The Steel Guitar Forum

Does anyone know which tunings Shot Jackson used on the Kitty Wells records?

David, Shot told me yrs ago that he always used emajor high bass e b g# e b g#.The reason was two fold. This gave him a higher inversion and the a or g tunings and with Kitty did not sound bluegrass like.He also did not want to infringe on the sound of his friends playing bluegrass and using the g tuning, and above all not infringe on his good friend Oswald{Pete Kirby} who was using the A tuning w/acuff. This tells alot about Shot who was always thinking of others.

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Others have posted in the past that Shot played a 7 string E major tuning: <font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>E
B
G#
E
B
G#
E </pre></font>

Played Johnny&Jack videos hundreds of times to figure out Shots tuning, e b g# e b g#, freezing the tape shows a 6 string dobro, (mid fifties era).

Shot did go to a seven strg later as shown above.

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Shot normally played a blonde top, six-string, Norwood Chime, tuned to E, on most of the Johnnie and Jack sessions. (Hi to low: E, B, G# E, B, E). He would vary the tuning from time to time. He liked the instrument for its ached back, a feature that his ShoBros would later have, which produced the sound he was after.

Since Shot developed his own style, it was all the more reason why not to use G or A tunnings as others did. To this day, his style sure stands out. He said it kept life simple if he used an E tuning on both his dobro and this steel, even though he had to play them totally opposite. Must of the shows were package shows with both Kitty and Johnnie and Jack, so he had to play both his steel and dobro on the same stage.

At his suggestion I started using an E tuning in 1957 and have done so every since. Many of the Bluegrass band leaders that pick me up do not like it (they prefer a Josh Graves or Mike Auldridge style and tuning, G or A)) and they seldom call again. The E tuning with Shot's style works very well with Country bands and moderate Bluegrass. A good example of it working in Bluegrass was Shot on Roy Clark's LP and the session with the Osborne Brothers.

It was in the 1960s that Shot recorded with a ShoBud or ShoBro 7-string (see Bobby Lee's posting above for tuning). Some of the Melba Montgomery, George Jones, Louvin Brothers, Roy Clark and one Roy Acuff session have his 7-string, as do his own sessions. His Starday LP has him playing his 7-string pedal ShoBro as does one session with Melba.

On the steel, his early Kitty Wells, early Webb Pierce and Bailes Brothers was with a 7-string Rickenbacher lap steel tuned to E. Later he used a Fender. His early double neck tunings were A and E and are also on some of Kitty's sessions.

The dobro on Kitty's second session was with Ray Atkins, not Shot. ("How Far Is Heaven" was one of the songs). I think Ray tuned to G.

Much changed after Bud Isaccs played on one of her sessions in Springfield, MO with his PSG when she teamed up with Red Folley.

Soon after Shot started using pedals. The ShoBro always remained in E.

Hope this helps.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ric Nelson on 31 October 2000 at 03:26 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>He liked the instrument for its ached back...</SMALL>

Hey, I have one of those!

Thanks for all the info!