Following the sacking of our singer and no joy finding another, im up for singing in our band. Just me on guitar and vocals,bass and drums.
This is my first time at this, ever! So any advice would be welcome to make as less of a struggle as im finding it hard to keep both timing and smoothness to my playing when singing.
Secondly, im alot more comfortable singing when downtuned half a step. (Eb). But the guitar strings feel obviously quite loose and buzzy with the lesser amount of string tension. Current set up is 10s. So im considering fitting 11s and remaining at Eb tuning and will set up the guitar for this. My question is. Is there much difference in string tension on 10s at standard tune and 11s at Eb tuning? Never played 11s before.
Our next rehearsal is thursday evening and want to try and get as comfortable as possible before my vocal debut with the band

Cheers in advance.

A half-step decrease in tuning to Eb shouldn't significantly impact the perceived tension of your strings. I've been doing it for years using 10-46 GHS Boomers and they actually feel and play quite comfortably.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Cheers Arjay.

I could feel the difference tbh. But could probably get used to it. Although, I sort felt that I didn't have as much control of the strings. Especially when raking and muted. Bit hard to describe really. The bridge was very very close to body when down tuned.

Is there a significant difference in tension on 10s at standard tune and 11s at Eb?

Cheers.

Get some singing lessons.

No joke.
I missed a spot because I wouldn't do backing vocals, for a really good band.I swore I'd never let anything like that stop me again. So I took a couple of singing lessons to reaffirm my abilities. I'd sing or play never both.

Once it was explained to me that singing is a matter of relaxing, completely, that there is nothing you can really do consciously to alter pitch. I haven't looked back. I don't even think about it anymore and pitch doesn't seem to matter either. Not saying I'll be at octave, but I'll be in key.

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No no and no

Hopefully, my vocal contribution will only be a temporary measure.

One option you may consider is getting a Morpheus DropTune. Basically, you can detune your guitar to Eb all the way down to A without touching your tuners, and adjusting your string tension.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifie ... ects-pedal

Best of luck on your upcoming singing debut! Kudos to anyone who can sing..I discovered years ago I sing in the key of "what in the heck was that!" I truly do admire anyone who can sing in front of people I personally do not even sing in the car haha!

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Mona
"Music is What Feelings Sound like"

Thanks Mona.

A lot of my practice is done in the car. Get some strange looks at traffic lights letting rip long to pride and joy.

10's to 11's is not a significant difference, and you might find that 11's have some benefits:
You don't have to bend them as far to reach the note you're looking for.
Guitar tone is improved... more punch I've found.
If people are looking at you funny while singing Stevie... he used 12's or 13's on his strat
I switched some time ago. When i re-set the guitar for the 11's, there were very little adjustments that had to be made. Nothing on the truss, nothing on the saddles for height, just a minor adjustment on intonation here and there.
Half-step down has been a part of rock and roll history since the 60's... don't be bashful

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keep the cart behind the horse, change the key to suit your voice, don't ever compromise the only voice you have.

Wow! I never knew you could buy a pedal that did that, truly amazing. When i think of all the covers gigs i did in the past where there were songs i just wouldnt play as the vocals were just out of my range and it just didnt seem worth bringing multiple guitars or retuning mid-set. Dont think i really need one now, but all the same, pretty mind blowing technology.

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`I prefer not to listen to music that I can't rip off or improve on` - Ian Dury