Hi there ! I've just bought a gibson sg and i'd like to tune it to B !
Can you help me ? I don't know which strings i should use....I play doom metal like old cathedral's albums...I just want a very heavy sound with lots of sustain
thanx

I use 12's on my guitars that are tuned to B. It's gonna require some work, but throw some 12's on there.

You can even try 11's on it.

13-56 dude

+1.

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What does that mean?

"+1" is like "ditto", he agrees with your suggestion.

Just take your guitar to the local guitar shop and ask him to put 13 - 56 strings on it and tune it to B for you.

The nut will need to be filed down to fit the larger strings and they will take care of all that for you. Check the intonation and the truss rod and everything. Shouldnt cost much either

The nut probably wont need to be filed down, dont try & scare the guy

Its not a big procedure

It will probably need to be done to accomadate the heavier string. Especially where the standard E once was.

PLus its better a tech does it in case the neck needs adjusting afterwards.

I take my guitars to a tech to do it whenever i change a string guage.

Ive used that gauge for years before switching to 7-strings & never once did i have to file down the nut on any of my 6-strings to fit the low E.

Cathedral kick ass. I like Candlemass too.

I would reccomend GHS supa' lo tune Boomer strings. They come in 60-11 and 70-11 guages. I've used the 70 guages for drop A(one step lower than B) and they were pretty good, but I think they could've lasted a bit longer though. They're also perfect for B.

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60 or 70 is a bit much for B

I play a ton of doom and use these:

D'Addario (red XL) which are 13-56 like everyone else said. They are the best and I don't use anything else.

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Pussy, I've used them for C# and even D.

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70's for D?

I feel sorry for your guitars neck. it must wish for death

lol

A nice Les Paul can withstand it, I've done it, too.

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I use .11s for B but I do play slow stuff so theres no need for tension really.

I again, will mirror what people say, use .13s (Just mentioning that .11s can do it.)

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I use a set of Light top heavy bottoms (10 - 52) with a .60 for the low B.

This setup is fine for guitars with a trem, because of the natural suspension afforded by the trem springs, but it's really too tight on my fixed bridge guitar.

I'd go slightly light than this for a fixed bridge axe.

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I normally use Daddarios EJ22 (13-56) for both of my guitars, one with a trem and one without, and tune anywhere from B to standard E. And I've never had to file down the nut, the strings eventually create enough room for themselves after some vigorous playing. Additionally, I've never had to adjust the truss rod even when i'm in standard E tuning using 13s since the action is low and it wont damage the neck.

i use GHS 11s for standard tuning with a floyd rose bridge. no filing down nuts

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I use DR High Beams Light N Heavy 10-52 for B. I love it. I find if I go too heavy I loose some of that crunch sound I like. Plus I like these because their easy to bend and stuff.

I use 13-56 for A.

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I think I'm gonna follow your advice and put 13-56 on it !!
thanx a lot

doom on !

I don't suppose anyone knows of a string set which goes something like:

9 - 50.


For example: 9, 12, 17, 28, 40, 50 (with a seperate 60 for my low B).

You can get close at one end, or the other, but not that light, with that heavy. It seems that most Light top/heavy bottom sets don't cover that range.

Any ideas?

I'm currently using 10 - 52's (with a 60 for the B) and I find the top end slightly too tight, in standard B.

I'm gettign the impression the only way I can be this fussy is if I make up sets myself from single strings, but I think this would work out quite as expensive in comparison to prepackaged sets.

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If you really want your 'perfect' string set, I suggest buy bulk from ebay. Say lot of 10 of these, 10 of these, etc. Preferably from one brand of string, and mix and match srings from different sets.

Apart from that, you're being way too fussy. I don't think 0.01 makes much of a noticeable difference