U-12 tuning change ?

James Quackenbush · From: Pomona, New York, USA

I am curious to know if any U-12 players have dropped ALL of their strings down by 2 notes so that the open E is now an open D tuning ?..... I'm finding in a lot of cases when playing with 6 string players, that they tend to do a lot of tunes in the key of E, and not wanting to go back to open strings, I 'm thinking that I may be more comfortable up 2 fret's to get my E tuning ....I'm not sure how this will affect the strings and how they sound 2 notes lower than standard E pitch ....Has anybody experimented with this , or am I on my own with this one ?....Thanks guys and gals.....Jim

John Daugherty · From: Rolla, Missouri, USA

Jim, the first problem that comes to mind is the fact that the knee lever that lowers the Es (to get the B6 tuning)is used a lot when playing the E9 tuning.
I could not live without this lever.
The only way I could think of doing it another way, is to put your idea on a lock (not on a knee lever).
To answer your question: No, I have not tried it. There are only a few instances when I would like to be in C6 instead of B6.

John Daugherty · From: Rolla, Missouri, USA

I think I misunderstood your idea when I posted the first reply. I thought you wanted to use the E- lever to drop your strings. After reading it again, I think you want to just tune that thing to D9 instead of E9.
That may be ok for some folks, but it would blow my mind back to the future after playing E9 so long.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

Tom Bradshaw showed a D9/A6 universal tuning in his column in Guitar Player magazine around 1972. I think it was something like this:



       k    k      p    p     p     p


C#


F#                      +G


E


C#    +D   -C


A                 ++B        ++B


F#                      +G   ++G#


E                                 -D#


C#    +D   -C


A                 ++B


F#                      +G


D                                 +D#


A                                ++B

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Jim,
A good friend of mine,Mike Ursitti, used to tune his steel to D-9, years ago. He said that he never broke his third string that way. The sound from it was really deep and mellow. The only problem I had, when I played his steel, was to remember to move up two frets from the normal positions.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

James,
If you lower your 2nd and 8th strings to D with a lever and then press your 2nd pedal, you have a D tuning. This puts the key of E at the second fret. I play out of this position a lot.

There's no need to retune the whole guitar just to avoid open strings in the key of E.

------------------

Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Tuning universal E9/B6 down to D9/A6 is JUST TOO LOW FOR ME. But that's me. You'd have to decide yourself whether having a bottom string about the same gauge as the bottom string on a bass -- on a 12-string guitar -- is for you. I leave the transatlantic cables to the 14 string players and still feel that B6 doesn't sound as good as C6. Actually, I prefer the sound of D6 which I used for a short time on a D-10. E6 is too high for my taste (sorry Al). That's assuming the same relative voicing for all the tunings and all the stock pedal changes.

------------------
Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 17 June 2004 at 08:50 PM.]

James Quackenbush · From: Pomona, New York, USA

Thanks for the interesting comment's guy's.... I rarely play anything with open fretting.....I usually always have the bar on my steel at one fret or another....I would agree wtih the "too low " tone if I played with the open strings, but since I'm up on neck a lot of the time, this may not ( or maybe it would ? ) be an issue for me ...
b0b your idea sounds good accept for the fact that you are dedicating a pedal and a knee lever just to begin the proccess of what I want to accomplish...
I guess part of my question should have included what I am also concerned about
If I drop the tuning down from the E to a D, does anyone see a need for me to change the guage of my strings ?....I'm thinking that this much of a change may turn the lower strings to mud, and perhaps making the higher strings "thud" rather than ring out ?.....Any idea's ??...Thanks again for all your help...Jim

Richard Gonzales · From: Davidson, NC USA

James- I tune Eb9/Bb6 and love it !

James Quackenbush · From: Pomona, New York, USA

Richard,
Dropping down only one note is a thought ....Thanks, Jim

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I think you would want to use thicker strings if you drop down a full step. I have one string customer who tunes his 25" Sierra to Eb/Bb, and he uses a standard U-12 set.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Richard Gonzales · From: Davidson, NC USA

I tune my U12 to Eb9 and use the standard U12 string set.

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