The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello forummembers,
I do some recordingsessions with my 6-string-lapsteels in the Rock/Pop-scene here in Germany.
Can anybody tell me a comfortable tuning for Rock-Pop-Countryrock. Which
tuning offer the most possibilitys ?

Thank you for your help.
Didi Waechtler
JCH D10/10 FP/9 KL
Rickenbacher 1939
Melobar Lapsteel
homepage:www.dietmarwaechtler.cool.am

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What I was playing Lap-Steel I mostly used the C6-tuning. I found that it fits best with rock music.

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martin abend my homepage chicotarde@web.de
s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 - fender hotrod deluxe

I know a lot of guys who use a straight G tuning, just like your Dobro. I have been considering a lap with this tuning. Makes since to me since I can play the rock and blues scales already on it. Any rock tunes in E are great with the open string penatonic scale available.

What you think about the tuning (high to low):
D-B-G-D-A-G or instead of G a low E or D
? So you have the Dobrotune with the first 3 strings and all rock rhythmpatterns in the last 4 strings ? Any other ideas ?

Didi Waechtler
JCH D10/10 FP/9KL
Rickenbacher 1939
Melobar



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Hallo Didi -- I HIGHLY recommend using the following tuning for rock/blues/pop, etc... (from high to low):

E
B
G#
E
D
B

This gives you a nice dominant 7th chord across the neck, which is VERY prominent in popular western music. The cool thing is that you can easily drop that D down a 1/2 step to a C#, giving you an E6 tuning. Or, you can leave the D, and drop the high E to D, and the G# to a G, like the following (high to low):

D (whole step down from E)
B
G (1/2 step down from G#)
E
D
B

giving you a G6 tuning.

So, with a few turns of a tuning peg, you can have two or three very usful and simple tunings that should fill your needs very well. I used this method this weekend (although, it was between C6 and A7), and it works GREAT!

Good luck in finding out what works for you!

Tchuss,
TJW

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Todd James Weger/RD/RTD
www.franchise-yourself.com
1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6)

Probably the most popular tuning for the type of music you describe is open E tuning, from bass to treble:
<h3>E B E G# B E</h3>
Although the other tunings listed so far are very good as well.

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Brad's Page of Steel:
www.well.com/~wellvis/steel.html
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

The tuning Brad described is what rock steel player David Lindley uses. He has several different steels all tuned to the same intervals,only in different keys.So like a blues harmonica player,he just plays all night in the same positions.Makes it easier to get real good with open string stuff etc.BTW,he also plays all that beautiful melodic back up stuff on Jackson Brown's records w/that same tuning.I wouldn't use it for country tho,because it lacks any extensions beyond the major triad.The E13th tuning is really probably the ultimate one-size-fits-all tuning but for that you need 8 strings. -MJ-

Jerry Byrd used the C6th tuning.............

Thanks for the very useful responses !!
Especially the answers from you Todd,Brad and Michael helped me a lot.
Best regards

Didi Waechtler
JCH D10/10FP/9KL
Rickenbacher 1939
Melobar
homepage:http://dietmarwaechtler.cool.am

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The C6th is great but I like the A6th best. It'll do just about all of it. It also depends on the dominating keys your band is playing in. ... Billy

Try this one:
<big><b>
F
D
A#
F#
C#
A
</b></big>
<small> Just kidding. </small>

In all seriousness, you need to decide if you want low notes or not. For lead lines, you usually don't need anything lower than a B, but in blues you might want that low root like Lindley has.

E7 and G are the most comfortable for guitarists who are just learning steel. Paul Franklin does all of that lap steel that you hear on the radio using a C6th, though. Ultimately, the C6th takes a little time to learn but it's well worth the effort. You can subtly change the character of the C6th by retuning the 6th string. Use the A7#9 to get funky blues, or the Am7 when the song's in a minor key.<pre>
E7 G C6 A7#9 Am7
1. E D E E E
2. B B C C C
3. G# G A A A
4. E D G G G
5. D B E E E
6. B G C C# A </pre>

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session S-12 (E9), Williams DX-10 (E9, D6), Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra 8 Laptop (D13), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, A6)

Back in the old days when I played a 6 string lap supro. I used A6 a lot, but by changing tunings during the night, I could get a lot of different sounds for various types songs.

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
.....DMaj C#minor..A7.....E6..C#min7..Emaj9
E
C#...D.................................B
A.........G#...............B...........G#
F#...................G.....G#
E
C#...D
</pre></font>

I don't know if this will be garbled or not....al

I have always like the C6 tuning on lap steels, If I have an 8 I like to put the 'D' note on top & make it
D
E
C
A
G
E
C
A {sometimes tune this one to Bb)
but if using just a 6 string, I like the E,C,A, G, E & C (sometimes C# on the last one)
These tunings really fit a lot of songs, but everyone has there own idea on this, thats for sure! http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75

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Very interesting, but I haven't seen anyreference to a high 6th string option. One of the most inventive "Dobro" players (Not Jerry Douglas style) uses a G6th
D
B
G
D
B
E -- The pitch of this string is between string 3 and 4. This retains most of the integrity of the dobro sound while adding the "sixth" sound for old country stuff. it also makes for some very interesting "slants"!

Interesting dobro tuning, Charlie. It provides a full minor chord and a minor 7th too (Em, Em7 open). One of the problems with the standard bluegrass dobro tuning is it's lack of a 3-note minor chord. The tuning you describe above corrects that deficiency, but you do lose the low root for the G chord.

BTW, in answer to the original question posted, I'd suggest C6 (E, C, A, G, E, C high to low) for maximum efficiency with 6 strings. It will give you majors, minors, and 6ths. Good for all-round pop, country, etc. If you want beefier jazz chords... diminished, M7, b5, as well as limited majors and minors, go with the Leavitt tuning (D, C, Bb, G, E, C# high to low).

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www.dougbsteel.com

For rock lap playing, I have several guitars with that Lindley open tuning people have mentioned, which is:

1
5
3
1
5
1

(in chord tones, that is) EG for D it would be:

D
A
E
D
A
D

I have never played lap steel until about a month ago, but I recently bought an acoustic Weissenborn style guitar, and an electic Weissenborn style guitar (the Asher Ben Harper model) and I am just in love with this tuning. The thing I have realized is that it is a completely different instrument from the pedal steel, or even a non-pedal C6th type tuning. You really need to concentrate on left hand technique, in that you really have to do a lot of movement to get fluid lines. The thing that kills me about the tuning is having 3 octaves of unison strings easily at hand. When I solo on my Asher using those unisons, it is a sound that is as big as anything I have ever heard. It is habit forming. I have done a ton of session work with this tuning over the last month, and I have a hard time getting producers to have me play anything but the lap.

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www.tyacktunes.com

I'm new to the group--I was given a slight variation of the C6 tuning by DJ of The Souvenirs. He told me to tune it this way, low to high: E G A C E G

I just started using this tuning in my country band, and it sounds phenomenal. I had been using an open G tuning (I only really played the three treble strings, which were G B D).

The thing I like about the C6 tuning I was given is that you can play just the treble strings and have a major chord, and then if you play the A C E strings, you have the relative minor using the same bar position.

Therefore, this tuning is pretty good for rock and country, but your rock and roll may sound a little Hawaiian if you're not careful.


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What a great thread!!

This is such good information, shared freely and all in one place!!

I just love this place

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Bill Fulbright

1998 Sierra U12 7x5; Line 6 POD; Yamaha P2100 amp; 2 Bose 802 cabs; Schecter Strat; Gibson ES-165; Peavey Classic 50-410.

Dan

Did you mean to say D-A-D-F#-A-D (low to high) for the tuning you are using? You had "E" for the third string, which is the second/ninth, not the major third of the D scale.

It's my understanding that D-A-D-F#-A-D is the tuning Lindley uses, but I could be wrong.

Thanks

-Bill