manual tuning 89F 1/2 step down?

[malcolmtense]

I've searched the forum and the web without coming across the answer...sorry if I'm being blind.  I'd like to manually tune my 89F 1/2 step down so I can use the magnetic pickups as well as the modeling for my band.  It appears as if the alternate tuning is based off A400...is it possible to change this behavior?

[phil_m]

All of the pitch shifting is based on relative pitch, so you would probably be OK with down-tuning. I believe I remember reading threads about people doing it, and it being OK. I think the one issue may be that the whole ghost note thing on open strings might become more problematic. The other thing is that all the tunings that are saved on the alt tuning knob will be a half step lower.

[Palico]

All of the pitch shifting is based on relative pitch, so you would probably be OK with down-tuning. I believe I remember reading threads about people doing it, and it being OK. I think the one issue may be that the whole ghost note thing on open strings might become more problematic. The other thing is that all the tunings that are saved on the alt tuning knob will be a half step lower.

 

Yep half steped tuned all the time on my 89f, no problems (of course after setting the floyd itself properly for 1/2 tuning). The Ghost note thing is really really strange, I've had it and then it pretty much disappeared and I have not idea what I did differenly.  If it occurs it is a bit more pronounced when you are half step tuned thought.  And yea the tuning changes are all realative to what the string report to the Variax. So if you half step tuned say a the Drop B tuning setting in reality will be Drop Bb tuning. 

[malcolmtense]

The drop D would be wonky though, wouldn't it, because how would the "computer" know that my strings were manually detuned and not just drop the e-string to D instead of the required D flat?

BTW, thanks for all the replies so far!

[Palico]

It will be Drop Db, just like you manually did a drop D on 1/2 down tuned guitar. Of course you could hook up to workbench and create a custom tuning that would really be drop D.

[malcolmtense]

Thanks!  I'll give it a shot tonight.

[Palico]

To clarify what the alternate turning does is take the incomming sound and adjust it by an amount (up or down).  It doesn't care or know what the incomming tuning is. So normal "Standard" setting on the knob apply a movement of 0 across all six strings.   The drop D apply 1 step down (on the low E) from the incomming signal and then 0 across the rest.

 

So the gutiar 1/2 down manual strings are

Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb.

the drop D setting will produce

Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb

[scotterp]

Been doing this for years now without any issues whatsoever. One other thing to be aware of is if you are setting up your own tuning on the fly, where you play the notes you want and save it. It does everything relative to the twelfth fret by default. However, if you are tuned down a 1/2 step, then everything moves one fret. So your "base" becomes the 13th fret instead of the 12th.