Best setting for alternate tunings?

Psydux

Hey everyone,

I'm new on the forum and I just bought a Jazzmaster Thurston Moore Signature. This is my first JM. It is brand new.

The thing is, I like to tune it in C G D G B E.

But I can't seem to be able to tune the lower E string properly. When I tune it in C, the 12th fret is always a little higher (approximately up one eighth of a tone). I moved the saddle back to its max and I can't go further on the adjust-o-matic bridge.

The string gauge used is a 0.52.

Do you think a more accurate tuning could come with another string gauge?

Or do you think another bridge is more adapted to alternate tunings?

Thanx a lot for your help!

chunkachunka

This site might help

http://www.eltjohaselhoff.com/Main/Articles/Entries/2010/2/2_String_Gauges_for_Alternate_Tunings.html

Psydux

Well thanks a lot. I'll read it through.

Are some bridges more suited to alternate tunings than others?

plyta

Get a thicker string, I use .70 for low A#.

And don't forget to break a string over the bridge saddle.

Thicker strings tend to arch over the saddle because of their stiffness and you can't make it intonate like that no matter what tuning.

Just give it a good press with your thumb on the saddle to form a breaking point.

Psydux

Hey, thanks, I'll try that thing (breaking the string at the saddle)when I change strings.

I basically understood that the lower the note, the thicker the string.

But my tuning problem may also come from the fact that it is a plain string (unwound). The set of plain strings came with the JM which initially was aimed at jazz players (hence the plain strings).

Kinda weird for a Thurston Moore Signature JM when you think about it, no matter how immense his respect for great jazz players.