8 String C6 Tuning?

[Jim Williams]

I've been learning C6 on my six strings for awhile. and I really like the tuning for the style of music I'm interested in. I recently acquired a old student model pedal steel that I've been fixing up.

I'm not totally sure that:

A. I am ever going to be very good playing a pedal steel guitar.
B. That anybody could play this particular guitar very well as a pedal steel.

Therefore I am toying with the idea of at least temporarily converting it to an 8 string non pedal console and tuning it to C6.

The guitar basically has a very nice sound, and I prefer the console over the lap because I'm overweight and basically don't have a lap.

Anyway, I've noticed multiple tunings for 8 string C6. Greg Cutshaw vs Cindy Cashdollar for instance.

Greg lists: G A C E G A C E (low to high)
Cindy: A C E G A C E G (low to high)

What is considered the "standard" (if there is one) 8 string tuning. I think Greg's tuning would be less confusing for me as it would have the same core C6 tuning in the same order as I have been learning thus far, so it's probably what I'm going to initially go with I guess. Any reasons why I should consider otherwise?

[Keith Cary]

I much prefer Cindy's tuning with the high G. Besides the resemblance to Dobro tuning it also allows one to get up higher for Hank Williams, etc. Oh, and you can use the excellent Cindy Cashdollar instruction tapes. (But, I fully realize I like this tuning because it's what I'm used to. You'll get good players on both sides, I'm betting.) It is the standard pedal steel C6 tuning. -- One thing about playing C6 on pedal steel, you don't tend to use the pedals in the same way as on E9. You press a pedal to give you a different chord, not so much as a part of a single string melody line. If may get skewered for saying this but I think you can get away with a less perfect mechanism on C6, as long as it stays in tune. -- My suggestion is to play it without pedals for a while. After a time you'll start wanting something that you can't do easily with a slant. Perhaps you'd like the C to go to a C#, for instance. I'd stick to standard pedal changes for now but you don't need them all at once. Just add a pedal at a time. It's the way my brain works, just one step at a time.

Keith

[Jim Williams]

Thanks for your comment. The pedals are not customizeable on this guitar though, so I'm not sure exactly what I would have with the pedals set up for E9...guess it would depend on which 8 string positions I used to some extent. It currently has standard A B C pedal setup for E9th.

[Ken Pippus]

Standard pedal steel C6 is CFACEGACED (or G on top.) I think that might be a very versatile non-pedal tuning, and you can buy string sets.

[Jack Aldrich]

I'm very happy with my C6 tuning: (From bottom) G Bb E G A C E G. I like the G on the top, too, and I can retune the bottom strings to get Bb -> A and G-> low C. There is a tuning from Barney Isaacs: C Bb E G A B E G that he uses in "Beyond the Reef", the introduction of which is a station break for 940 AM in Honolulu. Fun!

[Don McGregor]

There is more instructional material and more tabs for "E" on top than high "G". I still like the high G tuning best.
You know, you can just disconnect the pedals, and restring with the proper string gauges for C6. You don't have to make any changes to the instrument that would preclude your turning it back into an E9 neck.
Unless your steel has wider than usual string spacing, though, you might have trouble with some slants. Most pedal steels I've seen have a pretty close string spacing.
I could be wrong, but I think you you could actually get some use out of the pedals on C6 that are set up for E9. Your A pedal could raise your 5th string up a whole step from G to A (in unison with the fourth string). B pedal would raise your 6th string a half step from E to F, etc.. You could experiment with this, or just ignore the pedals.
I play consoles for the same reason you do, plus the fact that I have a lot more control of an instrument that is not wobbling around on my knee.
Right now, I am slowly putting together a double 8 console on a used pedal steel frame. I like pedal, but I like'em without, too.

[Jeff Mead]

The great thing about standards is that there are so many different ones to choose from

[Edward Meisse]

I find that the D on top rather than G is very useful. You can get instructional material from the Jeff Newman pedal steel site by just buying the pedal steel C6 stuff. You can also get it from the material Mike Auldridge put together for 8 string C6 resonator. The forum used to have some Buddy Emmons C6 pedal instruction that would be good if you can find it. The GeorgeBoard website used to have some instruction for this tuning as well. Maybe I should write a book.

[Rick Myrland]

Just transitioning from pedal to lap steel. I think I’m going to go with C6 tuning and I like the E on top because the top 7 strings are exactly like my pedal set up.

My question is, on a PSG the 9th string (which equates to the 8th on lap) is an F, which, for intervals, gives me an 11 or 4. Why shouldn’t I do that? What is the benefit of putting another 5th in there when I already have one on the fourth string? Don’t I open a few more options with an 11/4?

[Paul McEvoy]

I do believe the string length on some pedal steels make them not great for conversion to non pedal but don't quote me. Maybe the string spacing also.

I like the high G but I'm thinking of switching to the C13 Jules Au See recommended by Mike Beer.

[D Schubert]

Another vote for C6 with high G on top. I've been using that one for a while, and I often raise the low string from A to Bb. That's another C13 tuning, and I think it's the one that Junior Brown uses on the guit-steel.

[Rick Myrland]

So putting Bb on the bottom gives you a 7th—seems worthwhile and quite useful. Are you using a lighter gauge unwound string for that?

[Jeff Mead]

Anyway, I've noticed multiple tunings for 8 string C6. Greg Cutshaw vs Cindy Cashdollar for instance.

Greg lists: G A C E G A C E (low to high)
Cindy: A C E G A C E G (low to high)

What is considered the "standard" (if there is one)

That's the great thing about standards - there are always so many to choose from.

I'd say that for non-pedal. Greg's is the most common.

Also, if you fancy trying the Cindy version, you can get the feel of it by retuning to A6 using the same string set (F# A C# E F# A C# E = low to high) which is Cindy's version but 3 semitones lower.

Personally, I prefer A6 and like the 5th note on string one (nice easy major chords on strings 123 and relative minor on 234)so if, for some reason, I had o use C6, I'd go for Cindy's.

[D Schubert]

Rick Myrland: For the low Bb, I just retune, raise 1/2 step and keep playing.

[Stephen Cowell]

String it as a 10string C6! Why not?

[b0b]

I find the low F extremely useful: F A C E G A C E.

Wider string spacing is essential for bar slants. If you're not planning on major surgery to accomplish that, I agree with Mr. Cowell: just put a set of C6th pedal steel strings on it.

[Herb Steiner]

I agree with b0b and Steve C. My C6 non-pedal tuning is the same as my pedal guitar tuning: C F A C E G A C E D.

I use a 1st generation Maverick with the undercarriage removed.

[Joe Rouse]

You are really funny My Brother....jr

[Herb Steiner]

You are really funny My Brother....jr

I don't understand, Joe. What did I say that was so funny?

On another note, I'm thinking of putting the F note on s.10 and inserting a G on s.9 for the melodic opportunities. So the tuning l-h would be: F G A C E G A C E D.

It might screw up my sight picture briefly, and maybe affect my pedal playing. But I'm gonna try it for a bit and see if I can get used to it.

[b0b]

I don't like low 2nds. Tuning 10 and 9 to D and F# gives you a good 9th chord down there, or just retune 10 to D and skip 9 for that. Best of both worlds - D9th (minus the 3rd) and FMaj7.

I've never had a lot of use for that low C.

[Herb Steiner]

I'm not thinking of the G as the 2nd step of F, I'm thinking of it as the 5th of C, and also melodically in arpeggio usage.

I had the D on s.10 for awhile but didn't use it as much as I thought I would. It would bear re-investigation, though, and wouldn't involve a string change.

[Jerry Gleason]

I'm a proponent of the high G on the C6th / C13th, but something worth mentioning is that I find it works better on a short scale guitar like 22 1/2", than on a longer scale. The reason is that with a shorter scale, you can use a heavier gauge string like a .014 that has more mass, and a meatier sound. It can get a little thin on a longer scale where you might have to use something like a .012 for the first string. That's been my experience, anyway.

[Allan Revich]

I find the low F extremely useful: F A C E G A C E.

Wider string spacing is essential for bar slants. If you're not planning on major surgery to accomplish that, I agree with Mr. Cowell: just put a set of C6th pedal steel strings on it.

This tuning makes a lot of sense. F9. So you have F major, F7, F9, AND without the F you still have the standard C6/Am7 tuning plus a low A. Really nice.

[Gregory LeBlanc]

I'm a bit fan of Cindy's tuning, but I tend to raise the low C to a C#. But honestly I advise choosing one and going with it. You'll figure out what you want to be able to do and adjust accordingly as you go along.