The Steel Guitar Forum

Here lately I have heard of a lot of guys tuning down to Eb9. Just curious what would be the advantage of doing this?

Welcome your responses

Dan

Helps the singer who can't reach his notes
.


Less twangy I would expect

Let's you play along in pitch with Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray.

Funny, I hadn't heard of a lot of guys doing that? In fact, I haven't heard of anyone doing that recently.

Donny Hinson wrote:Funny, I hadn't heard of a lot of guys doing that? In fact, I haven't heard of anyone doing that recently.

Me either. Every once in a while, someone will ask about it when they play in a band that the rest of the players tune down. That is the only situation that I would ever tune to Eb9, and maybe not even then.

Years ago they did it to minimize string breakage. Old Fender's and Bigsby's didn't have roller nuts.

dan, give me a call when you have time, nothing urgent, just need to tell you a question....thanks jack

Would it benefit players who work in gospel groups that play in flat keys?

The only advantage I can see is being able to have a E/A bar position down there on the first fret.

You'll make new friends in the horn section and also get to use more of the black tuning keys, instead of just the white ones.

Thanks guys for the info. I've heard of couple players in the Nashville area doing it and now I know why. Roger, I know a lot of gospel groups that love Eb. Jack, I had that to and forgot. Thanks for all the input.
Dan

I recall some members stating that they tuned down one whole step, but first I recall hearing of tuning a half step down..FWIW: May make it interesting however if another player asks to sit in at a job you are playing and you neglect to mention that fact.

Russ Pahl tunes down to E flat

Are we talking about tuning down because the rest of the band does and you want your open strings to be their open strings, or about being able to play in E at the first fret to avoid the nut? Both, maybe. [EDIT: I mean "either, maybe".]

I did it back in the 70's because I did lots of side man jobs and all the singers with acoustics were doing it ALSO they were CAPO crazy. The E flat tuning seemed to work out. There was also a gimmick for playing banjo licks using the 4th string on the 4th fret.

Oh - I forgot the best part. I had the opportunity , years later, to take some lessons from Buddy Charleton. The 1st thing Buddy did was beat me up for having my steel tuned a half step low!

It isn't anything new.

Have a great day all!

Russ Pahl tunes down to E flat

Was told long ago that Ralph Mooney in the early days tuned to (D). Many reasons were given. Had a long time friend that also tuned down to (D). Sounded good to me. Messed me up when I would set down at his steel. Of course I was messed up anyway. I think Buck Owens tuned down a half step. Have read in the past here on the forum about Tom Brumley's first night with Buck and a steel that belonged to Buck?? J.R.

David Nugent wrote:I recall some members stating that they tuned down one whole step, but first I recall hearing of tuning a half step down..FWIW: May make it interesting however if another player asks to sit in at a job you are playing and you neglect to mention that fact.

I had a friend that played every Thursday night in San Jose. He tuned his guitar to D9. Every time I would go in there, he would want me to sit in for a whole set. sometimes longer. It was an interesting adventure, to say the least.

I started out with a D69 tuning before I learned E9th. Years later, on my first D-10 I tuned the back neck to D6th so that it would cut though the mix better. I liked it.

15 years later I designed my current S-8 copedent as D6th with added E9th pedals A and B. I like the timbre of the lower tuning for Americana/folk, and I like have the open G tuning available (with my B pedal) for dobro licks and blues. I still play E9th when the music dictates, though. There's nothing else that gets "that sound".

As for Eb9, I think that people who learned Reece Anderson's Bb6 are comfortable on it. I know one guy here in California who switched to Eb9 to solve a string breakage problem on a specific guitar. I don't think it's much of a trend, though.

J R Rose wrote:Was told long ago that Ralph Mooney in the early days tuned to (D). Many reasons were given. Had a long time friend that also tuned down to (D). Sounded good to me. Messed me up when I would set down at his steel. Of course I was messed up anyway. I think Buck Owens tuned down a half step. Have read in the past here on the forum about Tom Brumley's first night with Buck and a steel that belonged to Buck?? J.R.

That's interesting and would explain the intro of "Heartaches By The Numbers".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emzl-k2tLdI
I puzzled how to play those first notes with the squeezed in A-pedal after the pickup bar. You can't do that in the key of Bb with a guitar tuned to E.

NONE!
Except drives fiddle player nuts

I play an S12U with some Jam Bands that do alot of songs in E, A, B(6th), etc... and having those chords at the first fret is really nice.
It also puts those common positions at the 13th fret, which gets them off of the harmonic node, which is also really nice.

Dan's right about the trend for an Eb 9th tuning catching on a little bit with some of the recent records being made. Russ Pahl is probably the most known for using the tuning on his guitars, especially his longer scale Show-Pros that are 25" scale instead of the standard 24 and a 1/4 scale like most keyed guitars have.(Emmons, Franklin, etc) I guess it's more of a personal choice than anything because it just offers what a normal guitar does, except for a half step down. The thicker string gauges give a little throatier, meaty sound instead of the clear, bell sound of a normal E9th. For me personally, being a D-10 E9th and C6th player, I'd rather go down another half step and a D9th tuning. It'd be a little bit more easier on the eyes for me and probably not as foreign feeling on the fretboard as a half step down would be. It's a pretty cool sound! Some of my favorite Jimmy Day and Pete Drake recordings were D9th tunings.

I believe some people like red Rhodes did it (it wasn't a ninth tuning, but Eflat never the less) to avoid certain harmonic overtones at some positions such as the 12th fret and to have a low E position that wasn't open, being that E was much more common than F for the music being played. Buck Owens and the Buckaroos all tuned down and so did his steel players. Somebody already mentioned that the old fenders did not have roller nuts and broke strings like crazy when tuned E9...

Those are the only reasons I've heard...