PRS SE Dave Navarro?

[Brennan Hales]

Hey, i have a PRS SE Dave Navarro, and i was wondering if i can take it down to drop b. Is the neck long enough to go down that low? I mostly play chevelle, with they mostly play in drop b.

 

[jimistephen]

You'll have to recut the nut and adjust the truss rod a little but you should be fine after a good setup of the trem.

 

[Howlingmine]

You can do it, but I'd recommend going with a set of 11's, or even using the 3 high strings from an 11 set and the 3 low strings from a set of 12s. If you try to do drop-b with the factory installed 9's that are on most SE models, or even a set of 10's, the strings are going to feel floppy like rubber bands and they'll buzz like crazy. You'll also have to have the nut slots filed to accommodate the larger strings, so make sure this is something you really want to do, there wont be any going back to a set of 10's without replacing the nut.

 

[Brennan Hales]

The scale length is 25", and i heard that its not long enough for drop b

 

[jimistephen]

The se 7 is 25 inch scale and that works fine. Like we've said, you'll have to use thicker strings and recut the nut for the thicker strings. After that's you'll have to set up your trem for the thicker strings but it'll work fine.

 

[Howlingmine]

Trust us, it will work, it'll just be a bit fiddly to set up. You just need some fat strings, a nut file, and some patience.

 

[jimistephen]

Also, welcome aboard. It's nice to see a new face so to speak.

 

[vchizzle]

The scale length is 25", and i heard that its not long enough for drop b

It'll work just fine. Lowery has a bunch of 25" scale guitars in drop B before his sig model came out. Look at the string gauge on his sig guitar, I'd shoot for something like that or even a hair heavier. Like jimistephen said, full set up, widen nut slots is a must.

 

[prscat33511]

put on 013s with a proper setup

You can thank me later

 

[Brennan Hales]

Thanks guys! How much does it cost to get the truss rod, and nut adjusted at Guitar Center?

 

[Howlingmine]

Thanks guys! How much does it cost to get the truss rod, and nut adjusted at Guitar Center?

I wouldn't trust my local Guitar Center with any of my equipment, all of their techs look like they're 15 and ride skateboards to work. Hopefully yours is better. A typical setup usually runs $40-$100 depending on the quality of the job.

 

[John Beef]

I put 13s on my 25" scale Mira a while ago, tuned it to B standard, it worked fine. It even intonated "close enough for rock and roll" with the wound G string.

I would also like to say that Guitar Center is the last place I would take my guitar. It's like taking your computer to Best Buy for service. I have had to fix many a personal computer that had been previously "repaired" by Best Buy. The bog box stores specialize in moving lots of retail and generally lack in the service department, vs. someone local, regardless of specialty.

 

[guitarfan85]

Hey, i have a PRS SE Dave Navarro, and i was wondering if i can take it down to drop b. Is the neck long enough to go down that low? I mostly play chevelle, with they mostly play in drop b.

I actually have two guitars. A Gibson lp special and ltd h 330 nt. I have both tuned to standard B with size .013 -.065 and .062 strings and they play fine and I haven't even touched the nut. So technically you don't need to do that. Also you don't have to mess with the truss rod. The only thing you have to do is intonate it properly. That's it. I also play in drop A and its still fine. Actually on the Gibson, its perfect

 

[Howlingmine]

I actually have two guitars. A Gibson lp special and ltd h 330 nt. I have both tuned to standard B with size .013 -.065 and .062 strings and they play fine and I haven't even touched the nut. So technically you don't need to do that. Also you don't have to mess with the truss rod. The only thing you have to do is intonate it properly. That's it. I also play in drop A and its still fine. Actually on the Gibson, its perfect

I have no idea what size strings the Gibson and LTD models you are talking about come with from the factory, but let's say they are standard set of 10's. That would make the low E string .042, there is no way that the .065 or .062 from a set of 13's will fit in that slot and be "fine". With standard and drop B tuning being so low, I can possibly see not having to adjust the truss rod, but I'd still check the relief anyway. But as far as the nut goes, it will need some work unless the slots were really sloppy in the first place.

 

[guitarfan85]

I have no idea what size strings the Gibson and LTD models you are talking about come with from the factory, but let's say they are standard set of 10's. That would make the low E string .042, there is no way that the .065 or .062 from a set of 13's will fit in that slot and be "fine". With standard and drop B tuning being so low, I can possibly see not having to adjust the truss rod, but I'd still check the relief anyway. But as far as the nut goes, it will need some work unless the slots were really sloppy in the first place.

I bought the ltd used so I'm not sure. But I think all Gibsons come stock with .010 -.042. You may check the relief on the neck but chances are you won't need to adjust much if at all. The tension on the .013 set in B standard is about the same tension of .010 in E standard, as far as I can feel. and like I said, I haven't needed to file the nuts on either. Especially the Gibson handles it like a beast. Plus it stays in tune. To be honest, the ltd does not stay in tune as it should, but then again, it is a cheaper quality guitar so I may need to make some adjustments, such as filing the nut, to accommodate the low tuning/ larger string.

You should also ask around on the sevenstring.org forum and see what they think as the majority of people on there play in low tunings...