C6 tuning is perfect for â€œbreadboardingâ€

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I had something of a database episode a year or so ago and I lost a lot of data (articles, files, etc.). Jeff Mead mentioned this article in another post, so I hit the Wayback Machine and finally found it. I've copied and pasted a slightly edited version here.
Originally Posted on April 15, 2011 by Mike Neer

C6 is the perfect tuning for breadboarding, no doubt about it. For those of you who donâ€™t know the term â€œbreadboarding,â€ it has to do with electronic circuits and how experimenters will use a breadboard as a construction base to create prototypes of circuits. Simply moving wires and jumpers around with solderless connections makes the experimentation much easier. In a past life I spent a lot of time with electronicsâ€¦.

For purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to this version of C6, from low to hi: G A C E G A C E. If you are looking to step outside of the box a bit and play some things that are a bit out of the ordinary for steel guitar, tweaking the C6 can play an important role in helping you achieve the chord qualities you are looking for. The most obvious tweak would be tuning the lowest C (in my tuning, string 6) to C#. This gives you the C6/A7 tuning which, in my opinion is necessary for playing Jazz and even any kind of chord solo work. The importance of the dominant chord in that tuning canâ€™t be stressed enough. Also, contained within the span of strings 4, 5 and 6 is a diminished triad. Crucial.

Another common tweak is to tune string 7 (A) up to Bb for a C13. This eliminates the root for our minor chords, which I feel is pretty important note to have for playing Jazz standards and even some Rock tunes. There are some arrangements I play, though, that are based around this tuning, particularly Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and Yellow Roses.

What if we tweak both the C string and the A string up a half step? I got this little tuning from Billy Hew Len (although he did it with the A6 tuning) and I quickly recognized it as a tuning used by the great Joaquin Murphey. Joaquin used a C6 tuning with a high G string later on, and he would also raise his C and A strings 1/2 step. A good example of this sound can be found on Spade Cooleyâ€˜s Dance-A-Rama record. You can hear an example of this tuning (my version with a high E) on this recording of Coconut Grove. It makes use of a lot of altered dominant chords.

There are other places we can tweak the tuning, too: my favorite is to re-tune string 8. I have several variations on it and all of them give me different results. The most common for me is to tune string 8 to F, especially for playing chord melodies. I approach it a little like John Scofield does when he is playing soloâ€“he stabs at individual chord tones just to establish the harmony in the listenerâ€™s ears while he plays a melody or improvises on top of it. Sometimes that chord tone will only last for an eighth note. String 8 also serves me well for playing more modern Jazz, such as Herbie Hancock and Eddie Harris, by tuning it down to D. There I have what we call slash chords (a triad over a different bass note), particularly the 11th chord flavor, ie. C/D (C triad over D bass note). A great, nebulous sound.

There are other very useful ways of changing the value of a C6 tuning by changing 1 or 2 strings. For those of you familiar with Speedy West, he occasionally used a tuning (although on a pedal steel) which was called F#9. Essentially what it is is an E6 tuning (low to hi B C# E G# B C# E G#), with the B strings tuned down to A#. If you look at the C6 tuning that I use (with the E string on top), it is the same structure as the E6 tuning down a major third. So, in this case we simply lower our G to F# and voila!: we have D9 tuning.

I am currently beginning another book (No, I'm not)--this time on creating block chord arrangements or chord melodies. I will be using my C6 tuning for the basis of the entire book, but I will also be sharing some of my secret tweaks. I am really looking forward to the challenge of teaching this!

In the meantime, I hope you continue to explore and have fun and always remember that lurking somewhere inside of you is you! Letâ€™s give him every opportunity to find his voice on the steel guitar. Always play with the curiosity of a child.

All for now.
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David M Brown · From: California, USA

Great post!

Even on a 6 string I switch between A6, E7 or E13, C6 (and C6/A7) and B11 with the same set of strings.

basic A6 Low-High

C# E F# A C# E

B11

B D# F# A C# E

C6 (and we know to raise the low C to C# for the C6/A7)

C E G A C E

E7

B D E G# B E

E13

B D E G# C# E

I never thought of it as "breadboarding" though.

Jim Fogarty · From: Phila, Pa, USA

Thanks Mike and David! EXACTLY what I was looking for.

David......any particular string gauges/sets you use to manage all those options?

Justin Brown · From: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Thanks, Mike and David. This is great info!

Scott Thomas · Posted 17 Oct 2017 5:56 pm

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

David, don't forget about E9: (Low to high) D E F# G# B E
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David M Brown · From: California, USA

David M Brown · From: California, USA

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I think the best part about John's chart is that he gives different variations for different scale lengths. If you are playing a short scale instrument, you can go with the heavier gauge. On the longer scale, it's a matter of preference. I've had to experiment to find the right feel and tone--the balance. If the strings are too taut, to me it's a thinner sound and it feels like crap. If too loose, the strings vibrate too widely and sound out of tune when you pick too hard or push down too hard with the bar.
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David M Brown · From: California, USA

Paul Seager · From: Augsburg, Germany

Mike, I am slowly returning to playing jazz, just informally and primarily as a bass-man but obviously I'm keen to adapt to Steel.

You mention the need and importance of the Dominant and Diminished chords and I agree 100%. Now both are easily handled with slants whereas I've always found Major 7 chords a pain to really articulate with C6 but they are also a critical component to many jazz songs.

Would your tuning suggestions cover these chord types?

\ paul

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Stefan Robertson · From: Hertfordshire, UK

Or try E13 and you have M7 chords there

More strings more options.

Or C13 tuning with a D on top instead of a high E same tuning just 4 frets lower
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Stefan Robertson · From: Hertfordshire, UK

You should have

R-3--7
R-7-3
7-3-5 voicing all in straight bar

And 7-3-R in a forward slant
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Stefan Robertson · From: Hertfordshire, UK

Also you have dim in a simple reverse slant

And a straight bar dim 7 voicing

And all dominant inversions except for at root position

More strings and itâ€™s there in a reverse slant

Dominant extensions can also be had in straight bar in E13
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Paul Seager · From: Augsburg, Germany

Mike Neer:

Stefan Robertson · From: Hertfordshire, UK

its D13/F#
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Rich Sullivan · From: Nelson, NH 03457

Paul,

If you want to go with a combination name, you would need to name the tuning Em9/Am7. (The C is a minor third of A, and the G is a minor third of E.) A simpler name would be Am13. The tuning includes 6 or m7 on the bottom string, followed by the root, m3, 5, m7, 9, 11, 13 (in A). I think the Am13 is a more functional name than D13/F# also because of the way it stacks. If it is named as a D type of chord, then the root and third are on top and all of the extended tones (5, m7, 9, 11, 13) are below the root and third.

Paul Seager · From: Augsburg, Germany

Ouch! Embarrassing but I forgot to add the sharps! Correction, the open strings are as follows:

1 F#
2 D
3 B
4 G#
5 E
6 C#
7 A
8 F# or G

Hence the A Maj7 / E9 moniker. But heck, we can call it Monica for all it will help me. I forget this stuff all the time!

This photo is from a gig where I was alternating between bass and steel. You can see the colour-coded chord diagrams taped to the steel, its the only way I can remember this stuff!

Stefan Robertson · From: Hertfordshire, UK

Lol. No worries the # make a huge difference.

Rich I get the idea with the root below but itâ€™s all how you look at it. Like C6/A7 which has the root high.

Or a voicing of a 7th or extension with a root as the melody note.
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Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

When I got my short scale (22.5") JM style aluminum Clinesmith from Todd he had put these string gauges on it and they work well for most of those tunings.
Might work well also on the ones Mike showed that I never tried, but now I will give those a try also?
This is what it had and I still have the same set on it, seems perfect...
Bottom up; 56 46 36 32 28-W 22-P 18 & 16.

Now I have a question maybe some of you guys know the answer;
On some of the old Lawrence Welk show youtube videos Buddy Merrill plays a quad with a neat sounding bass tuning on the front neck.
Anyone know what tuning that might be and the string gauges?
They look like flat wound, but hard to tell on the low definition videos.

If anybody has not listened to those, they are really good. He was very young then and a great player.
On the very early ones he is playing a steel he made in his high school shop class.
Thanks in advance for anyone with knowledge.
Best wishes,
Andy
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John Goux · From: California, USA

Thanks Mike.
I still listen to your album.
John

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Thank you, John. I appreciate that!
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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

A while back, I gave up trying to get a big tone out of a tiny string and just arbitrarily set the top note as a "E" 0.015" string. And then, there are four "6th" tunings, each with the 1, the 3, the 5 or the 6th as the root. Down a ways in this post is a way to get all four tunings with the same strings.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=303746&highlight=

Jerry Gleason · From: Eugene, Oregon, USA

My favorite variation of the 8-string C6th has always been to tune the bottom string to Bb, a whole step below C. Itâ€™s C13th, for all practical purposes. I still find that to be the most versatile tuning for me. I use other variations for specific things, but I always seem to return to this tuning for most of the stuff I play.

G
E
C
A
G
E
C
Bb (A# if you prefer)

The high G can be a little thin, but it's so useful, that I don't mind. Dropping the tuning down to A6 has the same interval relationships, still with the 5th on top, and gives the treble strings a nice timbre, but then it's too low to have the dominant 7th on the bottom, so it's not as useful for me.

On a double neck, for the secondary tuning, I usually like E13 (Leonâ€™s) for Western Swing, or B11 for Hawaiian.

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