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Post new topic Who uses Speedy’s F#9 tuning?
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Author Topic:  Who uses Speedy’s F#9 tuning?
Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2023 7:57 am    
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Todd Clinesmith and my friend Sean have been using it. I’m intrigued by it after hearing Sean use it a little bit.
1 E    .014
2 C#  .017
3 G#  .024w
4 E    .030w
5 A#  .042w
6 F#  .052w
7 D#*  .015p
8.F#*  .013p

Thanks
Dave
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Daniel Baston


From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2023 12:50 pm    
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Hi Dave, I spent quite a bit of time with this tuning. In the end, I switched back to E13 but it sounds great and starts to seem less 'weird' after a while. I guess that's true of anything though really Very Happy... I also used a couple of variations I spent a good bit of time with this:

E
C#
G#
E
C#
A#
D# (plain)
F# (plain)

The approach I took with this tuning (either variation) was to think of it as two tunings in one. Imagine the top 6 strings as one tuning. Strings 1-4 are similar to C#m and you can play some Hawaiian sounding things, some things that are similar to E13 but that sound a bit different.

Then, in the two frets down position from your I, you have a 9th chord on strings 1-6. When you are in the two frets down position (over a dominant chord), you now also have your 13th and root on the 7th and 8th strings. Then learning stuff that uses the tuning of course, Herb Remington, and Joaquin mainly. I guess some Speedy (definitely "I'll Never Be Free"). I found that I tended to play 'canned' licks that I had learned and I never reached the point of the tuning becoming intuitive to me. I guess long enough with it might have gotten me to that point.

I found that I could get close enough with E13. And E13 felt more 'right' to me. But I do love how F#9 (really more like F#13, technically) sounds. I have a couple clips somewhere, I should dig up.
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2023 6:30 pm    
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Thank you!
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Dave Zirbel-
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Roger Fletcher

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 13 Jan 2023 9:31 am    
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Wasn't it Herb Remington who came up with this tuning?
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 13 Jan 2023 10:00 am    
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Quote:
Wasn't it Herb Remington who came up with this tuning?


I don’t know. Are you able to point me to any recordings of Herb playing the F#9 tuning? I’m curious to hear it? Thanks
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 13 Jan 2023 10:10 am    
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Herb got it from an unknown player in a bar who was using it. Steel sure is an idiosyncratic instrument!
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Jesse Valdez


From:
Fiddletown, California, USA
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2023 12:19 pm    
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I use a very similar nonpedal version of Joaquin’s

E
C#
G#
E
A#
F#
A# (reentrant)
D# (reentrant)

the high A# gives the 3rd a modern voicing I really like and can hear him use. I can copy some of speedy’s stuff as well
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Roger Fletcher

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2023 11:26 pm    
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Quote:
Are you able to point me to any recordings of Herb playing the F#9 tuning?


I believe he played it on Boot Heel Drag.
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Carey Hofer

 

From:
South Dakota, USA
Post  Posted 15 Jan 2023 11:07 am    
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Jesse, what does the word "reentrant" mean?
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Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2023 2:48 am    
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Carey Hofer wrote:
Jesse, what does the word "reentrant" mean?


Reentrant strings are on the bass side of the fretboard, but pitched higher than the bass strings. Often indicated by lowercase letters.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)

https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
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Joe A. Roberts


From:
Seoul, South Korea
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2023 12:26 pm    
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I made a long post about this tuning in this thread, if anyone’s interested:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=3004259&sid=1fe8e82681c0bb767b6e29780a708480
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2023 2:29 pm    
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Quote:
I made a long post about this tuning in this thread, if anyone’s interested:


Thanks! Super informative!
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Aaron Clinton


From:
Calgary, AB
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2023 9:25 pm    
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E
C#
G#
E
A#
F#

I put this on an armpit guitar to fool around with because it can be done with a standard set of strings. I could not play lines at all, but I could comp great sounding jazz chords almost instantly.
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Joe A. Roberts


From:
Seoul, South Korea
Post  Posted 17 Jan 2023 11:15 am    
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Aaron Clinton wrote:
E
C#
G#
E
A#
F#

I put this on an armpit guitar to fool around with because it can be done with a standard set of strings. I could not play lines at all, but I could comp great sounding jazz chords almost instantly.


That is close to a slack key tuning which I really enjoy, G wahine, which is like an open G major 7th and also good for jazz chords. Up a step, for comparison, it would be:
E
C#
G
E
A
E

I also like it with the A tuned up to B, just like C#minor low bass.

I don’t know too much about slack key, but I wonder how old these slack key tunings variations are. Could a slack key armpit tuning like G Wahine have been the inspiration to lower the 3rd string A on the A major hawaiian guitar tuning to G# all those decades ago?
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2023 11:30 am    
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I retuned my C6 neck to this:
E
C#
G#
E
C#
A#
F#

I’m completely lost. I love the way it sounds when someone that knows that tuning is playing it! 😂
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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Daniel Baston


From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2023 12:36 pm    
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[quote="Joe A. Roberts"]
Aaron Clinton wrote:

I don’t know too much about slack key, but I wonder how old these slack key tunings variations are. Could a slack key armpit tuning like G Wahine have been the inspiration to lower the 3rd string A on the A major hawaiian guitar tuning to G# all those decades ago?


I don't know too much about slack key either, but that tuning looks very similar to an E steel guitar tuning.

E
B
G#
E
B
E

Raising the B to C# gives you a C#m tuning. I *think* that tuning was used by Sol Ho'opi'i.

Lowering the low B to A# is just like lowering the 5th degree on a 6th tuning. So it is comparable to B11 tuning, relative to A6 tuning for example. F#9 can be approached sort of like B11, in that the top 4 strings are like your major and minor chords and then you add in the lower strings for dominant chords. You can do more than that, but that's a good start and you can play a lot of stuff with that approach. Did that make sense?
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Aaron Clinton


From:
Calgary, AB
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2023 5:46 pm    
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Dave Zirbel wrote:
I retuned my C6 neck to this:
E
C#
G#
E
C#
A#
F#

I’m completely lost. I love the way it sounds when someone that knows that tuning is playing it! 😂


Seven string?
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 18 Jan 2023 7:38 pm    
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It’s an 8 string steel but just using 7 for now.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps
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