eight-string E13th tuning?

[Andy Greatrix]

Does anyone use this tuning?
G#
E
C#
B
G#
F#
E
D

The more I hunt and peck, the more I find that I like.
I can get both major and minor three-part harmonized
scales without slants with this tuning.

[Jerry Hayes]

Hey Andy, interesting tuning. What guitar do you have it on? I have a D-8 National with an E13 on the outside which is G# E C# B G# E D B (high to low) I'm looking at your tuning and see a lot of possibilities you have by having that F# string in there as far as two and three string chord positions.........JH in Va.

[Andy Greatrix]

Hi Jerry!
I also have a double 8 national with this tuning on the outside neck. On the inside neck, I have a lower E13th tuning.

E
C#
B
G#
F#
D
G#
E

I think this is the one Cindy Cashdollar uses, but I haven't figured it out too much yet.

[Jon Nygren]

Does anyone use this tuning?
G#
E
C#
B
G#
F#
E
D

The more I hunt and peck, the more I find that I like.
I can get both major and minor three-part harmonized
scales without slants with this tuning.

I use that one with the E and D on the bottom reversed. I've been thinking about switching them.

[b0b]

Close. I had my Sierra tuned like that for a couple of years - except for the 8th string which I tuned to B. I needed one low chord position and B-F#-B worked out pretty well.

Do you tune your F# to the D, the B or the C#?

[Andy Greatrix]

Bob, I'm using the E9th compensations on my Peterson strobe tuner to tune the neck, since all those notes are in the E9th tuning. All I know is that it sounds good.

[Tom Wolverton]

Andy -

This looks interesting. I play E13th quite a bit. I'll retune and try it. What do you call this? E13th-diatonic ? Thanks for sharing this.

[Mark Durante]

Hey Andy, that's my favorite choice for 8 string tuning, similar to Don Helms except for the low three strings, a very versatile tuning

[Andy Greatrix]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

I don't think of it as a E13th-diatonic.
To my way of thinking, it's tuned to the dominent chord of A. In other words, it's tuned to a 5 chord.

I am having way too much fun with it.

[Les Anderson]

Close. I had my Sierra tuned like that for a couple of years - except for the 8th string which I tuned to B. I needed one low chord position and B-F#-B worked out pretty well.

Do you tune your F# to the D, the B or the C#?

I am with "b0b" on this one. There are so many E13th tunings that it would be impossible to grab just one and stick with it. The variations are endless.

We steelers have this thing about not sticking to anything for more than a few months before our inquisitive mind takes to another variation.

[Ambrose Verdibello]

Andy - This has been my 8 string E tuning of choice for a long time. It is very versatile for melody playing and tight chord voicings - dominant chords all over with both easy forward slants and straight bar.

The thing that originally attracted me to this tuning was its familiarity with the E9 pedal steel neck (minus the high chromatic strings and with the a-pedal C# thrown in.) It's a nice way for an E9 pedal player to get into the lap world.

[b0b]

It's a nice way for an E9 pedal player to get into the lap world.

And vice versa

[Edward Meisse]

It's a nice way for an E9 pedal player to get into the lap world.

And vice versa

Of course pedal guitars are available in C6 as well....

[Mike Neer]

G# E C# B G# F# D B
That's the E13 I prefer.

What I like even more is this E9:
E B G# F# D B G# E

I usually keep one neck tuned to the E13 and the other tuned to C6 or C13 which is easily retuned to E9 or A6 as I need it.

[James Martin (U.K.)]

Can someone give the guages for the E13th tuning ?( Either one)from bottom to top. Thanks.

[Tom Wolverton]

regular E13th (with 3rd on top) is typically:

G# .010 or .011"
E .014 or .015
C# .017 or .018
B .020
G# .024
E .030w
D .032w or .034
B .038w

but you can adjust this a bit.

for Andy's variation, I think I used an 0.028w for the F# string.

I strung up my guitar with Andy's E13th (add 9???)
and my first impressions are this:
1. it feels like a pedal steel on the lower strings
2. I'm not finding the F# that useful yet for chords
3. I miss the loss of range in the lower register
4. it feels funny having the root on the 7th string.

That said, I'm gonna play it for a while and see how I warm up to it. Thanks, Andy.

[John Allison]

Instead of one of the E13's I've been working with the straight E9 - B,D,E,F#,G#,B,E,G# low-high and forgoing the C# in favor of keeping the low B and the F#. I don't miss the C# in this tuning. If I have a 6 note, everything has a tendency to sound a little similar (that's due to my inexperience). Not having a 6 in the E tuning helps me put the sound into a different place than what I play in the C6 tuning. The 5-1-3 on top gives the right sound for honky-tonk classics. The 2-3-5 presents the same interval sequence as the 5-6-1 for licks and that helps keep it a little familar. I'm having reasonable luck getting some "pedal-steel" sounds out of it.

[Andy Greatrix]

Do you mean "it feels funny, not having the root on the seventh string'?
PS The 4th, 6th and 8th string give you a B minor.

[Tom Wolverton]

Andy - I'm used to the root being on the 6th string, so now I have to get used to the root (E) being shifted over to the 7th string. Just a brain shift thing.....John - that E9th looks good to me too. I'll try it.

[Billy Tonnesen]

Used it during the 60's on my Fender 1000 as a basic tuning. Also used A6th on the inside neck. These are good tunings with or without pedals.

[Ron Whitfield]

G# .010 or .011"
E .014 or .015
C# .017 or .018
B .020
G# .024
E .030w
D .032w or .034
B .038w
but you can adjust this a bit.

Or, you could alter the guages for the high end on this tuning significantly... On my short scale Maggie I use 16s for the top 4 strings.

[b0b]

I use a .012 for the high G#. I don't have the guts to go any thicker than that.

[James Martin (U.K.)]

Thanks for the guages Tom. Some interesting tunings to try out here. Thanks everyone for the info.

[Edward Meisse]

I use a .012 for the high G#. I don't have the guts to go any thicker than that.

I have used a 13 on a high G. But it was tight.

[John Bechtel]

b0b; On my E9/13 Tuning, E~B~D~E~F#~G#~B~C#~E~G#, I tune the F# in-between the B & C# strings, just as I do on my PSG. (Oops!) I just tune it until all three notes blend for their best possible sound! I think thats part of the unique E9/E13 sound. Sounds ok for an A6 and also E9 chord. Then I tune the D-string to blend with the G# & B strings. (On the PSG, [Oops again] I have an extra pull-rod when I lower my E's to raise the F# to pitch for a good B6.) <just thought I'd sneak that in there!> Sorry ’bout that mis-step!