can i put strings for a 7 string guitar onto a 6 string?

Question

ok so i have a 6 string guitar but i wanna play a korn song and i know for a fact they dont use the bottom e string very often so i figured would it sound right if i just put the top 6 strings (small e being excluded of course) on and then tuned them to the standard 7 string guitar tuning being BEADGB?

Answer 1

Yes you can do it, it is done all the time. It will NOT damage your guitar. You simply need to think of the strings in terms of gauge. The low B can be a 52-48. The E would remain the same as would the other strings. I would recommend having the guitar set up professionally by your local music store. This would include having the truss rod adjusted, the action raised just slightly, and the tremolo (if so equipped) adjusted to work with the heavier gauge strings.

Believe it or not, even though you are putting a thicker gauge string on you are not significantly raising the tension because you are tuning it lower.

Just for the record the bottom E string usually refers to the LOW E string (thickest) I know it seems backwards but when referring to strings we discern by pitch and not location.

I must question your wanting to do this all for just one song. It seems like it would be a big hassle to do so just for that song, unless you have a 2nd guitar that you are planning on doing this with. Otherwise I would simply tune your existing strings down and try it that way.

Answer 2

6 String Guitar Strings

Answer 3

7 String Guitar Strings

Answer 4

Yes you can. It's possible to just tune your regular strings down, but going down that much (2 1/2 steps) you may lose so much tension it won't feel right to play. If you put the bottom 6 strings from a 7-stringer set on, they will be slighter thicker gauges. It will play fine, but the one issue you may have is that the strings are a bit thick for the slots on your nut, which can affect your ability to tune correctly (the thicker strings will tend to stick in the narrow nut slots). This is easily fixed by filing out your nut slots to match the string thickness, so no big deal. On the other hand, of course, once you widen the slots you can't narrow them again, so if you're going to go back to standard E-e tuning you may need to get a new nut. Nuts are not expensive (about the same as a new set of strings), it's just a matter of how often you're going to want to switch back and forth and how much of a hassle it will be.



I would go ahead and put the strings on and wait to see if the nut is an issue or not. If not, you're set, and if it is, talk to your local guitar shop's tech about dealing with it.

Answer 5

Yes you can. It will not harm your guitar at all.



Contrary to what Crosstown Traffic says, you can't just retune your guitar really low (unless you've got really heavy strings to begin with). The strings will be all loose and floppy. You will absolutely notice a difference, both in sound and feel.



The low B in most 7 strings sets is AT LEAST a .052 gauge, so if you've got a .052 or heavier on there (and it's pretty unlikely you've got anything heavier on there), you can just tune it down.



The guitar may require a few minor adjustments. Just take it to a pro.

Answer 6

Yeah you can.....but why would you? Just tune the strings you have now to BEADGB and play the song. And by the way, 6 string guitars don't use different strings than 6 string guitars. They just have one extra, heavier string on top. Retune what you have. You'll never know the difference.

Answer 7

But that would be silly, why not put the BOTTOM six strings on, the ones that are MEANT to be tuned BEADGB? It would work I guess although you might have intonation problems, the string balance might be out and you might find that the strings are too thick to lie in the nut properly.

Answer 8

No you can't, it will sound wonky.

Answer 9

No it will break it.