New guy here, New Lap steel, New strings

[Dan A Carey]

OK, New old guy here.
Bad fingers forced me to sell my guitars(neuropathy)
Soooo, I decided to try my hand at lap steel. I bought a Gretsch
G5700 Electromatic from a friend. It has the following strings currently
installed (from the factory, friend never played it):
.015
.019
.027
.034
.042
.053

What tuning are these strings for?

I'm currently waiting for a C6 and an E tuning set to be delivered.
It's my understanding the C6 is the best bet for a novice. Any other input for a newbie?
Feel free to point me to older posts...I'm new to the forum and am not familiar with searching topics yet.
Thank you!
Dan

[Mark Evans]

Those string gauges may be heavy for C6. Good for open D and G etc

[Dan A Carey]

Just what it came with...I'm the clueless newbie and wondering what it might be slated for.
Doesn't seem to be clearly slated for any tuning. I'm the dumb one here. I'll give open D a try!

Thanks for any input.

[Dan A Carey]

Just what it came with...I'm the clueless newbie and wondering what it might be slated for.
Doesn't seem to be clearly slated for any tuning. I'm the dumb one here. I'll give open D a try!

Thanks for any input.

I'll give it a try, Thanks!

[Allan Revich]

Those gauges will be perfect for high bass open G.
GBDGBD.

[Tim Whitlock]

Tuning depends a lot on what kind of music you want to make. C6 is generally good for old timey country, swing and Hawaiian. If you want to play a more rock, high gain feel, like Lindley or Larkin Poe, a major tuning (E, D, G) will work better.

[John Chadwick]

Hi Daniel,

I am another old, new guy with the same instrument, and with previous guitar experience. I received the Gretsch as a gift during the pandemic and have been hooked ever since.

I have switched strings and tunings quite a bit over those years. I like rock, blues, and country and have shifted back and forth between C6 and the major chord tunings like G,D, and E.

However, I am somewhat settled in on c6, probably for the long haul. There is one primary reason for this: It's strictly my opinion, but I think the C6 tuning brings out the best in the instrument, which is considered a short scale neck.

I do like old-time country, so the C6 is great for that, and it's also good for blues if you learn the patterns and how to avoid the sixth.

I think if I was in a jamming situation that required something raunchier, I would tune down to E7, which from low to high is BDEG#BE. This is a beautiful old-school tuning that is fun to play around in.

I am including this link to Lessons with Troy, where he details his experience with the Gretsch. He also has great lessons on c6 and other tunings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6sYRDf0SjE

[Dan A Carey]

Thanks to everyone for your answers!