The Steel Guitar Forum

I am building a ten string lap steel, (having already built many 6 and 8 string steels)

I am looking for some ideas for tunings.
I suppose one could just mimic a pedal steel E9 open tuning, and perhaps that would be of some value...

But I am leaning more towards extending a standard 6 or 8 string tuning with some extra notes, and thereby opening up some jazzy chord possibilities.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Dom Franco

I suggest you follow the Maurice Anderson system. His extended C6th is well worth scoping out.

MR.Boards

Here's a link to my YouTube 10
string Leavitt Tuning.

I keep it on that Fender Steel all the time.
Many chords
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HDb8rFMDe8

This interesting item was just won by some lucky bugga -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0580875227

I've been using a modified C6 tuning that I discovered from the great Billy Robinson.

Low to High
F A C E G A C E G D

Very easy to deal with if you're already familiar with C6, but much more versatile.

So many cool tunings, so little time!

I too would go with Reece Anderson's chromatic C6, which is for a 12 -string I believe, possibly retune to A6.

Also, if you use bar slants, make sure your strings are wider apart than a standard 10-string pedal guitar.

Good luck!

Drew

Drew Howard wrote:So many cool tunings, so little time!

I too would go with Reece Anderson's chromatic C6, which is for a 12 -string I believe, possibly retune to A6.

Also, if you use bar slants, make sure your strings are wider apart than a standard 10-string pedal guitar.

Good luck!

Drew

Yes, way to go. Opens up the tuning incredibly.
I used Jerry Byrd's C6th/A7th with both the C and the C# on the bottom and Maurices two "chromatics" B & D on top.
It turns a single neck into more than a quad 8 without switching.
Later, on the S12 I added a bottom F and a top C# with the "chromatics", it was useful to me, but maybe somewhat weird to recommend.

But the main thing to consider is to have Maurice's "chromatics" on top.

... J-D

I love the way Kayton Roberts plays C6/A7, tons of cool chords.

JD, is this your 12-string tuning?

[tab] F A C C# E G A C E B C# D [/tab]

Tom Morrell's E13 is a good one.

G#_F#_E_C#_B_G#_F#_E_D_E from top to bottom. A recent thread link to some of Tom's recordings will give you an idea what it sounds like.

Have you thought of building a triple ten. All 3 of the suggested tunings look good to me.

I have probably the only Triple-10 Remington Steelmaster made so far and my 3-Tunings are as follows:
#3. E9/13 - E~B~D~E~F#~G#~B~C#~E~G#
#2. C-Dia. - C~E~F~G~A~B~C~E~d~f
#1. C6/A7 - Lo-A~C~C#~E~G~A~C~E~b~d

I have an eddie alkire e-harp, one of the pre-gibson Epiphone models from 1939.

I'm still looking for the tuning that I'm going to want to really dive into and _LEARN_

...


The harp came strung for C6 which I liked but which I'd rather play on a 6-string. Too much repetition in the string order, wanted to take advantage of having lots of strings...

I tried E9 because I had a pack of E9 strings, but I don't think this is a good non-pedal tuning. And I wanted something with more chords that didn't require string skips or too many slants... the strings are rather close together on the Eharp and the bar I like to use doesn't seem to handle them as well as on a wider-spaced guitar.

I just strung it up like so:

high to low

1. G
2. E
3. C
4. A
5. F#
6. D
7. B
8. G#
9. E
10. D

I don't know what to call it, it is sort of a combination E11 D11 with an E7 at the bottom. . . There are a lot of chords available to the straight bar without skipping strings which was part of what I was looking for. I like the 6ths and the minor 9ths a lot...

Someone should tell me what is wrong with this

I've been using a modified C6 tuning that I discovered from the great Billy Robinson.

Low to High
F A C E G A C E G D

Very easy to deal with if you're already familiar with C6, but much more versatile.

I have been using this tuning also along with the Morrell E13 10 st tuning.

I am captivated by the sound of the 8 string B11 tuning after watching Anthony Locke play the other night though. The polychord concept behind an 11th type tuning is pretty deep.

Mr. Robinson is no longer using the low F#? Or am I confusing him with somebody else?

I don't know that he ever did!
F~A~C~E~G~A~C~E~G~D is all that I"m aware of, for Billy Robinson's 10-string version of C6.

Billy Robinson used a low F# back in the old days, on eight string C6 with E on top. He now uses a low F and has a high G and a chromatic D on his top two strings.

-Chris Scruggs

Drew Howard wrote:I love the way Kayton Roberts plays C6/A7, tons of cool chords.

JD, is this your 12-string tuning?

[tab] F A C C# E G A C E B C# D [/tab]

Yep.
I have to warn you thou, Maurice thought it did not make as much sense as having a low D instead of the C#.
I'd would think that for the general public it would be wise to heed Maurice's advice before following my "experiments". I just started out on Jerry Byrd's C6th/A7th and added Maurice's idea of "chromatics" on top and eventually a high C# or "my own".


... J-D.

Thank you for all of your ideas...
I have found a unique 10 string tuning by experimentation, that allows me to utilize the middle six with my favorite A6th.
6 STRING =(low to high)C#,E,F#,A,C#,E

By adding a low G# and B to the bottom 8 STRING =(G#,B,C#,E,F#,A,C#,E) I get an E6th configuration on the low strings, and some nice 9ths and sus4 chords. Plus a sweet major seventh by picking certain strings.
I have performed a lot with this tuning on my 8 string Dynalap. And I love the versatility.

Now having completed my 10 string lapsteel project,
I added two strings at the top, but not higher pitched. I added a minor 3rd interval that gives me a full diminished chord on the top 4 strings, and some 7th tri-tones that are very useful and surprisingly intuitive. They seem to lay out very naturally by grabbing the top 4 instead of the inside strings. This also does not interfere with my original tuning, so all my memorized arrangements still work.
10 STRING = G#,B,C#,E,F#,A,C#,E,G,Bb

I am having a blast discovering all the possibilities.

Dom Franco

My new 10 string baby

I am very interested in using a 10 string tuning too. Mine will be the 8 string, C6/A7 Hawaiian Leavitt tuning (as I call it) with a B and D on top.
High to Low:
1. F (1/2 step above string 4)
2. D (1 step above string 5)
3. B ( 1/2 step below string 5)
4. E
5. C
6. A
7. G
8. E
9. C#
10. Bb

Notice the bottom four strings make a full diminished chord which is very helpful and the top 3 strings make a diminished triad.
In the open position the chords available are:
C, C6, C13, C Maj7, Cmaj9, Csus, B7sus, Bbmaj7, Bb6, Bbdim, A7, A9, Aaug, A#9, Asus, Am7, Gm, G7, Gdim, G6, Gsus, G13(with the b5 in the bass), F#7(non-root), Fmaj7, Fmaj9, Em7, Em6, Em7b5, Esus, Edim, Dm6, Dsus, C#dim, C# altered dominants (b5,#5,b9,#9).
There are more.

(Just for the record, mine will be a B6th/G#7)Don

I am finding more and more uses for the diminished triads all the time. Very cool passing tones, sevenths, and skiping strings to add alternate harmonies.

Just my oppinion but, the diminished notes on the top strings are more pleasant sounding than the low notes. So I use the low strings for major chords which don't seem to muddy up as much as the closer intervals.

Dom

Dom Franco wrote:

My new 10 string baby

Very nice!

Thank you George and J.D. for your kind words about the tuning I use. In the event anyone is interested, below you will find my tuning and the chord possibilities, both with and without the bar.

Heres the tuning from the top string down:

1. D tuned 1 tone above 5th string
2. B tuned half tone below 5th string
3. G
4. E
5. C
6. A
7. G
8. E
9. C
10. A
11. F
12. D

These chords can be played WITHOUT the bar.

C major.....strings3, 4, 5, 7, and 8
C major 7th...strings 2, 7, 8, and 9
C major 7th with add 9....strings 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9
G major..strings 1, 2 and 3
G suspended....strings 1, 3 and 5
E minor....strings 2, 3 and 4
A minor ...strings 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10
A 7 ...strings 6,7 and 8
2 different F major 7ths.......strings 8, 9, 10 and 11or 4, 6 9 and 11
C suspended....strings 7, 8, 9 and 12
F major....strings 9, 10 and 11
D minor...strings 10, 11 and 12
D6th....strings 9, 10, 11 and 12

It's possible to play 3 different diminished chords, one of which can be a full 4 note diminish, and a C #9 with slants of only 1 fret. The augmented and 9th chords require a 3 fret slant, all of which can be played exceptionally well in tune on a 22 1/2 inch scale.

I apologize for the scrambled order of my post. That is not the way it was configured originally. I even tried to edit it, but it would not change. Hopefully it can be understood when reading left to right.

Again, my sincdere apology...............

I've tried to fix up Reece's post for clarity. Any mistakes left are mine.

Thank you Brad..... I appreciate your taking the time to clean up my scrambled mess. Great job................