The Steel Guitar Forum

there is something way too addictive about tuning threads.

Like rubbernecking on the road when someone is pulled over by the police or fresh brownies out of the oven. Just gotta check it out....

For noob players -myself in that camp, it's oh so easy to be swayed to change/abandon discipline of sticking to a tuning and getting good at. I've resisted but it can be a strong pull

GAS is a minor problem compared to this!

It needs it's own name - consider:

ATE = Alternate Tuning Entrapment

TAD = Tuning Acquisition Disorder

MUSTIB = Maybe Ur Special Tuning Is Better

I think it goes hand in hand with GAS...I mean, why have the same tuning on different guitars! You could argue that it intensifies GAS!

Judson Bertoch wrote:there is something way too addictive about tuning threads.

Agreed. I always hit up the tuning threads and save every one, never to use even a fraction of the tons I've archived. But they are interesting to compare, try, and consider.
It's helped me settle on the one I feel most comfortable with, and the very few I'll try to know later.

GAS is a direct result of TAD, I just bought my third Dobro. Not too many triple neck reso's on the market that I know of.

That's one of my 09 resolutions- use one tuning and learn it .

A reliable source - I think it was David Lee from Steel Guitar Radio?- a few years back, mentioned a western swing player - but I can't recall who - he played a triple neck swingmaster back in the day, but tuned all 3 necks the same.

Ron Whitfield wrote:
But they are interesting to compare, try, and consider.
It's helped me settle on the one I feel most comfortable with, and the very few I'll try to know later.

Agreed...im a big proponent on finding one or two and learning the ins and outs. But I think the discussions are great and really get me thinking about theory and how to apply it to your playing. Nothing wrong with exploring options, and sometimes it can lead you to 'tweak' a present tuning you are comfortable with in ways you hadn't thought of before. I love these discussions, and it's a big reason I love reading this forum- lots of knowledge to tap into here.

I love the discussions too. But I agree that one should be very conservative in experimenting with tunings. I think you are probably on the right track in sticking with one tuning and getting good at it for now. But the time will probably come when you will want to get acquainted with a 2nd, or maybe even a third tuning. I have reached that point just recently. I am making plans to get some instructional material for a couple of other tunings this year. But my first tuning will remain not just first, but absolutely primary for the forseeable future.

Edward,

I enjoy your postings and hope you do produce those courses, I would be most interested.

Maybe it's easier to choose a tuning if your a dedicated player of just one genre/style of music.

If you like country, rock, and jazz then it's far too easy, at least for me, to become unfocused and into an oscillating giga-loop of no real progress - just noodling around.