Switching back and forth from standard to drop D tunings

[John Beef]

Do you switch between standard tuning and drop D on one guitar? If so, do you notice that the low string goes dead faster than the other strings?

 

[justmund]

Yes and no... What about you?

 

[gush]

I will switch to drop D on a few songs then back on the same guitar a few times during our show.I only get two shows out of a set of strings so I never notice them getting dead.

 

[Therinx]

Yes and yes. I also usually have to tune the low string 3-4 times before it stays in tune. The rest don't seem to do that when i change to any other tunings.

 

[John Beef]

We have gone about three months in between shows, so I'm not restringing very much. I have switched a lot while practicing and writing, and yes, my low string is dead again. Just restrung maybe 3 weeks ago? All the other strings still sound good. I notice it more on my Custom 22 (blocked trem) but that's also the guitar I play most. I do it a lot on both my Mira and Santana SE (both stoptails) depending on which one is at my office, and I don't notice it as much on those. I was wondering if there was a pattern, if stoptails are better for tuning changes and string life.

I was considering picking up a bulk set of just .048s or .049s and swapping the one string in between total string changes when it goes dead. Sadly there doesn't seem to be the variety of brands when you just want to bulk purchase one gauge. The per-string price is also much higher than each string in a set.