The Steel Guitar Forum

Weissenborn players - what are your preferred tunings?

DADF#AD?
DGDGBD?
GBDGBD?

or lap steel tunings like C6?

DADF#AD

Because ...

DADF#AC# = Dmaj7
DADGAD = Dsus
DADFAD = Dm
DADF#BD = D6
DACF#AD = D7

And, with the same strings ...

GBDGBD = G
EBDGBD = G/E

Andy,
Just bought a copy of your book: Slide Rules
A great resource!

Also, recently just bought my first Weissenborn, a Lazy River, custom made from Myrtlewood from the Pacific Northwest.
I love the resonance and the tuning of this Weiss in D.
Love the sound of a vintage lap steel and dobro, but this tone to the bone..

DADF#AD usually. Or the same voicing in different keys. My baritone is usually in B and I have a short scale that is usually in F.

Unless you use some really light gauges, a weissie usually won’t tolerate the tension of GBDGBD. Even then it’s probably best to steer clear of that tuning.

I set my 1922 Maui Maid Style 1 up for D-A-D-F#-A-D and have never regretted it:

D,F,C,F,A,C low to high...sort of a D minor 7 or F major tuning on my Bediaz spruce top & rosewood back & sides.
Cheers

Gary S. Lynch wrote:Also, recently just bought my first Weissenborn, a Lazy River, custom made from Myrtlewood from the Pacific Northwest.

Wow! Eight strings! Never thought of that on a Weissenborn ...

Can’t play six all that well, so i thought I would go for broke and get eight!

Right now, I am using D. DADF#AD and the outside two on each end are drone strings.
I have JD Blackbeard.. that is a great guitar. .and 5 other dobros, but the Weiss tone is uniquely different in its sound and wonderfully acoustic!

Thanks, Gary. Mark, I haven't had an issue tuning to G and back to D but that said, I don't leave it in G for long and it's definitely better to use the proper gauges for G tuning. After previously using Newtone Aloha strings, for all the D family tunings above, I've been happy for many years with these strings:

GBDGBD works fine...I just lower the 3rd to .026, and push the 5th to 5th to 6th, inserting a .038 for the 5th.. Nice even tension, and it sings. Heavier gauges not only might explode it, but they tend to "thud" rather than "sing", at least on my Ben Bonham black acacia/Doug fir custom, modeled after a late 20's version.

I don't play a lot of solo stuff, where the low thumb note is needed...and I like the close spacing for melody runs bottom to top, and there are a lot of really great slants and reverse slants that you lose with open D or G....

Mainly, I like having my Clinesmith Frypan, Tricone dobro, and Weiss, all with the same scale length and same tuning...makes everything more intuitive...my brain clearly isn't as flexible as Andy Volk's!

I have a baritone made by Marv Fluger that I have in CGCGCE(sometimes Eb or D on the high string).

On my standard scale Dunn, I bounce back and forth, D and G. I’m finding G has a more sonorous tone foR my tinnitus ears. I can wrest blues and folk vibes from each. I dabbled in a couple typical lap steel tunings. I always return to G/D.

On my Baritone Pogreba, same deal: open C or open B... C wins cause I can sing along.

As the years pile up, I find fewer notes serve me better

Mark

Still working on getting a proper Weissenborn but my old Oahu's are filling the bill pretty well. They are more like traditional guitars though, with separate necks so i think they are more susceptible to tension problems. I put a Bridge Doctor in the little 65k and it is doing fine in D with medium acoustic strings.
I tried to do a high bass tuning on the big 66k and got as high as F ( i strung it lightly) and said "no way" it felt like it would explode! It lives in Eb with those same strings, i used to run it with mediums in C or C#.
I will be beefing up the interior of the 66k and adding a Bridge Dr soon, gotta preserve these old timers.
When dealing with tension on these things you kinda have to use common sense, lots of them have been ruined over the years so if you think it might be under too much stress then it probably is.
And dont get me started on mandolins! Try cranking a 100 year old one of those up to pitch!

I use open D on one of my Weissenborns. I recommend Andy Volk's Exploring Open D Book. Great book for Open D and the related tunings! Strings: 15-17-026w, 035w, 045w, 056w. I use a 15 and a set of Dadarrio EJ-17 . I use ACEGBD on the other Weissenborn. This gives me GBDGBD, GDEGBD and ACEGBD. 15,17, 26w, 30w, 35w, 45w
Using Daddario EJ-17 and adding a .030w, and a 15p.

On my Iseman Weissenborn I play in Open D. My Baritone Pogreba is tuned a whole step down-Open C. Except for my Pogreba, I live in Open D on all of my lap style guitars, dobro, National M1, Gibson HG2 and all of my electric lap steels and bottle neck guitars. Feels like home.