Do D-Tunas work well?

[crwnedblasphemy]

I was thinking of installing on a couple guitars I own...Both are blocked. My question is if they have say 46-10 strings, do I still use the 46, or do I have to change to heavier?

 

[7 Stringer]

They work very well. I have 10 and they all are perfect. no need to change the 46, works great for D. But i use 10-48’. Perfect gauge for my tastes.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

It works but it's a bit of a trade-off IMO.

Yeah you can flip to Drop D on a dime, but to do that you have to forfeit the use of your low E fine tuner, so if you go out of tune you need to open the nut and retune. And if you like to use the Key to adjust intonation, you have to remove the D-Tuna for that. So while switching to Drop D is super easy, it does add some hassle elsewhere so keep that in mind.

I have it and I like it but I'm not sure I'm going to get one for my next Floyd'd guitar.

 

[7 Stringer]

It works but it's a bit of a trade-off IMO.

Yeah you can flip to Drop D on a dime, but to do that you have to forfeit the use of your low E fine tuner, so if you go out of tune you need to open the nut and retune. And if you like to use the Key to adjust intonation, you have to remove the D-Tuna for that. So while switching to Drop D is super easy, it does add some hassle elsewhere so keep that in mind.

I have it and I like it but I'm not sure I'm going to get one for my next Floyd'd guitar.

You still have adjustment on the low string to tune! Less range but still enough to tune. Never never need to unlock unless the guitar is really out of tune, like in the spring or fall.

And why would you need to take it off to adjust intonation? It ain’t in the way, no different than a standard allen bolt.

Imo these are a must on blocked trems for people that go from E to D often.

 

[Metlupass2]

Take the time to read the instructions for installing and adjusting.

 

[Speeddemon]

Do a search on the Tone Vise Pitchshifter on this forum
I have one of those on my Kramer SM-1 and a D-Tuna on my Charvel So-Cal; for me the Tone Vise is easier to twist for drop-D tuning, than grabbing the D-Tuna, pushing it down, etc.
Both work only with a blocked tremolo (dive only), but to me the Tone Vise is quicker to use, especially should you want to use it mid-song.

 

[7 Stringer]

Do a search on the Tone Vise Pitchshifter on this forum
I have one of those on my Kramer SM-1 and a D-Tuna on my Charvel So-Cal; for me the Tone Vise is easier to twist for drop-D tuning, than grabbing the D-Tuna, pushing it down, etc.
Both work only with a blocked tremolo (dive only), but to me the Tone Vise is quicker to use, especially should you want to use it mid-song.

I have both and to me the Tone vise is useless. You cant tune your E. So if your E is out of tune, you have to un clamp and re tune. Very inconvenient.

The D tuna lets you tune both E and D.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

DTuna is awesome. Still can fine tune quite a bit, not sure what is going on over there^.
Works on any normal gauge string I used it on no issues. On a blocked FR it is a must have IMO

 

[psychodave]

If you’re blocking, there is no need for anything. Just screw the fine tuned in leaving 1-2 turns out. Tune it to E. Then I screw the fine tuner to get to D. Make any fine tune adjustments and you will be able to go from E to drop D with no extra cost and you can still fine tune both E and E tunings.

 

[7 Stringer]

If you’re blocking, there is no need for anything. Just screw the fine tuned in leaving 1-2 turns out. Tune it to E. Then I screw the fine tuner to get to D. Make any fine tune adjustments and you will be able to go from E to drop D with no extra cost and you can still fine tune both E and E tunings.

Did that for a while. But the D tuna is instant. No tuner needed. Or boimg boingg boinggg boinggggg!!!!!

Just a very well designed unit.

When we jam, we go from D to drop C all the time. When my drummer feels for a song, i am all set for him within a second, no mood killing!!!!!

Seriously, i can’t live without it. Way too convenient.

 

[zuel69]

Do a search on the Tone Vise Pitchshifter on this forum
I have one of those on my Kramer SM-1 and a D-Tuna on my Charvel So-Cal; for me the Tone Vise is easier to twist for drop-D tuning, than grabbing the D-Tuna, pushing it down, etc.
Both work only with a blocked tremolo (dive only), but to me the Tone Vise is quicker to use, especially should you want to use it mid-song.

I have both and to me the Tone vise is useless. You cant tune your E. So if your E is out of tune, you have to un clamp and re tune. Very inconvenient.

The D tuna lets you tune both E and D.

Right on 7 Stringer, that Tone Vise came off my guitar faster than it took to install it. Seemed to me unless you spend most of your time with drop D it just wasn't worth it.

 

[Speeddemon]

Do a search on the Tone Vise Pitchshifter on this forum
I have one of those on my Kramer SM-1 and a D-Tuna on my Charvel So-Cal; for me the Tone Vise is easier to twist for drop-D tuning, than grabbing the D-Tuna, pushing it down, etc.
Both work only with a blocked tremolo (dive only), but to me the Tone Vise is quicker to use, especially should you want to use it mid-song.

I have both and to me the Tone vise is useless. You cant tune your E. So if your E is out of tune, you have to un clamp and re tune. Very inconvenient.

The D tuna lets you tune both E and D.

Fair point. I guess I was lucky, since that Kramer SM-1 is so solid, tune-wise. Once setup properly it remained in E with the Tonevise.

Regarding the DTuna, I dunno if it's just capitalism at work, but when I bought mine, I think I paid around the equivalent of $30. They're around $55-60 nowadays in Europe. Inflation wasn't a thing so much the last few years, so I'm not gonna support such price-gauging. YMMV.

 

[Philhouse]

I cannot get mine to fit/work properly on my EBMM EVH. I've tried everyway I can, and read the instructions even
Just will not work for me, is there some secret to getting it work on all guitars, or is it normal that it doesn't fit certain guitars?, (which I find ironic because its a darn EVH model guitar). I must be doing something wrong.
Anyway, if anyone has the secret I'd love to know.

Cheers.

 

[Riggins1966]

It works but it's a bit of a trade-off IMO.

Yeah you can flip to Drop D on a dime, but to do that you have to forfeit the use of your low E fine tuner, so if you go out of tune you need to open the nut and retune. And if you like to use the Key to adjust intonation, you have to remove the D-Tuna for that. So while switching to Drop D is super easy, it does add some hassle elsewhere so keep that in mind.

I have it and I like it but I'm not sure I'm going to get one for my next Floyd'd guitar.

You still have adjustment on the low string to tune! Less range but still enough to tune. Never never need to unlock unless the guitar is really out of tune, like in the spring or fall.

And why would you need to take it off to adjust intonation? It ain’t in the way, no different than a standard allen bolt.

Imo these are a must on blocked trems for people that go from E to D often.

this. I have D-Tuna's on both of my main gigging FR axes and they work very well.

 

[7 Stringer]

Do a search on the Tone Vise Pitchshifter on this forum
I have one of those on my Kramer SM-1 and a D-Tuna on my Charvel So-Cal; for me the Tone Vise is easier to twist for drop-D tuning, than grabbing the D-Tuna, pushing it down, etc.
Both work only with a blocked tremolo (dive only), but to me the Tone Vise is quicker to use, especially should you want to use it mid-song.

I have both and to me the Tone vise is useless. You cant tune your E. So if your E is out of tune, you have to un clamp and re tune. Very inconvenient.

The D tuna lets you tune both E and D.

Right on 7 Stringer, that Tone Vise came off my guitar faster than it took to install it. Seemed to me unless you spend most of your time with drop D it just wasn't worth it.

Yeah, me too. Very well made product but the lack of E tuning kills it. Way too much hassle.

The guy is super cool though. Wish he comes up with an updated version that solves this issue !!!

 

[7 Stringer]

I cannot get mine to fit/work properly on my EBMM EVH. I've tried everyway I can, and read the instructions even
Just will not work for me, is there some secret to getting it work on all guitars, or is it normal that it doesn't fit certain guitars?, (which I find ironic because its a darn EVH model guitar). I must be doing something wrong.
Anyway, if anyone has the secret I'd love to know.

Cheers.

For sure something ain’t right. I have two on my EBMM EVH guitars and they work perfectly. What is not working for you?

 

[the rossness]

I've been playing EVH style guitars since the dawn of time and have used the D-Tuna on tons of guitars.

Simply put: you don't need to adjust your string gauge to work with the D-tuna. It works with whatever you've got.

 

[Guitar G]

EDITED

D-Tuna's work great when set up properly. All of that has been covered above. The only thing that has not been said is this:

If you tune your guitar to E flat, then the traditional .042 low e string will not work. You tune it to Db and then engage the D-Tuna to raise to Eb. However, the Eb is sharp. You have to install a .046 as the low e string to overcome this, or remove part of the D-Tuna itself to get to proper pitch at Eb. I've done both, but now only go with a slightly higher string guage to solve this. If you go the route of removing part of the D-Tuna, you will need to file down the flat part of the D-Tuna that rides against the fine tuner on the floyd. I struggled with this for years and finally talked with Adam at Floyd Upgrades and this is what he told me. BTW, on my guitars tuned to E standard, the D-Tuna works flawlessly with 9-42 strings.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

D-Tuna's work great when set up properly. All of that has been covered above. The only thing that has not been said is this:

If you tune your guitar to E flat, then the traditional .042 low e string will not work. You tune it to Db and then engage the D-Tuna to raise to Eb. However, the Eb is flat. You have to install a .046 as the low e string to overcome this, or remove part of the D-Tuna itself to get to proper pitch at Eb. I've done both, but now only go with a slightly higher string guage to solve this. If you go the route of removing part of the D-Tuna, you will need to file down the flat part of the D-Tuna that rides against the fine tuner on the floyd. I struggled with this for years and finally talked with Adam at Floyd Upgrades and this is what he told me. BTW, on my guitars tuned to E standard, the D-Tuna works flawlessly with 9-42 strings.

I run 9-42 at Eb and it works but it is a little finicky. Maybe that's what causes the finickiness I was talking about.

 

[Philhouse]

I cannot get mine to fit/work properly on my EBMM EVH. I've tried everyway I can, and read the instructions even
Just will not work for me, is there some secret to getting it work on all guitars, or is it normal that it doesn't fit certain guitars?, (which I find ironic because its a darn EVH model guitar). I must be doing something wrong.
Anyway, if anyone has the secret I'd love to know.

Cheers.

For sure something ain’t right. I have two on my EBMM EVH guitars and they work perfectly. What is not working for you?

Cheers, I'll have to dig it out again and have another try.
From memory it wasn't fitting for me because to the angle of the back of the trem coming back down instead of straight like most floyd-ish trems. It was just jamming down against the body and was really hard to push in and out. Most likely something I've missed somewhere and I put it away as it was just frustrating me at the time.