tuning options?

Steve Richards · From: North Carolina, USA

While I'm waiting for my 8 string lap steel to arrive, I was wondering if y'all could give me some pointers as to what different tuning options I might have available to me with the guitars current setup and strings gauges.

It currently has:

1. E (.15)
2. C (.1 Cool

3. A (.22p)
4. G (.26w)
5. E (.32)
6. C (.3 Cool

7. A (.42)
8. G (.46)

I want to learn this tuning, but I was also would like to know if something I could relate to a regular guitar was possible in order to jam around with some friends playing.

Really - all tunings possible with these strings

thanks Steve

Mark Tomlinson · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

For that C6 standard tuning, it's great for learning the left and right hand techniques, and still sound very capable. The basic reason is that it's a good tuning with 2 octaves (top 4 strings are tuned 1 octave apart the bottom 4 strings).

Alternatively, just drop this tuning down 4 notes to A6 (C -> B -> Bb -> A), for a little different sound (looser strings). The strings are tuned with the exact same relative notes as C6, so anything you learn in C6 you can play in A6.

Recently, I switched to an E tuning, which has a Root-3-5-1 relative tuning. Orville has some great advice on playing alternate tunings - where you search for the same relative notes on strings in the new tuning (like R-3-5). It helps.

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Mark Tomlinson
mark@careytomlinson.org www.careytomlinson.org

[This message was edited by Mark Tomlinson on 05 October 2006 at 08:44 PM.]

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