In Part 1 of our series on “What is drop tuning a guitar,” we investigated the how-tos. From truss rod maintenance to filing your guitar’s string nut, that article has all you need. But drop tunings also gave rise to a world of electric guitars that are custom-built for the job. And that’s what we’re going to dig into in Part 2.

First, let’s look back at Part 1 to answer the question, “What is down tuning a guitar?”

“Drop tuning is the practice of tuning the strings on a guitar to pitches that are lower on the scale than the traditional E Standard (E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4) guitar tuning. This term can refer to tuning all the strings of a guitar down the same amount and retaining the same modal shapes (at lower pitches) across the fretboard; tuning the 6th string down from E to D to open up new chord shapes and make power chords fret-able with one finger, or any number of other alternate tunings.”

Though down-tuning a guitar is common in every genre, it is pretty much the standard for modern metal. Compared to what we’ll call classic metal, it is heavier, more technical, and way more devastating than ever. Therefore, it requires instruments that can keep up with these demands.

Guitar builders large and small have answered the call. And they do it by employing some of the most significant technological advancements to the craft since we first dropped pickups in a plank of wood.

Three of these design tweaks stand out among the rest:

1. Extended Scale
2. Extended Range
3. Multi-Scale

Extended Scale

Extended-scaled electric guitars have been around for a long time. Even in the 1950s and ’60s, we had Fender’s Bass VI and the Danelectro Long Horn bass. Though called basses, both of these instruments featured 6-strings and tune up like a guitar. But thanks to their much longer scale length, they could handle tunings a full octave below a standard guitar. This gave guitarists a familiar platform to handle bass duties on the gig. It also gave rise to Tic-Tac bass, giving rise to the down-tuned voice.

A direct cousin to these bass/guitar hybrids is the baritone guitar. Usually tuned from B-B, they occupy a tonal range somewhere between a guitar and the Bass VI. But both instruments owe their sonic weight and power to their extended scale length.

Tech Tips:

Scale length is the length of the vibrating section of a guitar string, measured from the nut to the bridge saddle. The longer the scale, the more tension on the string.

Scale lengths differ from guitar to guitar. But baritones often employ a 27″ length, which is 1.5″ longer than most Fenders and a full 2.75″ longer than your standard Gibson. Because of this, extended scale guitars keep the string tension much tighter, resulting in better intonation and playability.

Ok, back to modern guitars.

Walk into any guitar store today, and you’re sure to see a handful of direct descendants of the early extended-scale guitars. Metal-minded brands like Ibanez, ESP, and Schecter all offer production 6-string models that employ the design. And you’ll find them factory-tuned in everything from Dropped-C to the baritone’s B-B. And with high-output pickups, thin neck profiles, and aggressive styling, there’s no questioning what these guitars are built to do.

“But aren’t there already 7- and 8-string down-tuned guitars?”

There sure are!

Extended Range (7-, 8-, & 9-strings)

Many people who ask how to tune down a guitar for maximum heaviness would do well to consider an extended range instrument. They are the most popular of all low-slung designs, after all. But it wasn’t Tony Iommi or even Dimebag Darrell that invented this pummeling twist on guitars. It was shred superhero Steve Vai and his 7-string Ibanez Universe (Tuned Low B, E, A, D, G, B, E).

Yet, even being prominently featured on the iconic Passion and Warfare, Vai still wasn’t responsible for the lasting legacy of the design. That award goes to the twisted tones and ground-shaking riffs of Korn.

By embracing these “unpopular” Universe 7-string guitars, Korn upped metal’s intensity and pushed heavy riffs to a level that, in many ways, remains the standard. And though the 7-string was the perfect marriage of 6-string familiarity and baritone punch, Korn took it a step further, turning their Ibanez Universe guitars down an additional whole step.

From the moment “Blind” hit the airwaves, it set off an arms race among guitar builders. Overnight, every company had new 7-strings on the rack. Most were definitely metal-looking. But even companies like Fender and Gibson joined in with some of their more traditional models.

The manufacturers weren’t the only ones in the fight. Bands also began pushing the instruments forward. Eventually, this never-ending quest for heavy led 8-string guitars and the meat-grinder rhythms of Meshuggah. Still among the world’s heaviest bands, their line between guitar and bass began to blur, turning the band into one gigantic, rhythmic machine.

Springboarding off of Meshuggah’s might, other 8-string devotees like Animals As Leaders mixed in next-level technique and musicality. This forward-thinking music blew open a new universe of musical possibilities for extended range guitars.

Again, players needed a new guitar to handle it.

Multi-Scale

As the tone and technique wars raged, players once again pushed the limits of their extended range and scale-length guitars. Players used to ask how to tune down a guitar. But now we asked how to keep these crazy-low down-tuned guitars to play in tune.

Sound familiar?

Making the scale length longer wasn’t going to cut it this time. Some guitars were already pushing bass length, and players didn’t want to compromise the 6-string feel of the higher strings.

The answer was multi-scale or fanned fret guitars. Angling the string nut to offer a longer scale on the low strings and a shorter scale for the high strings solved the string tension issue. But to resolve the tuning side of things, the guitar’s frets had to be slanted at different angles across the fretboard. The most aggressive angles are near the highest fret and the string nut, gradually straightening until meeting at the 12th fret. This look is how the design earned the nickname “fanned fret.”

Whether utilized on down-tuned 6-strings or extended range instruments, multi-scale construction solves the intonation and string tension problems, allowing players to continue their boundary-pushing quest. And believe it or not, it’s easy to adapt to when playing. Maybe that’s why you see multi-scale acoustics and classical guitars joining the party.

Let’s talk tone!

Want more info on how to drop tune a guitar? Check out Part 1 of this series. And don’t hesitate to reach out for more! And don’t forget to dig into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth information on all of our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.