• Registered: 2007-04-25
  • Posts: 551

Topic: Drop A!

I was coming up with my own arrangement of a song to play at church (He's Ever Over Me, if any one knows it) and I didn't have any music, chords, etc, so I figured out the melody by ear and discovered that it was based on an A chord.  I wanted to have a nice low bass note to play in between chords and melodies, so I experimented with drop D, but found out that it just didn't sound right.  I tried standard tuning but the low E didn't have the sound I wanted.  After that didn't work, I tuned the bottom string to a full octave below the 5th string A (this is a standard scale Martin here).  Wow, does that ever sound cool! I didn't think that getting the 6th string down to an A would be possible.  Anyway, a long-winded post, I know, but if you want a really deep bass note between chords, try A if you can hit it.

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive, a warm body don't mean I'm alive"
Switchfoot

06sc500's Website

  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Drop A!

Man, that string must've been looser than a womans' tongue at a coffee morning! I've heard of C but never A. How low can you go?

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • Registered: 2007-04-25
  • Posts: 551

Re: Drop A!

Lowest I've gotten on that guitar is G, but it was really loose.  With this A, I can hit the note without it buzzing, just as long as I'm not too hard on it.  I actually am using a capo on the first fret, just because I like the sound better.

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive, a warm body don't mean I'm alive"
Switchfoot

06sc500's Website

  • Registered: 2007-04-25
  • Posts: 551

Re: Drop A!

Just curious, does anyone else ever use drop tunings like this on the acoustic?

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive, a warm body don't mean I'm alive"
Switchfoot

06sc500's Website