I heard somewhere that putting an electric guitar into an alternative tuning (Drop D and such) can damage it. (I think it may have been a lesson on Guitar Noise even...) But after thinking about this for more than two seconds, that makes absolutely no sense. Just about every tab I see is meant to be played in some non-standard tuning. However, I don't have the money to risk damaging my guitar in any way, so I came here. Are there any risks associated with it, or did someone just blow smoke up my bum.
There are definitely no risks involved in Drop-D tuning (you are backing off on the E string tension).
In theory it could damage a guitar to tighten the bass strings excessively, but in practice it won't. The strings will break long before the guitar is damaged.
Any reasonable tuning is fine. If you go very far from standard EADGBe tuning (more than say 4-5 semitones up or down) you may have to change the string for a thicker or thinner one.
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Helgi Briem
hbriem AT gmail DOT com
Done properly, alternate tunings won't hurt your guitar. As noted in the previous post, don't tighten them too much. However, changing tuning a lot WILL unbalance the stress between the neck and stings and your guitar won't stay in tune as well. If you ever do a performance using alternate tunings you'll want to have as many guitars as you have tunings. Practice the tunes on those guitars for about a week before the show so the strings and neck can settle into the new relationship.
