able to intonate the guitar. I say a .75 or so should do it