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Location: Birmingham, Al. | I have never played in an alternate tuning except for a drop D a very little. What are some of your tunings that you like and just how hard is it to adapt to alternate tunings. I'm also thinking about dropping everything one step for easier vocals. Will this effect intonation or anything that you know of?
Edited by Alanbama 2014-12-19 1:07 PM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I have very little experience in alternate tunings. I thought it was a good excuse to buy more guitars for awhile, but finally figured out that excuses were pointless. Lots of people tune down a step with no adverse effects. Kaki King touts the virtues of her Adamas for alternate tunings. The only hazard I know of with dropping a step is that if you have your action set really low to start with, you might get string buzz if you tune down a step. |
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Location: Canada | In my youth I have dabbled a bit with open tunings (i.e. tuned to a chord) and found the potential effects very intriguing. But since moving to 12 string I found it too much effort to change tune. Open tuning is essential for slide guitar, and in Hawaiian music is almost a genre in itself called slack-key guitar with some very accomplished artists. Would love to learn some of that ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack-key_guitar There are some Adamas/O slack-key examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRoVAZ5KLYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0nUgVCwQ2w
Edited by d'ovation 2014-12-19 1:57 PM
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Location: Birmingham, Al. | It's really good to hear from you two on the subject. I thought that I was about the only person left that didn't alternate tune. (lol) I never considered what dropping a step would do to fret buzz. I know it's an easy thing to try it but all my life I have played the guitar just as it is. It's hard to break old habbits. Thanks guys. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I only know about the fret buzz because a friend plays his Adamas a step down and told me a few days ago that his action was so low after he got it back from the mothership that he got some buzzing when he tuned it down a step. In a few days I would have forgotten that along with a bunch of other stuff. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | But he can just add a shim! |
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | I've been working on a recording project off-and-on for nearly a year. I used open-D and open-G in quite a few of my arrangements. I even had to go for open-C# in one instance as I am just a touch less tenor than I used to be.  |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | nerdydave - 2014-12-19 3:35 PM
But he can just add a shim!
I told him that and he didn't know what I was talking about. He's played professionally with his Adamas for over 30 years and didn't know. Actually, I've known several pros who didn't know how (or didn't want to know how) to do anything to their guitars beyond tuning them and maybe changing strings. I suppose that's true of a lot of things. |
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Location: Utah | I've dabbled a bit with alternate tunings. Open G is one that is pretty easy to get used to. The Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses" is played in open G. I can't wrap my brain around Kaki's weird tunings. For those I have to learn to play by ear without understanding what notes or chords I am actually playing. I have enough trouble with standard tuning, so alternate tunings are a challenge but I like the different sounds of the alternate tunings.
On a short scale 12 string it is tuned as a regular guitar capoed on the 5th fret. For something like that I just rewrite the chords transposed so that when I play a D chord shape the song sheet says play a D, but in real life it sounds as a G chord.
Some songs just have one string tuned differently. For thoSE I can figure out what is going on pretty easily.
For dropped tunings I will use a heavier set of strings rather than raising the saddle with a shim. Especially on the Adamas the top seems to need some tension to get a good tone. Slack strings just don't drive the top, at least on my 2080.
Edited by FlySig 2014-12-19 9:13 PM
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Location: Sydney, Australia | I've used a variety, but only because the song I'm learning was done that way
Black Water (Doobie Bros) - Double drop D
Slat Key Soquel Rag ((Doobie Bros) - Open E. Big Yellow Taxi was done in Open E as well.
The Joker - down two steps
Most people I know - down one step
Never going back again (Fleetwood Mac) Drop E string 4 steps, A string 2 steps then capo 6 (not the way Lindsay Buckingham does it). |
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Location: Canberra, Australia | I've started using Open G because I'm slowly learning how to play in the Hawaiian Slack Key (or ki ho'alu) style. There's a whole bunch of other tunings that ki ho'alu uses, but I haven't played with any of those yet. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I use some alt tunings, but you should also consider Nashville tuning, if you have an extra guitar hanging around. (here's a demo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJO4V7zAbDc&list=UUcfH65nD4O_X5Jy5-8...
THEN, try nashville tuning in open G or D. wild..... |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | I could write a book about open tunings. I started to play guitar with no idea how to tune it, today I know I started with an open E minor tuning...years later I learned the usual tuning and had to learn again all I could play but thus I in the following years I had no such problems with de-tuned guitars.
When you use an open G, Drop D or open D tuning or Dadgad tuning there shoud be no great effect on string action if you have a good guitar, my Adamii don´t change and if so and you want to play a lower tuning for a longer period, you can easily add a shim (as mentioned above), if you have an Ovation. The best migth be a second guitar with a special setup for low tunings..
You started with the easiest, drop D. If you are familiar with it, try to tune down the high E string, too.(Neil Young-Don´t let it bring you down, or Pat MacDonald-Track you down).
After that, now tune down the B string to A, now you have DADGAD, very nice for fingerpicking journeys, just try string after string, sound like ancient music sometimes.
Now that you have DADGAD, tune down the G string to Fsharp. This is the Open D which should be played with a thick brass slide on a warm summer evening. Always try to damp the strings behind the slide with your fingers and play very slow, first on the high E string only, try to play a melody.(Ry Cooder_feeling bad blues).
The 12string guitar ALWAYS AND ONLY sounds better when tuned down.At least one halfstep.For all the rest use a Mandolin.
Leo Kotte sound? like that:Leave the high E string, tuneUP the B string one half to C, leave the G string, tune down the D string to C, tune down the A string to G and last tune down the low E to C! (Or, if you want, all of this even one step deeper).
Joni Mitchell tuned down her guitar in very many differnt ways for nearly every new song. The most significant may be the tuning for WOODSTOCK. With this you can test if you have a stable guitar, most guitars will end in fet buzz and very bad intonation, you can play this if you tune very exactly and play very smooth, with surprising results:
High E down to C, B down to G, G down to F, D down to C, A stays A, E down to D. (in the original song even one step lower but then unplayable on a guitar with normal setup).
These are some shiny examples for alternate tunings, have fun! |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | And..I forgot and I do agree with BobG, the nashville tuning is another very exciting one, I would recommend to try it on a 12string, this is the only exception I would make concerning deep-tuned 12string guitars;-) |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | nerdydave - 2014-12-20 8:35 AM But he can just add a shim! Wrong move. If the action is correct and to your liking at concert pitch and you change the tuning, the tension on the neck will have altered and the truss rod will need to be tweaked to compensate. The action will then remain as it was before the change. Simply adding a shim will raise the string height, but the neck won't be 'right' any more. This also applies to changing string gauge. |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | ...and, if you have a 3rd 12string, try to double the low strings (you will need another saddle for this) AND tune all this down one step. This is the best way to play cheap 12strings that will not sound when played with standard tuning.
And the last: For hawaiian style guitar try open G with the low E string tuned down to C. |
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Location: Canada | DetlefMichel - 2014-12-20 5:40 AM Joni Mitchell tuned down her guitar in very many differnt ways for nearly every new song. The most significant may be the tuning for WOODSTOCK. With this you can test if you have a stable guitar, most guitars will end in fet buzz and very bad intonation, you can play this if you tune very exactly and play very smooth, with surprising results: High E down to C, B down to G, G down to F, D down to C, A stays A, E down to D. (in the original song even one step lower but then unplayable on a guitar with normal setup). These are some shiny examples for alternate tunings, have fun! I have to admit that I am not very familiar with her music even though I think I live close to where she grew up. I find it remarkable that she actually reveals a lot about her music on her website, including a whole section on her tunings: http://jonimitchell.com/music/tuningpatterns.cfm |
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Location: Birmingham, Al. | Wow! I don't know where to start! There is a whole new world of sounds out there. Some even sound nessesary to play certain songs. Well I guess I'll just have to jump in and try some! Thanks, all. |
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Location: Birmingham, Al. | Wow! I don't know where to start! There is a whole new world of sounds out there. Some even sound nessesary to play certain songs. Well I guess I'll just have to jump in and try some! Thanks, all. |
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Location: Canberra, Australia | I just a clip remembered there was some ki ho'alu in C6 " Mauna Loa tuning " (C-G-E-G-A-E), played on an O.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4eJrA4wZ9g |
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Location: Cork, Ireland | DADGAD is used a lot for fingerpicking Irish tunes. A heavier 2nd (B) string helps, otherwise its a bit too slack when tuned down to A. |
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Location: Jet City | richard.parker - 2014-12-19 11:30 PM Black Water (Doobie Bros) - Double drop D... Add some Young to the list for this tuning. Cinnamon Girl, Ohio, Down By the River, Don't Let It Bring You Down, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. Same tuning for "Crush" from Dave Matthews too. And one more newer tune would be "Touch Peel Stand" from Days of the New. Very fun song to play, especially on the bass. Then just tune the a down to g, and you're in open G, loads more as mentioned above, and add Zeppelin's "That's the Way" too. You can also tune to an open E chord and try "She Talks To Angels" from The Black Crowes. |
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Location: Birmingham, Al. | I may sound dumb, but I really didn't know there were so many Artists that used alternate tunings. |
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| Another way to play in alternate tunings is with a capo... either a standard capo can usually work, or a "cut" capo - I cut one of my own from one of the lightweight Planet Waves capoes ... I measured with a couple of my guitars to determine where to cut it so that I could leave the low E string uncovered. (Used a hacksaw and cleaned it up with a file - works great!)
Capo at the 2nd fret and you've got a sort of "open D" tuning (in the key of E now when playing a D chord). the nice thing about this is that your other chords, like G (now really A) can be played normally, and the bass string is correct!
Capo at the 4th fret, and you can play a C chord, but it's really E, with that low E string still ringing out. Play a barre F chord (A chord), and all the notes are correct; play a barre G (B), same result. Or play a standard first position G fingering, the notes are correct...just now playing a B chord in E.
This is just an easy way to cheat and find some new sounds without blowing your mind right away! Or changing the tension of your strings in the neck.
Warning: as with all capo-ing, some retuning may be required. 
Edited by Mikeymac 2015-01-03 8:18 AM
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Alternate Tunings
