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Topic: 8 string lap steel tuning question |
Joe Lipman
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 2:24 am |
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I'm in the process of having a lap steel built and need a recommendation for tuning.
The steel will be 24.25 scale. I plan on playing western swing (aka Bob Wills/Asleep at the Wheel) and Travis/Atkins style alternating bass so I need the low bass notes.
Any recomendations on the tuning and string guages for the tuning?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Joe
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 3:32 am
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Joe, I think you might like A6. It's got the same intervals as C6 but has a lower mellower sound. Some folks don't care for it but a lot of Western Swing sound awesome on it.
1.E .014
2.C# .017
3.A .022
4.F# .024
5.E .030
6.C# .034
7.A .042
8.F# .046
For 6 string just omit the high and the low string.[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 23 September 2006 at 04:33 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 7:09 am
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Andy,
I don't think you'd want to eliminate the
high, E string. [This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 23 September 2006 at 08:10 AM.] |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 8:24 am
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So Erv, why would that be?
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Mark
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Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 9:05 am
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Isn't that high E - the fifth of the scale - some of the 'signature' of the A6th tuning?
At least that's how I think of the three most common '6th' tunings - C6 has the 3rd on top, E6 has the root on top, and A6 has the 5th on top. All "E"s by the way...
Steinar
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"Play to express, not to impress"
www.gregertsen.com
Southern Moon Northern Lights
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Pete Blakeslee
From:
Lincoln, NE
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 9:23 am
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My situation is essentially the same. I tune Bb, C, E, G, A, C, E, D - low to high.
The D helps with single string work and the Travis picking. You can raise the low C to D and get that 13th sound, an easy retune, because it is an octave lower than the 1st string.
I don't like to play much above fret 12 - not my favorite sound on steel. So in deciding whether to use an A, C, or E tuning, I looked at the keys the band's vocalist sang in, and chose the tuning that kept most of the playing in the lower register. It turned out to be C.
Pete Blakeslee |
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Stephan Miller
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2006 9:44 am
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Joe, I agree that A6 is worth your time to check out. Herb Remington used it all the time with Bob Wills. There are a couple of easily-retuned variations-- 1)for A13, tune the 8th string F# a half step up to get G-A-C#-E-F#-A-C#-E for more blues/jazz flavor, or 2) tune the 8th string down to E to get your alternating 1-5 in the bass for Travis picking.
I have a 6-string in A6 with the 1st string E. Eliminating that high 5th would take away too much of what A6 has to offer, IMO.
Plus, it's a fast retune into C6 when you want that 3rd on top. |
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Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 29 Sep 2006 4:17 pm
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HELLO JOE,
Here's the C-6th tuning if you want to give it a try.??
C-6th
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1 E .014
2 C .017
3 A .020p
4 G .024w
5 E .030
6 C .036
7 A .042
8 F .054
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