Yamaha Drop 6 models

[Hugh]

I was just given as a gift a Yamaha RGX-420S-D6. The D6 stands for "Drop 6". As you'll probably gather from my questions, I'm not too far from a complete beginner at guitar playing. I hope someone can give me some info about this guitar.

The guy at a local store tells me that even though the strings are set up: B E A D F# B, it's not a problem to just put on "regular" strings (or tune these to "standard" tuning) and use the normal E A D G B E. But I looked on Yamaha's site and I see that it has a longer scale (26.25" -vs- 25.5") than the non-D6 model. So, I'm wondering if the longer scale will cause any problems for me. Should I replace the stock strings with a "standard" set?

Is this just a guitar that I'm not going to be able to progress with...one that's made for a more advanced player?

Thanks for any input!

Hugh

[ESP_Viper]

You would want heavier gauge strings on it, since it's the larger scale. Getting it to go into E would require adjustments to the neck and bridge. I would say just get the 25.5", 25.5 is larger than usual.

[gck]

As a beginner, I wouldn't go for a guitar with a long scale length: the strings will be more tense in standard tuning and therefore you'll need more force to fret notes (and as a beginner, your finger will be rather weak anyways).
Also, the space between the frets will be slightly wider, and as a beginner you won't be able to span that far anyways...

If I was you, I'd go for a guitar that was designed for standard tuning... I neither know that particular model nor the suggested tuning for it: it seems a bit strange to me...

[Hugh]

Thanks for the information, ESP_Viper and gck. Like I said, I already have this guitar, so I don't have a choice as to getting it or the other model.

So, what does the longer scale length really mean to me? If I were to get it into standard tuning, would it mean that after I tuned it with open strings all my fretted notes would be slightly flat all the way down the fingerboard?

By heavier guage strings, should I get the package that I normally see marked "medium"? The sixth string on this one is .064 (according to Yamaha's website) and all the rest seem to be about one string away from what I see on the packages (ie, the fifth on this is the same as the sixth in a package of mediums).

Thanks again for the information!

H

[ESP_Viper]

a 64 is pretty big. A 52 or a 48 should be fine. Longer scale length means it can go lower without fret buzz and getting flappy strings. That guitar is designed for playing low, so standard will always kinda be a problem.

[spider_fox]

You can give me the guitar if you want lol. Drop 6 guitars are guitars designed for drop tunings (hence "drop" in the name) for "the bone crunching slam of nu-metal" as some magazines advertise. I was actually looking to get one of those guitars, but expense and a few other factors kept me away.

The longer scale as said is to increase the tension of the last string, to therefore make it less prone to become floppy when tuned low.

The drop 6 is not a "advanced" guitar, its just a "heavy music" guitar. If you like heavy music, once you get into it, you'll appreciate the drop 6. But for a begginer, it was probably not the best guitar to recieve at the start.

Never fear, if you want to tune to normal tuning, as (I think) someone said, go for heavy gauges. Thinner gauges will get "stretched" and snap easier with the longer scale.
It WILL be harder for you at the start, as aforementioned, wider frets + fretting problems will string tension may arise, as well as if you got shorters arms or something, it may be hard to powerchord fret the first fret (something I had difficulty with at first, powerchord position was weird at the first fret, E chord was easy tho') but if you play on this for a while, and go sick on it, and revert to a "normal" guitar, or fingers will glide like cat**** on a linoleum floor. :)

Hope this helped, stick with that guitar, pay your dues on it, and when the time is right, go out and buy yourself one.

spider_fox.

[Pezcore]

lucky git, i love d6's

[gck]

Originally posted by ESP_Viper
25.5 is larger than usual.

A scale length of 25.5 inch isn't larger than usual, it's a common scale length of Fender guitars... maybe you meant the 26.5 inches, which would be larger than usual...

[Hugh]

I'm starting to feel better about this guitar now. I'm certainly not into "heavy music" (more classic rock and blues...acoustic and electric), but if I can use heavier gauge strings with standard tuning and play what I like, it should be fine for me. It sounds like I may have a steeper learning curve, but it may pay off in the long run. And, I have my Seagull acoustic with a shorter scale length to work with if the Yamaha frustrates me too much.

Hopefully it won't be hard to sell when I'm ready to start shopping for a "keeper" guitar after playing a few other models and finding what I really like.

Thanks!

[ESP_Viper]

No i meant what I said. 24.75 is the common one.

[spider_fox]

*does a homer*

mmmmm.............. larger than usual........ arghhh...... *drool*

:P !

Spider_fox.

PS: I have wondered how low guitars are gonna tuned in the future lol , any guitars being designed for drop G Heh, thats seriously getting down there :)

Oh, on another related note, drop 6 guitars are designed to "sound" like 7 strings, but play like a six string :) Just a little advertising tidbit I thought I might bring to the owners attention :cool: Also, why not use your guitar to add a heavier side to the music you love, for example blues ? I have certainly head it being done, and it sounds great. Gives it HUGE prescence. Like use powerchords chromatically for the blues. It was wild, the guy starts off with a rich full blues tone, and when they go into the solo'ish section, he switches to a distortion pedal, and a wah, and it just sounds so wild. The thing is, it doesnt loose the flavour of blues, it simply changes the flavour. Its great. The way he plays, you just cant help but make facial expressions to the music while your listening, like your playing yourself :D Especially when he does a mosquito level pinch harmonic, and bends it ever so slightly into a wah press lol.

Good luck with the guitar, dont sell it too quickly, at least have a good go on it and try all your options with it at least once before changing guitars.

Oh by the way, is it only Yamaha which make drop 6 guitars ?

Spider_Fox.

[Pezcore]

no, both fender and squier have a 'Subsonic' model which is the same thing.

no idea about the squier but the fenders expensive.

[ESP_Viper]

Once a guitar guitar gets down to G, it's going to be a bass pretty much. There's disadvantages to going that low. Try playing power chords on a bass... just sounds muddy and like mush. Once notes get so low, they loose definition. I am betting it's limitations on the human ear not being able to destinguish between the frequencies. So I don't think it's going to go much lower. B is about as far as you need to go, unless you want to got A with a 7 string or something.

[Hugh]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. Here's what I did (after getting up to speed on changing strings on a Floyd Rose tremolo): I took that thick ol' 6th string off and moved strings 2-5 up one. I added a new second string from a pack of mediums I have. All the first strings I have are lighter than the one it came with, so I left that one where it was. Now it's in standard tuning and I'm pretty happy with. All the string diameters are now pretty much what was on the package of mediums I took the second string from.

I can see what you meant by using heavier guage strings...that first string (especially) is much "tighter" than I've seen before. I can see now how it would be better to have heavier strings since they'll be under more tension.

Thanks again!

[spider_fox]

Lol from that post about going drop G, I just got some image of some full on dopey "hair metal" dude thinking it would be awesome to tune his guitar as low as possible, until the strings are actually just starting to get wound round the WRONG way, slacken the guitar strap until the guitar was down at it his ankles, his pants around his ankles, and a shirt that said "I like metal, not wood" giving a "devils horns" sign with his hand

:D

Ah heh heh.

[sbguitman]

as for the original problem, couldn't Hugh have slapped a capo on the 5th and it would be in standard?

[PRS One]

yeah but it sucks to always have to play w/ a capo on......

[gck]

I've just read an ad for this particular "drop6" yamaha in the "Guitar" magzine, featuring a nice girl holding the guitar and the words "how low can you get?" below... hehe