Rock tunings

Donald Vitouski · From: New York, USA

My '53 Supro Comet is at the shop in cue for a first setup. It's getting a new nut. I need to tell him which tuning I want it set up for. Can anyone please share knowledge as to what tunings work well for playing rock? I like the 151351 arrangement very much. Which keys work better for rock in that setup?

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Allan Revich · From: Victoria, BC

151351 is the way to go for rock and blues. Either open D or open E. It is not the most versatile tuning, but IMHO it is the most rawkin. David Lindley built a pretty good career around it.
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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

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Ben Harper has used E Model (not sure of string gauges):
E
B
E
E
B
E
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Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Of course, there are lots of options. As stated, David Lindley very frequently tuned lo-hi 151351 in whatever key he wanted. Same tuning a lot of slide guitarists use, and gives a full two-octave range across the tuning. Practically anything from low C to high A can be accommodated, depending on the scale length, with the appropriate strings. High A is probably dicey for a long scale like 24.5" or more - the high A is prone to snap (ask me how I know). But 22-23" works OK. Quite a few lap steels in that range. But D and E are very commonly used in blues and rock and roll. I choose based on what tonality I want and whether I'm adamant that I want the tuning to be the same as the song key. Sometimes I want the tuning chord the same as the song key, sometimes not.

But 15135 has other advantages. For example, E root 151351 can be easily re-tuned to A root 515135 without changing strings. Still has the 2-octave range, only now you have the 5 on top and bottom instead of the 1. You can quickly be a fourth up or down with a simple retuning and the core string grips are shifted over one string. Similarly, D root 151351 can be re-tuned in exactly the same way to G root 515135. If you choose the strings just right for E and A (I'd go for about 28-30 pounds per string) then down-tuning to D and G is doable - maybe a hair slack, but workable.

String gauges depend on both the tuning and the scale length. There are lots of resources online to figure out reasonable gauges for any tuning. I tend to use this one most - https://tension.stringjoy.com/

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Yeah... you wanna rawk use low-bass D or E 151351 or G or A 515135. Either of these can be tuned to the other with minor (two-fret or less) string tunings, mostly on the same set of strings. Think Billy Gibbons, Sonny Landreth, Allman Bros, etc. Your guitar is short-scale so you can do all of these with a set of .010's, normal guitar strings.
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Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

As a banjo player, I went with standard Dobro G on my 22.5 and 23” steels, and I only play rock/blues/Americana (which includes some older country tunes). I was inspired by Lindley but I stuck with a familiar tuning. G is really versatile, although I rarely use the low B. I sometimes make the low strings D and G, but that can get boomy.

I haven’t spent much time in open D or E, but I need to figure out how to not make everything sound like Dust My Broom.
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Peter
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Mike Neer · From: NJ

You can use any tuning to play Rock, even C6 (yes, it's true).

You have to ask yourself what your role is: are you replacing guitar parts, adding to guitar parts?

If your goal is to just slide from barre chord to barre chord, then you have your answer.
If you're into a Lowell George kind of thing, then G or A tuning works well.

There really is no standard tuning for Rock, you've got to figure out what you need to accomplish what you have in your mind.
And Rock is as diverse as the number of tunings available.
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Brooks Montgomery · From: Idaho, USA

Who are your favorite rock steel and slide players that influence you or you’d like to emulate? That may hold the answer for your tunings.
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Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Back in the early 1970s, I ran a Rick ACE lap steel, tuned to open E, through a Fender Dual Showman. This was way before my pedal steel guitar days.

It sounded great!

~Lee

Donald Vitouski · From: New York, USA

Thanks very much to all of you that responded to my question about tunings for rock music. I’ve learned much. I think I’ll start with G but I’m looking forward to trying some of the variations suggested. The members here are super nice and seem very knowledgeable and experienced, a stark contrast to other guitar forums I’ve encountered. Gretsch forum folks for example, can be downright nasty and snarky to beginner’s questions. And, here there were no replies that start with … “I have no knowledge or experience with the subject you ask about but....” lol. Thanks again to you all.

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Tony Oresteen · From: Georgia, USA

A lot of rock music is tuned down 1/2 step to Eb and songs are in Eb, Ab, etc. Also playing with horns tends to get tunes in Bb, Eb, Db, & Ab keys.

Here's where a second lap steel tuned to Eb or D, or even Db (151351 or 135135) will come in handy. Along with one in G (135135), you will have all the bases covered.

Keep your main steel (I assume it is the National Comet) in the tuning that fits most of the songs you play & get an inexpensive steel (Recording King etc) for the odd keys you encounter.

Jerry Douglas uses a Hipshot DoubleShot bridge that lets him change from D tuning to G tuning on the fly. But with 14 Grammys he can afford the $700 bridge Smile

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Newnan, GA

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Steve Lipsey · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

In dobro G (GBDGBD) strings 2,3,4 are just regular guitar tuning, and 1 is off by a little, so you can play it like a regular guitar, the slidey pentatonic pockets work great...and you have some good I->IV and I->V and 7th slants available. GBDGBD is not the most obvious for rock, but it does keep it away from 100% Dust My Broom...
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Daniel Flanigan · From: Oregon, USA

I tend to use the 151351 tunings that David Lindley used. Just take your Open E, tune it up a half step for Open F, two steps for High Open G, and three steps for Open A. These are the only tunings that I use for overdriven/rock steel. That Open A requires very light strings to avoid constant breakage, but it's a great tuning, and probably my favorite.

If you want to hear these tunings in action, there's a few Jackson Browne songs that come to mind for each tuning.
David used open F on "These Days", and High Open G for "The Load Out/Stay" and "Of Missing Persons" and he used Open A on "Running On Empty", and "Walking Slow". Of course, there are many other songs he used these tunings on, but these are just a few that I can remember which tunings he used off the top of my head. Just listen to the Jackson Browne albums that Lindley played on and you'll hear a lifetime worth of lap steel inspiration. The albums he played on are "For Everyman", "Late for the Sky", "The Pretender", "Running on Empty" and "Hold Out".

Fred · From: Amesbury, MA

I always used the Leavitt tuning for rock. In a band it's very versatile.

And blues, and jazz, and, if I was forced into it, country.

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

Allan Revich · From: Victoria, BC

I play mostly blues/rock. I like 515135 (DGDGBD) on my lap steels for Rock because of the big, bassy, power chord, and 151351 (DADF#AD) on my regular fretted guitars.

I've chosen to use Dobro tuning (GBDGBD) lately, because it seems more versatile, especially when there’s a bass player holding the bottom down. It also allows for a simple Em7/G6 tuning on my 7 string lap steels, EGBDGBD.
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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

John Larson · From: Pennsyltucky, USA

Open D (DADF#AD) is a favorite cause it allows Root Fifth Octave power chords easily and the F# can be lowered to F for minor voicings.
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Mike Christensen · From: Cook Minnesota

A6 will work for anything I find. Pick a tuning,learn it and your guitar, and play music.

Colin Boutilier · From: Nova Scotia, Canada

My lap steel lives in Open E. I started out, and still more commonly play, Allman-style slide guitar. I had my Dobro in Open E for a while too, but I went back to traditional Open G, because I preferred the open string pull-off stuff.
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Tony Oresteen · From: Georgia, USA

Mark Eaton · Posted 2 Feb 2024 1:52 pm

A few members here have commented about GBDGBD as a good Rock lap steel tuning.

For some steel guitar players I think they're not into the tuning because it has sort of a "red headed stepchild" reputation as "the dobro tuning."

A lot of contemporary players when plugged in on 6 string lap steel for Rock use the tuning. Along with us weekend warrior types, there are some well known celebrity players who use it as one of their main tunings on lap steel: Jerry Douglas, Cindy Cashdollar, Rob Ickes, Randy Kohrs - and pedal steel players who sometimes play Open G lap steel like Dan Dugmore and Bruce Bouton. Bruce even has a course on the subject from Modern Music Masters, the company that offers the Paul Franklin pedal steel course.

Arguably the most famous contemporary Rock lap steel player is Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe. The band is very popular. Megan started out as a dobro player as a kid (inspired by Jerry Douglas) and when they went electric she stuck with high bass Open G.

I sew them twice last year: in February at the legendary original Fillmore in San Francisco - they shook some of the ghosts out of those old walls. In the summer it was an outdoor concert up the road from me here in Sonoma County at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Both shows sold out. I don't get to many straight ahead Rock concerts anymore - but Larkin Poe is an amazing live band, and Megan has exposed a lot of people to (standup with a strap) lap steel who previously had little or no clue about the instrument.

Check them out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyNCSvVE4kg
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Mark

Gary S. Lynch · From: Maryland, USA

I just picked up a Duesenberg Alamo.
I have owned a number of lap steels and dobros, but really like the Open D to G tunings combinations the benders offer.
Great for rock, IMHO.
Maybe off topic for lap steel purists but thought it worth a mention.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5OgMppvvvHw

Nic Neufeld · From: Kansas City, Missouri

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