WHAT TUNINGS..............are you using?

[Ray Montee]

This question is directed toward the non-pedal players.........

What tunings are you currently using?

A7th
E7th
C#min
C6th

or others as a primary tuning?

What other tunings do you use as alternate tunings?

Do you retune on stage between numbers?

[Frank James Pracher]

E7th and C6th

I play C6th for my own enjoyment mostly. When I play out I only take one lap and it's tuned to E7th because it works good for what I am ask to play.

One of the singers I have been playing with has been listening to some Chris Scruggs so there is hope yet!

[Robert Murphy]

For the last 4 years my primary tuning has been A11 lo to hi AC#EGBD. It is a chord based tuning that defines the third in major,minor,diminished and 7th. I play backup and fills but the melody is never very far away. This tuning is on my Dobro, Fender D6, acoustic hawaiian and Power Slide. Very versatile and easy to grab chords.

[Robert Allen]

I use two lap steels, one in A6th and the other in E7th. I use G tuning for dobro and will sometimes retune on stage dropping the 2nd string to Bb on some songs, Wayfaring Stranger for example.

[Jeff Mead]

I use A6 on my main neck and Leon McAuliffe's E13 on the second one.

For one number, I drop the C# strings on the A6 to C to make a D9.

[Rick Barnhart]

For years, I've been using the standard E9 and C6 on my D-10. Now I'm using a G6 tuning on my Clinesmith 8/6 console. I'm completely in love with the guitar and the tuning.

[Jerome Hawkes]

I'm actually dabbling a bit with Byrds diatonic now that I have a 7-string - I think he was really on to something there. I'm a bit hesitant to go full on diatonic as its so close to the C6 I fear it will scramble my brain even more.

[Gerard Ventura]

2 neck 8 string, main one is A6, low to high F#-A-C#-E- repeat an octave higher. Can do the swing chords but also covers pentatonic blues.

The other is E13sus4 low to high E-G#-D-F#-A-B-C#-E.
Haven't worked with it at all, but it's a cool sound for occasional fills.

[Jerome Hawkes]

I'm actually dabbling a bit with Byrds diatonic now that I have a 7-string - I think he was really on to something there. I'm a bit hesitant to go full on diatonic as its so close to the C6 I fear it will scramble my brain even more.

[Frank Welsh]

C13 and B11. I frequently shift between necks during the course of a tune.

[Joerg Hennig]

A6 on the back neck, which is my most used one. On the front neck, I have a version of E13 which goes (low to high): E B D E G# B C# E. It works well for the rockabilly tunes I play with my band, some power chord stuff etc. And, by retuning the 5th string to F# and the 7th string to G#, it can easily be changed into Leon McAuliffe's E13. Sometimes I think about adding the F# permanently and moving the low B to the 8th string to give it more of a country flavor. But then I just don't want to give up the low E, it's too much fun... I guess my next non-pedal steel guitar will have to be a triple neck.

[Rockne Riddlebarger]

A6 on the near neck and a big fat vanilla Emaj on the far neck, both in 7 string setup.

[Stephen Abruzzo]

6-string in Open E or E7, depending if I want to drop the 1st or 4th string down to D.

8-string in Modified C6 (lo-to-hi; Bb-C-E-G-A-C-E-D)

6-string in G13 (lo-to-hi; F-A-D-G-B-E)

[b0b]

I've been using D6/G: G B D F# A B D F#. You can hear it at http://reggaerockoldies.com/music/.

Sometimes I retune the low G to E for rock tunes (John Fogerty's Old Man Down The Road for example, which is in E).

Sometimes I retune the middle F# to G for selected tunes (The Beatles' Rain, for example, or songs with dobro parts).

But most of the time it's D6/G, just like my pedal steel.

[C. E. Jackson]

A6 on 7 string instruments, and E6 (Don Helms) on 8 string instruments.

[John Mulligan]

E6 Don Helms tuning on my Chandler, open E for blues-rock on my Tremblay Lil Hobo http://www.tremblayguitars.com/archive/?serial=hb250209

[David Matzenik]

Eight string electric: A6th with G on the bottom. Simple retune to B11th.

Six string acoustic guitars: Low bass G.

[Bob Russell]

Although I've messed around with several tunings, I find that C6 and E7 are the most useful for what I do.

[Joe Snow]

on fender champ E, Richenbacher 6 string C6. Play those together on a stand on many gigs. D8 Stringmaster: C6 close neck, E7, or E13 on far neck. Squareneck resonator lived in G with occasional G6 for a long time, currently stays in D with some variations off that tuning.

[Niels Andrews]

Reece Anderson's C6 on my MSA Super Slide 12, and loving it. Dobro Open G on the res.

[Niels Andrews]

Reece Anderson's C6 on my MSA Super Slide 12, and loving it. Dobro Open G on the res.

[Jan Viljoen]

Like Robert Murphy from Maryland, I play a lot of fills and backup in a South African folk band setup and I play the modified C6 Chuck Lettes tuning, which is ideal for me.
Somebody wrote me and called it a FMaj7 tuning:

L-H: F G A C E G
I have my own custom Rosewood and Gibson Br4 in this tuning.
Thanks Chuck!

My other tuning is E6 ala Don Helms on my Guya 8.

Let the games begin!

[Jack Aldrich]

Pretty conventional - C13 with high and low G (G Bb E G A C E G, from bottom) on most of my single neck steels and on the inside neck on my D8 Stringmaster, and Jules Ah See's B11 (B F# B D# F# A C# E from bottom)on my Stringmaster outer neck. I've just picked up a T8 Stringmaster from Mike Perlowin, and I'm planning to put an E9 or E13 on the other neck. - Jack

[Stephen Cowell]

C6 (hi G) and E13 (Leon)... with bass Bb6 (high F) on 3rd/bass neck.

lo/hi:
C6:ACEGACEG
E13:EG#DF#G#BC#E
Bb6:GBbDFGBbDF

Bb6 is nice because it ends up being Gmin... and C is 2 frets up, which is a nice pocket for open notes. Bass steel is fun!