A fairly new guitar enthusiast friend of mine, (mostly bass) found a shiny, rebuilt Fender D8 under their tree on Christmas morning and it turned his musical world into confusion and exasperation. His first question to me was, “what’s the tuning for this thing?” My response was “It’s normally a variation of C6th and another variation of E13th on the second neck.
“A variation of C6th and E13th?” came his confused reply. “Let’s start with a standard tuning first.”
Which starts the question of whether there are "standard" tunings for D-8 guitars. There's a guitar for sale where the ad states that the guitar is setup with C6 and E9.
I figure the C6 tuning is something like ACEGACEG (low to high) or FACEGACE or EACEGACE.
Would a typical E13 be E G# B D F# G# C# E? Or, something like E B D E G# B C# E?
I wouldn't say there are any 'standard' tunings...but there are tons of them to choose from. Just depends on what music you like to play and then experimentation to get to what you like.
common c6 tunings low to high:
G A C E G A C E
A C E G A C E G
e13's:
G#(or E) B D F# G# B C# E
B D E G# B C# E G#
I've always liked a6 and e13 together because of how they relate to each other. You have a dominant chord on the e13 neck, that is the V chord in A.
F# A C# E F# A C# E
Heres an e9 I really like- once again low to high:
E G# B D F# G# B E
I also try to get stringsets that allow me to retune to different tunings when I want.
JOHN: About those tunings. You can install any of the more than 350 +/- tunings on either neck of that guitar.
There is no placard on the guitar therefore, any tuning is a legitimate choice for either neck.
Unless you have some idea of WHAT you want to SOUND LIKE.......picking a tuning based on recommendations from 8,000 well meaning steel guitar fans from all over the world, ranging from rank amatuer to top-flight recording artist, is going to be most difficult for you.
As suggested, listen to every great steel guitar album you can get your hands on. See which one you prefer to sound 'somewhat like'. Then determine THAT tuning and install it on the g'tar.
Those different tunings are not there to confuse one, but rather, to enable the player to enhance his/her SOUND............. If you don't have any idea what YOU LIKE, that is going to prove to be a difficult task.
Ray's post is right on the money. The problem is that beginning players have no idea which tuning would be appropriate because even playing with fingerpicks is a major ordeal (or playing in tune for that matter). Lap steel is one of the few instruments in existence that does not have a "standard" tuning.
That being said, I feel that either A6 or C6 are probably the most commonly used and I have grown quite fond of E9 or E13. While you will definitely get a lot of opinions on what tuning is "best", a quick search will show that most people here prefer C6 over everything else so I guess that is as close to "standard" as we are going to get.
When I first started playing I found it all a bit overwhelming. After years of experimenting, though, I find that I use G6 for most things and a few variations of E9 for the rest. Ironically, I don't care for C6 very much but I plan to try it out again on one of my steels. If I were a beginner, I'd probably buy a 6 string and tune it up to open E until I get the hang of things for a bit.
I had the same problem and the same responses. Here's one that I found particularly helpful because the E13 can be retuned without buying a load of different strings. It agrees with some posts you got. The thing to do is buy the strings and go for it. FWIW I find the high C6th (lo-hi ACEGACEG) very easy to understand. Tony.
Bob Hunter wrote:I use Scotty's E 13th, A6 and E7 string sets on my Remington and Stringmaster D 8's and on the T 8. On the D 8's I use E13th and A 6 so I can tune to C6 high or low. The A6 can also be E7. I have found them to be very serviceable and the price is good too. I usually order 12 sets at a time.
The gauges of the sets are very close to Rick Alexander's specs. However, you may want to experiment and tweek the gauges to suit your taste, but these are good starting points. Back in the 50's when I started playing we didn't have many options so I learned to be flexible. Good luck!
When I began studying steel on an old Carvin double 8, I purposefully limited myself for the first year to A6 and high C6 (G on top). This kept me from spreading my brain cells in a too thin paste over numerous tunings, while allowing me choices of where to play a particular piece on the neck. It's like having a capo three frets up. The C6 neck is very user friendly in the keys of C, G, F, and D along with their relative minors, and the A6 neck is really easy in the keys of A, D, and E.
This was good for me, as, by focusing only on this one basic tuning, I was able to make a lot of progress in a short while, but as has already been said, you have to find tunings that work for the sound you want.
I think if you visit Rick Alexanders Chart on tunings, a lot of mystery will evaporate. With 3 tunings you have quick access to many popular tunings in use today. If you have an electronic tuner, changes are quick and easy. Once players are more experienced, they can focus on 1 or 2 tunings and set them up as they like. There really are only about a half dozen tunings that will cover 80% of playing needs. Other tunings are for specialized songs or effects. Take a look at Ricks work! Good luck!
