Blues tunings/String gauges Reso guitar

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 29 Nov 2003 6:31 pm

I'm currently fooling around with a double drop D tuning that seems to lend its self well to finger picking as well as slide. I'd like to try a few different tunings without popping the strings every few gigs. Any advice. I'm a newbie when it comes to reso guitars and their limits.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 30 Nov 2003 10:50 am

I pretty much stick with Low G tuning for my bottleneck guitars. I use a standard 13 guage set, with a 14 substituted for the first string. Tuning is D G D G B D, low to high. Some guys like E tuning or the same tuning lowered a whole step to make it D tuning. One of the reasons that I like G tuning ,the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings are the same as regular 6-string. So anything you know on standard guitar on those 3 strings is instantly transferrable to your slide playing.. Of course E tuning is pretty much like moving G tuning over one string. Some guys here will suggest a 6th tuning of one sort or another. It just depends on your personal style and, perhaps, the style of music you want to play.
I use old National archtops and a '35 roundneck Dobro for my bottleneckers. Have lotsa fun!
JB

Chuck Fisher · Post by **Chuck Fisher** » 30 Nov 2003 4:46 pm

the low-bass G , D major, and DADGAD will all work with that same string-set

.056 - .013 set would also go up to E or E7

but .058 - .015 would be meatier for those low D-bass tunings

we kicked it around a month or 2 back and the consensus is nickle wound, not bronze for blues.

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 30 Nov 2003 9:51 pm

Thanks for the info so far guys. For the Reso stuff, I really lean towards the styles of Keb Mo, Taj Mahal, John Hammond, etc.... I'd like to find out more about Robert Johnson's various tunings. Any ideas or advice?

I just ordered a Robert Johnson video. I can't recall who the instructor is but I'll let ya'll know how it is.

Thanks,

Robbie Bossert

Alan Ames · Post by **Alan Ames** » 1 Dec 2003 10:42 am

I prefer the D or E tuning. From low to high, it is D-A-D-F#-A-D. (E tuning is same but you might go with lower gauge). The advantage is that you have the root on the top string; slants for sixths sound quite nice and are easier than the GBDGBD tuning.
This tuning also has better voicing for the minor chords. In the D tuning, I can get very good Am, Dm, Gm, Bm, F#m.

Zayit · Post by **Zayit** » 1 Dec 2003 11:07 am

Alan, how do you play full minor chords in the DADFAD tuning?

Alan Ames · Post by **Alan Ames** » 6 Dec 2003 8:48 am

I only use a bullet-nose steel, so with a Stevens type, I don't know if you can do it. All minors involve open strings in conjunction with placement of steel on stings in other places. On a D tuning: (1-6 strings, high-low)
Gm= Nose on the first fret, strings 2,3.
Play all strings, except string 7
Bm= Nose on second fret, string 7. Play
all strings, except 2 (String 2 makes
Bm7 which is nice, too)
F#m= Steel on fret 4, strings 8,7,and 6.
Play all strings, except string 1.
Am= Steel on fret 3, strings 2 and 3.
Play only strings 7,2, and 3. This
sounds good because the root is in the
bass, string 7.
Dm= Steel on third fret, strings 3 and 4.
Play all strings.

These are the best sounding ones. If you're playing in the key of A, these minors give you the full gamet: ii, iii, iv, vi.
My CD is at http://www.cdbaby.com/alanames
Got a few sound clips.

Chuck Fisher · Post by **Chuck Fisher** » 6 Dec 2003 1:18 pm

DADFAD IS D minor D has F# DADGAD is suspended

Alan Ames · Post by **Alan Ames** » 7 Dec 2003 12:23 pm

Oh yeah...in my first reply I mentioned F#. Zayit said "F". I assumed he meant F#

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 7 Dec 2003 2:53 pm

Well,, if you look at the intervals between strings, you'll see that G tuning is the same as E tuning moved over one string. Different key, but the same intervals. You lose the root on the top, but gain the five on the bottom, which makes for great turnarounds if you're fingerpicking. The poster mentions Hammond, Johnson, etc. as being music he would like to play and these artists are more known for bottleneck style, as opposed to playing with a Stevens' or a bullet-nosedbar.
JB

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 7 Dec 2003 9:45 pm

Pix1, it makes a big difference whether you will be singing by yourself with your reso slide playing or playing with a group. If you are the singer, you have to tune to a key you can sing in. Another factor is whether you want a tonic on top, or the 5th. Those are the two main families of slide blues tunings. Son House and many of the earlier guys had the 5th on top (and bottom) and tuned to either an A chord or G. Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, and other later players used a tonic on top (and bottom), which gives a different and more modern sound. They usually tuned to a D chord, but Fred McDowell tuned to E.

If you tune to an E chord or an A chord, you will be in better shape for playing along with regular guitar players, who mostly play blues in E or A. But I can't sing the Elmore James stuff in E or D, so I have an old Kay arch top with a longer neck that I put heavy strings on and tune to C. Bob Brozman designed a long-neck reso for tuning in C that National makes. But blues bands really hate to play in C.

Also, I can't sing Son House's songs in A like he does, so I sing them down in E with an Elmore James type tuning. Then you have to lay off the top (tonic) string to sound like Son's playing.

I mostly use a new Dobro 90C tuned in E with tonics on top and bottom. It has a spider bridge cone, which to me has a much better sound than the biscuit bridge cones, and the cutaway lets me play in E, G, or A, and still get up the neck to the octave fret. This is great for playing with others, because of all the keys I can get without retuning or having to have a second guitar around.

I use heavy guage strings, because they are louder, and are more solid to keep the slide from scraping on the frets. I use stainless steel strings. They sound brighter and will last a long time.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David Doggett on 07 December 2003 at 09:59 PM.]</p></FONT>

Alan Ames · Post by **Alan Ames** » 7 Dec 2003 11:16 pm

Right on Mr Dogget!
The G tuning is great for improvising, but the D/E tuning is best for accompaning yourself while singing. In the D/E tuning you also have a natural bass configuration with the octave and open fifth combo; good for finger picking, too.
I also want to stress creative use of capos when looking for the key to sing a song. If your tuned to a D, you're not too limited. For example, you can sing a song in B-flat by putting the capo on the first fret and pretending your playing the song in A(eighth fret now).

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 8 Dec 2003 5:37 am

Thanks Guys,
I've been fooling around with Double Drop D and open E. Mr. Doggett, I see that you live in the Philly area. DO you play in a band around here? Maybe I could catch one of your shows.

I've also been playing around with a D Minor tuning. The songs: Summer Time, St. James Infamary, and Ghostriders In The Sky, really seem to lay out nice on that one. IT'S A NICE change from all the 6th tunings. I love those too but......Well, A new broom sweeps clean! Fun too!

Robbie Bossert

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 8 Dec 2003 8:10 am

Robbie, you should come hang out at the Mermaid Inn in the Chestnut Hill section of Philly, at Germantown Ave. and Mermaid Lane. Tuesdays are open acoustic jam nights (9:00-11:00). First Tues. of every month I host a country jam. Second Tues. is an acoustic blues jam. Third Tues. is bluegrass, 4th is Old Time, and sometimes the 5th is horns and old jazz. Check the calendar at themermaidinn.com. There are also folk & singer/writer open mic every Monday (but I can never make that one), open circle on alternate Thursdays (music to poetry), and Irish on alternate Wednesdays.

I'll be playing steel with a blues band Thurs. Dec. 18 at Ludwig's German Restaurant on Sansom St. Fri. 19th I'll be playing rockabilly and country with Gas Money at Dirty Franks, 13th and Pine. New Year's Eve I'm playing with Tom Gala and the Terraplanes (originals and old jazz, rock and country standards) at the Mermaid.