Talk to me about the D-Tuna and EVHs in general

EVH D-Tuna worth it?

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    17
ners

ners

Active member
Im in the market for a new guitar and want one more metal oriented (compared to my Tele & LP). So after checking Ibanez/Jackson/ESP/etc I'm leaning towards the EVH's as they have the closest to my preferred nut width.

I know nothing about these guitars in general, and this will be my first Floyd Rose. Plan on leaving it in Drop C mostly, but probably occasionally full or half step down.
 
I picked an MIJ few weeks back and had my guy set it up in Eb. I haven't been able to put it down since getting it back. Absolutely LOVE it. D Tuna works perfectly and zero tuning issues after proper setup.
I've got PRS cores, Jackson USA, LP and I want another (different color) for standard tuning
Grab the MIJ for 1200 on reverb. Same as mine (mine came with 32mn brass block upgrade and hard case) but paid more.

Can't praise it enough.
 

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I've got a D-Tuna in my Charvel. It works, but you're basically trading the ability to use the finetuner on the low E for the ability to drop down to D in an instant. If you need to adjust the tuning when you're in E you've use a hex key to tweak a set screw anyway, so at that point what are you really getting?

I can see why Eddie wanted it, but if you don't have a tech on-hand to keep it dialed in IMO it's way more practical to just take the extra ten seconds to drop D with the fine tuner.

That being said, EVH guitars as a whole? Total win. If you're going for a hot rod there's no better option IMO.
 
Is tuning to drop d normally just loosening the nut, retuning, then tightening the nut again?

I know nothing about Floyd Roses, other than everyone complains about changing strings, but I'm also not an idiot so fairly confident I could do it with some practice.

I don't plan on jumping between the two things a whole bunch, so if changing tuning isn't a huge bitch I can probably live without the d tuna (after all I don't have to switch to played Unchained on a moments notice while live).
 
GreatRedDragon said:
I've got a D-Tuna in my Charvel. It works, but you're basically trading the ability to use the finetuner on the low E for the ability to drop down to D in an instant. If you need to adjust the tuning when you're in E you've use a hex key to tweak a set screw anyway, so at that point what are you really getting?

I can see why Eddie wanted it, but if you don't have a tech on-hand to keep it dialed in IMO it's way more practical to just take the extra ten seconds to drop D with the fine tuner.

That being said, EVH guitars as a whole? Total win. If you're going for a hot rod there's no better option IMO.
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You got it wrong, a little.

You back off the fine tuner to about 3/4 out while in drop D and the lock nut loose, tune with the headstock tuner to that drop D tuning, lock the nut. Fine tune with the fine tuner, if needed. Very slight adjustment usually.

Then flick the d tuna in to E. It is now you use the set screw to fine tune to E standard. Then voila, go from E to D and it is in tune perfectly every time. If the E goes off a bit, mine never does, with the 3/4 out fine tuner postion, you have quite a bit of leverage. If only the E is off, you have to adjust the set screw again. Never happens to me except sometimes with change of seasons.

I have 10 D tuna's installed in my guitars.

It is a perfect invention.
 
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ners said:
Is tuning to drop d normally just loosening the nut, retuning, then tightening the nut again?

I know nothing about Floyd Roses, other than everyone complains about changing strings, but I'm also not an idiot so fairly confident I could do it with some practice.

I don't plan on jumping between the two things a whole bunch, so if changing tuning isn't a huge bitch I can probably live without the d tuna (after all I don't have to switch to played Unchained on a moments notice while live).
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90% of the issues people have with Floyds are due to them floating the trem. If you have the bridge set to dive only (which is how EVH guitars are set up) you don't have to worry about much and a decked Floyd is IMO the easiest bridge to string up. And yes, you just have to unlock the nut and tune down (one of the most popular accessories is an Allen key holder you mount on the back of the headstock for such occasions), but the fine tuner has enough range to pull it off as well.
7 Stringer said:
You got it wrong, a little.

You back off the fine tuner to about 3/4 out while in drop D and the lock nut loose, tune with the headstock tuner to that drop D tuning, lock the nut. Fine tune with the fine tuner, if needed. Very slight adjustment usually.

Then flick the d tuna in to E. It is now you use the set screw to fine tune to E standard. Then voila, go from E to D and it is in tune perfectly every time. If the E goes off a bit, mine never does and i have 10 D tuna's installed in my guitars, adjust the set screw again. Never happens except sometimes with change of seasons.

It is a perfect invention.
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I find myself needing to a tweak the E fairly regularly, as I do all my strings, which is pretty normal (thats why the fine tuners were added, after all). The D-Tuna solves one problem but nothing is free, it's just a matter of picking what compromise you want. There are instances where I'll use it mid-song, such as when I'm playing Mr. Crowley, but for the most part I'm happier to just use the fine tuner to drop the E. YMMV.
 
Mostly play mij ibanez, charvel and esp superstrats and just got my first wolfgang special. I really like the d tuna and wolfgang pickups. Overall a very quality fiddle.
 
GreatRedDragon said:
I've got a D-Tuna in my Charvel. It works, but you're basically trading the ability to use the finetuner on the low E for the ability to drop down to D in an instant. If you need to adjust the tuning when you're in E you've use a hex key to tweak a set screw anyway, so at that point what are you really getting?

I can see why Eddie wanted it, but if you don't have a tech on-hand to keep it dialed in IMO it's way more practical to just take the extra ten seconds to drop D with the fine tuner.
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I did not know that.

I just ordered one for my Floyd because it looked like a great idea.. better than having to unlock the nut and all of that.

But I didn't know it precludes you from using the fine tuner on the low E ! o_O
 
Great product, if setup correctly it will work well. However your Floyds have to be decked...no pull sharp. That's a no go for me as though I don't care for any of the high pulls like Dimebag, I do use the trem for vibrato so I have to have them floating.

I've had the D-Tuna's on floating trems but engaging it you gotta do some quick fine tuning on the other strings. Back when I used it I made sure the set was structured to where once I dropped, did the fine tuning on the other strings I never had re-engaged it again.

Good piece of kit though and worth it if you are decking your Floyd.
 
I have had multiple D-Tunas on many guitars over the years. One they are properly set up, they work great. And I have no issues using the fine tuners on my Floyd Rose.
 
D-Tunas are incredible. However you'll need to deck your trem for them to work, which means you'll lose the ability to pull the strings sharp.

For me though, it's totally worth it because I don't really like floating bridges anyway. With floating bridges, you almost totally lose the ability to bend single notes within chords without all the other notes going flat. Decked trems can still bend flat though, so you can still dive-bomb away.

As far as EVH guitar go... they're great. The necks are awesome and the pickups are basically perfect for high gain hard rock.
 
For me it is not a matter of a floating Floyd or a decked Floyd with a D-Tuna. I want both. Each of the setups opens different doors on things you can do with the guitar.
 
I have them on both of my Wolfgang Standards. I like them a lot for what they do. If you follow the directions on setting them up you can get them pretty stable. You can still use your fine tuner as long as it isn't dramatically off. I find I need to drop the bar though to change it because if not it will hit the body.
 
PLX said:
I did not know that.

I just ordered one for my Floyd because it looked like a great idea.. better than having to unlock the nut and all of that.

But I didn't know it precludes you from using the fine tuner on the low E ! o_O
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It does not, you can use the fine tuner in E and D.
 
PLX said:
I did not know that.

I just ordered one for my Floyd because it looked like a great idea.. better than having to unlock the nut and all of that.

But I didn't know it precludes you from using the fine tuner on the low E ! o_O
Click to expand...
You can use it, but it's not designed for it.

The fine tuners just push down on the saddle-locking screw, which pulls the string sharp. The D-Tuna is a wedge that pushes that screw down a set amount to bring the pitch up from D to E. The D-Tuna has a set screw on the side that you can use to increase the amount it pushes down.

If you use the fine tuner with the D-Tuna then the D-Tuna won't function properly - you'll have to tweak it when switching between the two positions. But like Shask said, you can get away with it with small adjustments.
 
Joe-TX said:
I use the fine tuner in E and D as well. Never a problem.
I would suspect that if someone is having issues using the fine tuner then their Dtuna isn’t adjusted properly.
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Yes. When adjusted properly, you can fine tune the E and D about a 1/4 of the fine tuners range, from all the way out. If you go more, the resistance on the D tuna is too much and it won't pop in and out easily, gets stuck.

Time to unclamp and start the process over. Witch takes under 2 minutes or less.

Hard for me to go back to non D tuna equipped guitars.

This gadget rules!!!
 
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