Blues tunings 8 string

Stephen Abruzzo · Post by **Stephen Abruzzo** » 22 Apr 2014 9:03 am

E7/6? Darrick uses the 6th (C#) by playing off the B which is one whole-tone lower. He might not uses the C# as a 6th of E so much as he uses the B as the 7th of the C#.

Paul DiMaggio · Post by **Paul DiMaggio** » 22 Apr 2014 12:20 pm

I think you could call that tuning one of the many variations of E13th. In old math 7+6=13. In new math? I'm not sure.

Paul Arntson · Post by **Paul Arntson** » 15 May 2014 7:52 pm

Old thread I know, but Chase, that is a very cool tuning!

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 16 May 2014 4:14 am

I found a real nice Blues Tuning several years ago. As a matter of fact that is perhaps all it is well suited for? It is very close to the standard guitar tuning and sets up as follows ..high to low:
E--B--G--C#--A--E (A9TH.)
The following link will take you to a clip I recorded featuring this tuning. Two guitar sound!!
I played this on an acoustic box which I built a few years back and is now in storage.
Hope this is of interest and fits with your thread.
Link....
http://splashurl.com/ksowfml

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 16 May 2014 7:45 am

I can get around OK in C6, but I got quite obsessive about finding a tuning with this relationship among strings, somewhere:

8
5
3
1

What that simple thing does is open a lap steel up to the few hundred songs I already know on slide guitar. I have the luxury of a D10 Pedalmaster console (with no pedals

) so I can always have my stock-in-trade C6th:

G - 11/12
E - 15
C - 18
A - 20/22p, 24w
G - 24/26
E - 30
C - 36/38
A - 42/44
F - 54/56
C - 68/70

Just knock off the bottom four for this 8-string C6th:

G
E
C
A
G
E
C
A

But I agree that having that 6th stuck in there absolutely affects the tuning, knocks off some balls, hair, teeth, etc. - It just won't rock as fully! Maybe Dave Ristrim's "Crisis at the Theme Park" come closest? I mean, NAME somebody as mean as Johnny Winter?.... So, in order to get "my" 1,3,5,8 I had to cast it in either E:

E - 14
B - 19
G# -24(?) 22p?
E - 30
C# -36
B - 38
G# -44/46
E - 56/58

BTW, This is invaluable:
http://www.b0b.com/infoedu/gauges.htm
It's b0b's string gauge chart. Even if you have to fudge it about, the relative value of the strings to each other stays the same. Cut and paste it into a word program, print up a dozen, you just can't believe ho much stuff it straightens out.

Hmmm, "E" gets wound-ey awful early, try it in "G":

G - 11/12
D - 17
B - 19
G - 24/26
F - 28/30
D - 34/36
B - 38
G - 46

OH BABY! Another inter-string relationship that is evident all over some tunings is a:

3
2
b7
5

That can be found a few places, sometimes all of this benefits from retuning a string or two*. Sixths to flat sevenths and vice-versa, fifths (and thirds!) to fourths (which becomes the new root). There's more here:
http://b0b.com/wp/?page_id=695

And here:
http://www.scottysmusic.com/tunings.htm

A) Boredom... it's a choice.... I think capos are a great tool, even if it's just for practice. But a lot of the noisier rock slide has a lot of open strings shimmering around, from Lowell George right up to Sonny Landreth. I just cram something under the strings, the MSA likes a 1/2" rod, the Pedalmaster a Shubb/Pierce SP1 on it's side with a little plastic dowel on top of that.

B) When Warren Haynes was hired by the Allman Brothers the first time, he had the "Duane slide parts" as his job. He did them all in standard tuning. When Derek Trucks was hired - the first time - his job was also the "Duane parts." He played everything, including fingered parts, rhythm etc. in open E.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 16 May 2014 11:03 am

David Mason, did you hear my version Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo? C13 on my 10 string neck. I think it's pretty rocking for C6.

I'm into rocking out again and the C6 neck will be in full rock mode.

Jamie Mitchell · Post by **Jamie Mitchell** » 18 May 2014 4:48 pm

I agree with Mike re: Elmore James style stuff...

It sure is nice to have a 5 1 on the top for that sorta thing. And you can play with a pick too.

I'm mostly on E7 for funk/blues, or the same tuning, raising the G# to an A.

For me, as a lot of my musical situations are fairly crass, strum-ability is a plus.

However! I'm working on C6, hoping to be gigging on it soon. We'll see...

j

Jamie Mitchell · Post by **Jamie Mitchell** » 18 May 2014 4:55 pm

David, thank you for your post!

The obsessive, permutation focused, studied, but still needing to rock perspective really rings true to me, especially in this over caffeinated state.

Do you have a subset of a tuning you'd use for 6 string?

I'm at (hi to lo) E B G# E D B for balls, and moving the low strings down to the IV chord for pretty stuff.

j

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 19 May 2014 2:25 am

These discussion are starting to feel cyclical Now I realise why the early forum users hardly comment anymore. Maybe this forum needs an upgrade and better search facility.

OR

The Lap Steel needs a revolution. A new way of approaching tuning.

In my opinion

Your tuning should be:
Versatile/Universal
Not genre specific
At least use 8 strings to have all bases cover.

It would enable the player to play the instrument according to what musical style he/she would like to use. Simple but complex.

MOST IMPORTANT:
Learn the fretboard and know where to find the notes.

http://ilapsteel.wordpress.com/tunings/

Ron Bednar · Post by **Ron Bednar** » 19 May 2014 8:06 am

Tom,
Like Stefan was saying a search of the archives will show you variations on your question going back for sometime.
However here is a tuning based on the Open D you are used to that serves one fine player very well.
Pete Grant's eight string tuning:

.013 F#
.015 E
.017 D
.022p A
.026w F#
.035 D
.045 A
.066 D

This is for his eight string National reso so you will need to revamp the string gauges somewhat.
Although I once designed an eight string electric with a 25" scale length and used the same string gauges.
That guitar and tuning is now being used by a composer and is serving him quite well also.
Cheers, Ron

Eric Gross · Post by **Eric Gross** » 19 May 2014 8:35 am

I just sold my 8 stringer, but was using this A6 tuning, has a nice big bottom and rocks out:

.015 E
.017 C#
.022 A
.026 F#
.030 E
.034 C#
.042 A
.056 F#

Paul Arntson · Post by **Paul Arntson** » 19 May 2014 9:04 am

What Stefan said
"Learn the fretboard and know where to find the notes"

Michael James · Post by **Michael James** » 26 May 2014 8:56 am

The Cma11 tuning seems to work good for blues.
Here's a blue tutorial I made when I first started playing lap steel with the Cma11 tuning.

http://www.cma11steel.com/youtube-instr ... s-tutorial

And here are the scale patterns I now use.

http://www.cma11steel.com/instructional/06-blues-scales

Honestly, the blues sound doesn't come from the tuning. It comes from the player.

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 31 May 2014 11:13 am

Hahahah LOL.

Thanks for those comments from those who understand what I said. Blues music or any music you want to play you MUST LEARN WHERE THE NOTES ARE.

Cyclical means there are posts where we have discussed this already just search the forum.

Tuning choice MUST be versatile because even if blues music is what you predominantly want to play music is STILL music. Thus comprises of chords and scales. Learn them and then choose your style to play.

CMaj11 or Em9/13 or C6

Genre choice is down to the player. If you want to play music shouldn't you learn all the key elements then like a spice pick and choose when you use certain elements. Blues, rock, jazz, classical ...etc. Just makes sense.

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 31 May 2014 11:18 am

Tom Margulies wrote:Stefan's comment that the forum questions are cyclical and that's why the original members don't post anymore made me laugh... the thread has over 2000 views and one of the viewers was him! But if the thread is beoming tiresome, I am happy to close it. Besides I got lots of good ideas.... cheers. Play the steel and don't fret..

I love this forum Tom.

I regularly check what's posted because I am always willing to learn more just like everyone else.

No one wants you to close the thread so just chill. No harm no foul. If it was taken as a personal attack I apologise. We are a small community and we don't need less info or contributions. I simply suggested if there was an existing discussion lets resurrect and continue building on that one.

Peace keep steelin

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 7 Jun 2014 9:30 am

Ron B!
I like that tuning. But so much depends on what style you want to play. Your tuning is great for Elmore type of stuff. But I'm into earlier styles, like Wolf. From the time when they first got to Chicago, and got their first electric guitars. I use;
E
G
D
B
G
D
G
D
I pull the E up to F if I want a 7th. Tuning is great for things like "Rollin' and Tumblin,'" "Meet Me In The Bottom," etc.. Gives you that fat, powerful bottom. Also good for picking the bass roots. Danny Gatton's "Funky Mama" sounds great in this tuning.
Added: Strings 8 thru 3 are the same as bottleneck Low Bass G tuning, and strings 7 thru 2 have the same intervals as E or D bottleneck tuning.

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Blues tunings 8 string

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