The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi, I am interested in what tunings people are using for their 8 string resos. I started out with G6th, then C6th, now D13th which is like a n E13th.

David,

Though I play a 6-string I would love to own an 8.

Did any of the tunings you experimented with resonate on the guitar more than others?

My friend and awesome no-peddler Joe Wilson of the band Steppininit plays an 8-string Beard that was delivered with a high C6 tuning. Joe thought the guitar was a tad on the quiet side so he dropped it to A13 (low G) and the guitar really woke up.

cheers,
Drew

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<font size=1>Drew Howard - website - Red guitars sound better!</font>

David, Here's one that I use for country style songs... it's C9, which has the same intervals as the pedal steel E9:

string note gauge C scale step
1. D .016 9
2. B .018 7
3. E .014 3
4. C .018 1
5. G .026 5
6. E .034 3
7. D .035 2
8. C .045 1

Mike


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www.mikeauldridge.com

I've recently been playing a modified G6, tuning the bottom string to D and often tuning the fourth string E to F for G7. The low D and G7 is especially good for alternating thumb style picking. I played an E6 tuning on 8-string dobro for years, but with my particular E-body Beard, I've finally concluded that any string higher than D (.016) just doesn't sound good on it.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Mike Fried on 03 November 2006 at 11:23 AM.]</p></FONT>

I like G6 on my 8 string Benoit. I usually tune the 8th string to D.

my 2c

Ron

What kind of music are you playing? I likewise was in E13 and dropped to D13, the guitar (Benoit got louder with the lower tension.

Thanks everyone for replying!!! I was out of pocket for a while. I have an 8 string Ted Smith "Melobro" which I have set up with 7 strings because I don't like the string spacing with 8 strings. I am playing swing tunes with the D13th. Right now I have a low D on the 7th string. I use to play pedal steel and really miss those chromatic top strings like Mike suggested, but there are only so many strings! What is the widest string spacing that an 8 string can get? Thanks

Also, I didn't like the string tension with C6th. I played G6th for a long time, but I like having the root note with a .016 string.

D
E (highest)
C
A
G
E
C#
A

Lowering C to B helps when I have to copy something done in G tuning.

Using B instead of D (like Joachin) seemed like a good idea, especially for chords, but D turns out to be more useful melodically.

Quick change to A6 or A7 works too.