Is anyone playing their 25' PRS in Drop A

[Utkarsh]

So of late I have really deviated from playing hard rock and old school metal to modern bands like Jinjer and Toska
Does anyone play their PRS Custom 24/22/Tremonti in Drop A? If so, what strings do you use, have you swapped out pickups and any other considerations?
Thanks a lot
P.S: why not a baritone. I dont fancy the scale length

 

[nosidamde]

I would recommend a Digitech Drop pedal.

I've used one for years, and it does a great job.

 

[Rider1260]

There is a video with Paul taking a stock Pauls guitar and tuning down a whole step with 10s and sounded great.
If you want it to play similar to your standard guitars they this https://tension.stringjoy.com

 

[VHTStark]

Back in '02 to '06, I was in a metalcore band that played in drop C and drop B. I used a McCarty and an Original Tremonti model. They handled it just fine....better than the Les Pauls I was using before going all in on PRS.

Pickups: the Tremonti sounded awesome as is tuned down, but I swapped out the McCarty pickups. To be honest, I have never been a fan. That guitar had a couple pickup swaps, but I remember having a Duncan Custom Shop S-Deco in and it sounding killer!

Strings: 11-53 McCarty drop C and 12-56 Tremonti drop B.

I know it isn't drop A, but that is my experience with 25" scale PRS's tuned down. Now if I want to play the downtuned stuff, I just grab my USA Holcomb!

 

[Andy80]

Mark Holcomb has been using an SS on tour and I'm pretty sure they're playing in Drop A. But I feel like you would need at least a 14 low string to achieve that tuning.

 

[Utkarsh]

There is a video with Paul taking a stock Pauls guitar and tuning down a whole step with 10s and sounded great.
If you want it to play similar to your standard guitars they this https://tension.stringjoy.com

This is extremely helpful and exactly what I needed. Thank you so much

 

[Utkarsh]

Back in '02 to '06, I was in a metalcore band that played in drop C and drop B. I used a McCarty and an Original Tremonti model. They handled it just fine....better than the Les Pauls I was using before going all in on PRS.

Pickups: the Tremonti sounded awesome as is tuned down, but I swapped out the McCarty pickups. To be honest, I have never been a fan. That guitar had a couple pickup swaps, but I remember having a Duncan Custom Shop S-Deco in and it sounding killer!

Strings: 11-53 McCarty drop C and 12-56 Tremonti drop B.

I know it isn't drop A, but that is my experience with 25" scale PRS's tuned down. Now if I want to play the downtuned stuff, I just grab my USA Holcomb!

Well that's a vote of confidence right there. I considered swapping out for a Holocomb but fretboard radius put me off. Also I like having the trem

 

[IceTre]

I know you said you don't like the longer scale length of a baritone, but I have the PRS semi-hollow body baritone, and its scale-length is shorter than most baritones. It's perfect for drop B or A. No intonation problems at all, like you get dropping a normal guitar that low.

 

[Utkarsh]

I know you said you don't like the longer scale length of a baritone, but I have the PRS semi-hollow body baritone, and its scale-length is shorter than most baritones. It's perfect for drop B or A. No intonation problems at all, like you get dropping a normal guitar that low.

Thanks. I has one of those previously. 27.7' is still too long for my comfort.

 

[littlebadboy]

I second on the Digitech Drop. I use it for down tunes as I don't like having a dedicated guitar for such. I also don't like 7-string guitars because I have small hands.

My default tuning is drop D. I use a 7-string 10's set (Ernie Ball Regular Slinky) on my PRS S2 Standard 22. I put aside the 6th 46ga string and use the 7th 56ga string as my 6th instead. It gives me an even tension at the least cost.

Here are my demos for the Digitech Drop:
Short version:

Long and detailed version:

Unfortunately, I I didn't have my PRSi at the time of making the above videos.

 

[John]

I've dabbled before, but I'm currently settling with drop C for the most part on all of my PRS guitars. I've also made some material in drop B and B flat.

Those being said, I've tried out a few other different pickups outside of what PRS has to offer. I find that my favorites for lower tunings would be the Bare Knuckle Painkillers. While the midrange spike is, in a way, similar to what I've been accustomed to out of the HFS, the low end is a lot clearer to my ears. The only downside I've had with the Painkillers would be they're not that great if I went back up to standard tuning- they really do shine with those lower notes. If I wanted something more versatile but still covers lower tunings just fine, I'd be happy with the ceramic version of the Nailbombs.

Here's some material I've made with the Painkillers, for what it's worth: