The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been playing lapsteel a lot lately and trying several tunings. At a Hawaiian gig last Saturday I used a B6th on my six string Chandler which worked out very well for that but I still didn't feel comfortable. I've tried the A6, B6, C6, and then the other day I tried an E6th which seemed to be the easiest to relate to for me......

I guess, because it's more like a standard guitar but who knows. After a little more experimentation and a gig last night I've settled on a plain old open E tuning (E B E G# B E low to high) which seems to be the best thing for me. For some unknown reason it just seems to be natural and easily understood. It seems like any note I need, I know where it's at without having to hunt for it. In no time I've discovered interesting bar slants and unisons to fill things out. I don't have any desire to play any jazz or blues however last night at the gig, my wife sang "All of Me" in the key of G and I did one ride on lapsteel in the open E tuning and it actually sounded pretty fair.

I started thinking of relying on an open tuning more after watching a couple of videos of how Jerry Douglas plays Dobro in an open G. It involves more single string work but that's fine, the band can play the chords. I think I'll just stick with the good old E...... Does anyone else out there use open tunings a lot?........JH in Va.

Tune it like you are most comfortable.

I started on open E tuning (mostly because the book that came with my first lap steel used that tuning). It's a fine tuning, especially for rock and blues.

I agree with that Brad. I especially like the "power chord" capability of the 4th, 5th, & 6th strings in rock. I think what works for me is having the I, V, III, I notes on the first four strings so I know what I need to do to each of them to get what I want, example a G minor, I just do a bar slant on fret 3 keeping the 1st string there and slanting the 3rd string back a fret (flatted 3rd). I've never been one who liked the sound of a 6th tuning so I guess I'll just stay here and keep it simple.........JH in Va.

For me it's open E on electric and D on acoustic for the majority of what I play. I will alter those if need be but I can do most of what I need with the open tuning. Most of what I play is blues, rock and americana but I also play some jazz and country swing as well. I like to play single note stuff a lot and I just like the way the scales lay out on the fretboard. I'm sure that I have to move around more than those who use other tunings to get the chords I'm after, and I mostly play 2 and 3 note chords but it works pretty well for me. Knowing how to do dogleg slants is good with an open tuning.

I built my own lapsteel guitar and also designed and built a tuning changer for it. With the flip of a lever I have a choice of four tunings. E, C6th, A, & A6th. It is set up for eight strings, but for now I only use it as a six string.

I use all four tunings, but find I use the E the most. I play mostly classic country and gospel.

Good idea Danny. I also have a Dobro on on which I've added Keith/Scruggs banjo pegs on strings one and three. It's tuned to a G6th (D B G E D B) high to low. With the pegs I raise the 1st string to E and the 3rd string to G# and I've got an E7th tuning right there. With these it can be done in mid song also. I'm thinking of adding another one on the 5th string D to lower it to C# for an E6th tuning.

At one point I had one of my Les Pauls set up with 6 of the Keith/Scruggs pegs which lowered every string a whole tone except for string 3 which was lowered a half. With it I could get the standard guitar tuning, open D, open G, dropped D, double dropped D, DADGAG, plus I'd sometimes lower the 4th string to C and the 5th to G and play some things in the key of C on the first three strings and using 4 & 5 as "drones.........JH in Va.

After a 54 year hiatus, I bought a lap steel and started playing again a few months ago. I first tried C6 but felt it didn't sound right for me, I play mostly old time country. After fooling around with a few tunings I settled on a modified E7 (hi to low E-B-G#-E-B-D). It seemed almost like all the instruction, when I was 14 years old, came back in a flash. Although I cannot remember what tuning tuning we were taught back then, it may have been open E or E7 as it now seems so intuitive. Think I'm going to try E6 and E13 sometime soon.

My two cents: I like this E6--E-B-G#-E-C#-B (hi to lo). If I had a 7-string I'd add an E on the bottom. Bill Hatcher is right. Use what works for you.

Open G for me, capoing when needed (actually, it Gsus4, with a C on top, but the bottom 5 strings are low-bass G). In our group, I not only take leads and fills, I essentially play rhythm for our outstanding guitar player, so I do a lot of chordal implication.

I haven't tried much Open D or E, but I always intend to get around to it one of these days...

Peter

Jerry, I love plain old open E too. It was my first tuning, and I still use it half the time. Isn't it a great tuning?

P.S. Ralph IS still the king!

Bill Hatcher wrote:Tune it like you are most comfortable.

I have nothing to add.

For country and blues I like...
(high to low) E-C#-B-G#-E-D

For Pop I like...

(low to high) A-C-E-G-B-D

I use a standard set of C6 strings and tune them lower. I think the lowered strings give a better feel, tone and grip.

This tuning gives ACE (Am), CEG (C), EGB (Em) GBD (G)chords all at the 12th fret. For the extra cool chords, you have A minor seventh, A minor ninth, A minor 11th, C major seventh, C major ninth and (for the V chords) an A eleven (or Em7 with an A bass)Forget the 5th string for that one. All with no slants. Another advantage is the major scale is 2 frets apart.... so all of your modes are also.

I use the same as Gary Dygert, with a C# on the 5th string and B on the 6th. You lose the "power chords" on the bottom strings, but gain a full minor chord, and the 6 note is kind of out of the way - you can play on the top 4 strings without it being "always there"... Also "Sleepwalk" and "Steel Guitar Rag" pretty much play themselves in this tuning (although I know a lot of you would sooner never play them ever again )
Funny enough, I never play in bands requiring jazz or "old standards", but one time somebody asked me to work out a melody version of "All Of Me", and I found that it laid out perfectly in open E tuning...
Nick

Though I CAN get by fine with just open E, I've taken the David Lindley approach and have steels tuned to D, E, G and A, all in a I-V-III-I-V-I tuning. VERY intuitive always playing in the open key and you've always got those open string hammer ons and pull offs to wail on.

Open E has been the tuning I use since I began learning lap steel. I plap two different nites which are open mike and I can play with country,blues,and even Rock.I am just starting to get my lead pickin in place.I do use open D on occasion, but its much the same as open E,just sounds different bepending on which steel I use.I have built 10 all sound a little diferent(sp)I have one tuned to C6, but I am having a struggle getting my head around it.