I modded my first pro steel, an old Marlen, to raise the first string one semitone, and the seventh. It allowed me to play two-string scale passages that I couldn't play otherwise. Now, 3 years on, I have gone for a 2-semitone raise on 1, and the semitone raise on 7 is replaced by a semitone lower on 6. I lost the earlier facility, and had to learn how to find it another way.
All of these things allow you certain "moves", but block off others. You makes your choices.... Of course, with a "Student" model, because they are built down to a price, some production steps are fudged, cheaper processes or parts used, etc. This leaves you with a steel that is not so "tuneable", to borrow an analogy from the motor racing world. You're stuck with the manufacturer's intended spec.
Of course, people like Bob and Shakey prove that it can be done, just as you can build a motorised sofa that will lap Brands Hatch at over 50mph....
Will
