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Topic: tuning- C6th vs Open G... |
Carroll Hale
From:
EastTexas, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 5:05 am |
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I play both a resonator (open G) and a old modified hollow body electric...(C6th)..(not great on either, but can hold my own with most).......I see lots of comparisons on SGF about tunings and which is better..I prefer swing/older country music....some comments on which is best...preferred for ease of playing and best suited for this type of music...
thanks for any help offered.
ch |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 6:33 am
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I prefer a 6th tuning for the old western swing stuff.
Either a C6th or an A6th (Herb Remington).
An 8 string guitar really works best when you go to a 6th tuning, however. |
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Jude Reinhardt
From:
Weaverville, NC
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 7:06 am
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I can't comment on which is best but for ease of playing I like my 6th tuning with the fifth note of the scale on top. I tune my resonator guitar to G major GBDGBD or 135135 and a lap steel to A major AC#EAC#E, 135135 and another lap steel to A6 C#EF#AC#E, 356135. As you can see the first three strings are the same in the A tunings and still have the 135 relationship in the G tuning. If I can play it on the dobro in G it's easy to figure out in the A tunings and vice versa. I got onto this when I started using Herb Remingtons A6 tab and found that I was able to play the songs without too much trouble in the A major and G major tunings.
If your C6 tuning has the 3 note on top CEGACE then it's a whole new ballgame, but if you use the C6 with the 5 on top EGACEG then your back to doing it the easy way. Of course YMMV but it works for me. I'm listing my tunings from low to high or sixth string to first.
Jude
_________________
"If we live in fear of banjos, then the banjos have won".
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Last edited by Jude Reinhardt on 24 Oct 2007 8:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Charley Wilder
From:
Dover, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 7:40 am
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I like the 5th on top also and use Dobro "G" (DBGDBG) for old Country, etc. In fact almost everything but Blues which I use "G" but "D" and"E" a lot more. I like C6 what very little I've played around with it but it has a very "Western Swing" sound and it's hard to get away from it. It's fine, in other words, but limiting. (IMHO)
BUT experiment around with a lot of tunings and do what YOU like best.  |
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Robert Murphy
From:
West Virginia
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 1:14 pm
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| Like Jude I play acoustic Oahu and Dobro. I like the A major tuning low to hi EAEAC#E or 515135 and I use the 6th EAF#AC#E for alot of tunes. It's an easy tuning to learn and versatile. And it relates to many other tunings (C6). |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2007 7:14 pm
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I play C6. I did fine with a 6 string C6 and could go back to it if I had to. But 8 strings are much better. Some G tuning players who are much better than me have been amazed at what I could do. It was just because of the tuning. I have found it easy to avoid the western swing sound. I play lots of single note stuff. Single notes are universal. But I do like to sneak in a Don Helms lick now and then. They are just too cool!!
Having said that, there have been some excellent G (A) tuning players and D (E) tuning players who have played all the stuff you're talking about. Bob Dunn jumps immediately to mind. Bob Paoli (or is it Ka'ai) is another. It has and can be done.
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Amor vincit omnia |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2007 5:25 am
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For a six-string lap steel, I like G6th (BDEGBD from lo to hi). Note that strings 1-2-3 are just like your bluegrass dobro. Strings 2-3-4 are just like your C6 but voiced lower.
One possible disadvantage is...there is no root G for a bass/anchor string...so you can change the low B to G if it suits you better.
This tuning is easy to re-tune to E7th (BDEG#BE) or E13th (BDEG#C#E) for certain tunes, which makes it extra versatile IMHO. |
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Carroll Hale
From:
EastTexas, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2007 8:17 am thanks
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thanks to all for your comments.......question: with the different tunings, is there a need for certain string gauges that are better......I use .015-.056 on the dobro.........and on the C6th....CEGACE...a set of strings bought from someone on SGF.....they seem to work fine...but, I am unsure which/what is best for the tuning suggestions made......
thanks again for all the comments...
ch |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 28 Oct 2007 4:19 pm
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Hey Carroll, I like what I have a lot as it's very versatile! I use what I call a G6th. It's like a regular Dobro G tuning on strings 1, 2, & 3 but then I have an E note on string 4 with the D moved to string 5 and the B note on string 6. With this tuning you can still do the vast majority of Bluegrass Dobro things in open G if need be and you can do a lot of them with less bar movement thanks to the sixth in the tuning.
I also have Keith/Scruggs banjo tuners with stops on strings 1 and 3. The 1st string is usually tuned to D but I can raise it to E with the tuner. The 3rd string G can be raised to G# with the tuner. this gives me a nice E7th tuning (E B G# E D B high to low) with the tuners. With this setup I can go from one tuning to the other right in the middle of a song if need be. Also having the E7th tuning gives me the ability to do some standards such as "Steel Guitar Rag" in the original key.......JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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