Any of you out there that likes the olde C#min tuning?

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Just had a delightful day, listening to an elderly lady steel guitar player, playing in C#min tuning.
Lot's of olde Sol Hoopi dynamics involved here.

This is an exceptional performance by a lady steel guitarist. How many of you have heard of
Elsie Jaggers?
She now lives in Salem, Oregon. Took lessons from Sol, early on in her career.

Fine bar technique, harmonics to die for, and a great sense of styling. No idea what kind of g'tar and/or amp she recorded with.

Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

Hi Ray !

I spent a year in 1943 with my Hawaiian teacher, Mr. George Kaahiki in So. Los Angeles, Ca. He taught exclusively in C#m minor tuning. I had a new Gibson Sunburst lap steel and a 12" speaker Gibson yellow tweed linen covered amp. A lot of what Herb Remington played with Bob Wills I believe was on the upper C#minor portion of his inverted eight string tuning. When working on the Ole Rasmussen band I used my C#Minor neck (same as Herb's) for a lot of my fills and backup. It was a great tuning for playing "Little Croquette".

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Yes, I like C#min tuning. Played it for a few years, got to know it well.
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Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

c c johnson · From: killeen,tx usa * R.I.P.

We had Elsie at the Winchester gigs twice I believe. In ddition to her playing her Sol Hoopii stories were terrific. I still use c#m for some songs, even the pedal E9 holding the A ped down. The chords are beautiful. cc

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I play a C#m7 tuning.
I like a B as the next string under the C#.
You get kind of a combination A and E tuning.

basilh · From: United Kingdom

My basic tuning, everything I do is centred around it (Of course including the B on string 3)
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Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

As Erv mentioned, the tuning is actually C#m7 -- which is simply an inversion of E6. It is often obtained by simply raising the fifth tone (second string) of the old standard E tuning from B to C#. I used it for years when I had a triple neck Fender. In fact, if you have ever heard the Pee Wee King original recording of "Slow Poke" I used the tuning for the steel course. I had it on an 8-string neck with a low E note on the eighth string.
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Morgan Scoggins · From: Georgia, USA

I love the C#mi7 tuning. I have been working my way through the Jerry Byrd Steel Guitar Course for a few months, and some of my favorite arangements are in C#mi7 or c#mi9. The C#mi7 is easily tuned by raising the B string to C# from a standard E tuning. For the C#mi9 you have to raise the 4th string E to F#.
I wish I could find some additional material in these tunings. Most everything available online is in C6 tuning. There must be a lot of stuff out there since the C#mi7 tuning was very popular in the 40's.
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Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Billy........the first song I played in C#min in a country band was Coquette. It just lies there waiting for you to pluck the strings.

My first Hawaiian teacher Charley Kalani, taught me in that tuning......Hilo March, Maui Hula and such.
He really inspired me!

About Elsie.........great info'. THANKS for sharing!
A great read for us all.

Skeeter Stultz · From: LOMITA, California, USA

Anybody remember the C#min attachments. You placed them between the nut and tuning keys and a block was raised by a lever activated cam which raised the B to C#. Of course I'm talking of a lap steep. I had a Gretch guitar (lap) and amp. I think the attachment cost $20.00 which was a hunk at that time.
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Kevin Greenberg · From: Lakewood, CA

I'm a young buck, and I always have E6 or C#min7 on the bottom neck. Low to high: G#-B-C#-E-G#-B-C#-E. What I really need is a 10 stringer, so I can put the low E and High G# on there. I play in this tuning more than any other one, it's so easy to play it plays itself, and sounds so good. Not to mention I can use it for country, swing, or hawaiian.

Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

Here is a couple of lessons given by my Hawaiian teacher George Kaahiki in the C#minor tuning in 1943

acher George Kaahiki in 1943 in the C#minor tuning.

Eric Stumpf · From: Newbury, NH 03255

Ray, was Ms. Jaggers playing that Bigsby when you heard her? I'd really like to know more about that guitar; never knew it existed. Several years ago I received some tapes of Elsie's playing from a kindly gent named Red Moser: the ambassador of goodwill for the Winchester steel club. I was impressed with her excellent Hoopii-like playing and tone. Wish I still had those tapes!

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

A friend shared a couple of CD's of her earlier days playing. No idea what g'tar she was using at the time.

I'll see if he can spare another for you?

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

I have this on the Supro 6 for my stock bluesy tuning.

E6 for I6 or Idom7, C#m7 VIm7(b9)and G# Vm b5
with B on bottom

or with A for IVmaj7 also
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Harry Dietrich · From: Robesonia, Pennsylvania, USA, R.I.P.

"Anybody remember the C#min attachments. You placed them between the nut and tuning keys and a block was raised by a lever activated cam which raised the B to C#. Of course I'm talking of a lap steep. I had a Gretch guitar (lap) and amp. I think the attachment cost $20.00 which was a hunk at that time."

Skeeter

I remember them...I had them on my first Supro back in 1948. I don't think mine cost that much...I wouldn't have been able to afford them at that price.

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Guy Cundell · From: More idle ramblings from South Australia

Bo Legg · Posted 6 May 2012 11:31 am

Boy! this brings back a lot of memories of my father when he took me with him to El Paso Tx to a church where Sol was featured. I remember this because my dad a few days later filled his old Rickenbacker up with concrete.

Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

Did it improve the tone ?

George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

Hi Ray, I took lessons in the mid 50s in Vancouver Canada from a teacher who was really a fan of Sol Hoopi. My guitar was a six string grey metal bodied Rick. that my folks helped me buy from Woodwards dept. store. If memeory serves me, it cost $75.00. I still like that tuning on my six string bakelite Ricks. I use A6th on an eight string Magnatone, and B6th/E9th on my 12 string Carter. I think he had me put the "B" as the sixth string.

Laurence Pangaro · From: Brooklyn, NY

So what are the various permutations of the C# minor tuning for an eight string steel?

LP

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

I use;
G#
E
C#
B
G#
E
B
E

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I have a layout similiar to Ron's but I use an E for the top string.

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