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Topic: Lap steel tuning |
John Bumbarger
From:
Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 6:59 am |
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| Using a C6th tuning with C being the lowest string and going up (EGACE)what octave should the strings be tuned to? My Petersen tuner lists C as C1 C2. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 8:57 am In days of olde............
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it used to common practice to tune DOWN from the top string: E C A G E C# C
The top "E" being the first above middle C on the piano.
Did I say that right?  |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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John Bumbarger
From:
Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 10:26 am
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| Thanks Doug. That is a big help |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 11:42 am
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My tuning, from top to bottom:
G E C A G E (Bb, C, or C#) (G, A). It's really versatile, and it works for the sound I like (Gabby, Bobby Ingano, Jules Ah See, etc.). I learned it from Henry Allen, who was my first Hawaiian steel teacher, and Alan Akaka is helping me along using this tuning.
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Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8 |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Wayne Carver
From:
Martinez, Georgia, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 5:13 pm
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Why do most six string lap steels have a high "e" string in c6 tuning but eight string lap steels have a high "g" to include the root, 3rd, 5th?
It seems like it would be confusing going back and forth if one had a 6 and 8 string or a Dobro with the 5th interval on top. |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 7:45 pm
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I have a high E on my 6 string steels. IMHO, the basic 6 string C6 tuning is (from top) E C A G E (Bb, C, A or C#).
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Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8 |
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 8:24 pm
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| Wayne Carver wrote: |
Why do most six string lap steels have a high "e" string in c6 tuning but eight string lap steels have a high "g" to include the root, 3rd, 5th?
It seems like it would be confusing going back and forth if one had a 6 and 8 string or a Dobro with the 5th interval on top. |
High-G 8-string is just 6-string C6 with one extra high and low string... seems like a natural extension to me. C6 is a symmetrical tuning that way... and I like having those diads up top. The low C is much more useful than the top 5, for a six-string tuning, if that's your point.
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Too much junk to list... always getting more. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 9:37 pm For some of us.....................
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Most of us who started playing steel back in the olden days, prior to 1980.........
learned with nearly all tunings having "E" on top.
They were E7th, A6th, C#min., and C6th.
With a C# on the 6th string, you can have a whole bunch of playing options open up for you.
As a single example: The 5th fret being "F" and playing strings 3, 4 & 5
then drop down to the 4th fret while playing 4, 5 & 6 and move down to the third fret, also picking strings 4,5 & 6. What you've been able to do is make a nice chord move into a C7th chord..........
An excellent example is Jerry Byrd's intro' to Coconut Grove. There's lots of other examples but this should be enough to give you the general idea. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 11:41 pm
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The second string is "middle C", or C4 in standard scientific pitch notation. The 6th string is an octave lower, C3.
Guitar music is usually written an octave higher than it's played. In guitar music, the middle C on the staff is C3, not C4.
The C6th tuning (low to high) is C3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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