The Steel Guitar Forum

I got the tip from Roman Sonnleitner to check out the Harley Benton Slide Guitars sold by Thomann. Cheap stuff and exactly the same guitar as I've been looking for here in Sweden except the fact that I can now easily afford the 8-string... so I ordered it!

I'm drawn to C6 tuning, it makes sense for the music I like to play otherwise (blues, swing and other styles related to that) on my other instruments so why not. With 8 strings I understand that it's common to add a G on top and an A at the bottom.

To me it makes a lot of sense to then tune the low C up to C# making it possible to play big, fat dominant chords too without slanting. Any thoughts on this?

I hope you're not adverse to slanting, that's where lot's of the magic is.

I'll learn to slant better than I do and I realize it's a must but still... if I can make it easier for myself I will

The reason I don't play in C6 all the time is the slanting- I don't think you can use that tuning without using slants at all. You miss out on most of the potential of the tuning without them.

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Hm... Bb C E G A C E G, right? That's not bad either I suppose and you still ahve the regular C6 on the middle six strings. My only "complaint" would be that you end up with a C7 that has the b7 in the bass, which is kinda odd, isn't it?

That D would it replace the high E then? Or the high G? Having a lower note on the top string seems odd, having another string pair with just a major second between them, hm, that's probably useful.

Hey, how about an F# on top then?

Tunings... at one point or another I'll either have to learn how to slant or nuy a pedal-steel.

It might make more sense to get a 24-string and tune all the strings a semitone apart. You'll need a longer bar, though.

A C E G A C E G (lo to hi ) still gives you a lot of flexibility. Of course, it's great for that 6th chord sound, but you can also use it for blues riffs by skipping the 2nd string. In other words, you'll use A E G A C(of course transposed up the neck) and you're in pentatonic blues land.

I'd start with F A C E G A C E, for the pretty Maj 7 chords that it adds to the C6th. It's easy to retune 4 strings to A6 for songs that need the 5th on top: F# A C# E F# A C# E. Using the same string gauges, you can still go for that low A7th when desired by retuning strings 6 and 8: E A C# E G A C E.

Personally, I've never found the high G very useful, so I suppose my view is biased. A lot of people do use a high G, though. I guess it depends on what you're used to.

My main point is this: once you decide what your high string will be, it's no big deal to retune a couple of strings depending on the song. I saw Herb Remington break a string on a D-8 during the first song at a steel show. He proceeded to play the entire set on one 8-string neck, quickly retuning by ear between songs.

So, regular C6 on the top 6 and then A and F below that. Gives you more bass if nothing else, huh?

However, it's more often that I play a dominant 7th chord than a major 7th and the minor triad works fine as a major 7th chord if someone else is supplying the root.

Ah, it's all interesting an fun to think about. I want my lapsteel to be here tomorrow morning so I can start experimenting.

Here's another idea: A C C# E G A C E.

I have recently (last January) begun playing with 8 strings. I stared out as b0b suggested with the C6/Fmaj9 tuning. As time went on I found that I seldon used strings 7 and 8. Especially not 8. I even considered going back to six strings. The string spacing is easier to deal with and there are other considerations as well. But just this very weekend I discovered that I need the Bb on the 7th string. I'm currently considering whether to leave the G on the bottom or to put either a high G string or a D string on the 1st string. My advice is to put a tuning on and let your music take your tuning where it will. Don't consider your first 8 string tuning to be set in stone.
Don Helms claims to have ALMOST never used any slant bars. That is according to Andy Volk's book. I found his playing to be sufficiently impressive to inspire me to take up the instrument. But I am working hard on my slants none the less.

I suppose simple tunes from the old country days could be played without any, or few slants. But slants are what I always thought Hawaiian steel guitar was all about. I cut my teeth on 40s and 50s country stuff, but can't remember how much slanting I did back then
I think I was using E major until 1949.