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Topic: Ancient Bb6 Copedents |
John Alexander
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Posted 5 Jun 2012 11:57 pm |
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While considering some changes to the Bb6 tuning on my PSG, I unearthed some variant examples of the Bb6 tuning from various 1970s publications, and I am going to post them here for future reference by anyone interested in the tuning and its history.
This first copedent is from Tom Bradshaw's article about Maurice Anderson published in the February, 1971 issue of Guitar Player magazine.
Interestingly, this copedent does not include the main features that characterize most universal tunings today. Specifically, the 4th and 8th strings are not raised to Eb to get into an Eb9th mode, and the A and B pedals are missing.
Aside from those features, the copedent contains the main distinguishing features of the Bb6 tuning that have persisted over the years, i.e., pedal 2 and knee levers 1, 2 and 5. (Pedals 1, 3, 4 and 5 and knee lever 3 seem to be more or less traditional C6 changes.)
Pedal 3 differs from its C6 cousin by lowering string 4 a half step instead of raising it a half step. But, the kind of dominant 9th chord with the root on top, as found on traditional pedal 6 on C6, is available a whole step higher on strings 3 - 7 of this Bb6 tuning by the combination of pedal 2 and KL2, with or without KL5. Or, KL4 can be used with pedal 3 to get a similar voicing (although KL4 seems to have dropped out of later versions of the tuning). With the half step lower on string 4 with pedal 3, other useful combinations are available, such a the nice Gb maj7 chord in open position with pedal 3 and KL1.
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John Alexander
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Posted 6 Jun 2012 12:05 am
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Here is the Bb6 copedent shown in the manual that came with my new MSA guitar in January of 1978. It is not quite the same as the guitar that was shipped to me, which had the 1st string tuned as a D unison with the 4th string and without any pedal changes.
Winnie Winston's book showed a variant of the Bb6 tuning that was similar to this, but as I recall not quite the same. I no longer have the book, but if anyone has it and wants to scan and post that copedent to this thread, that would be great.
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John Alexander
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Posted 6 Jun 2012 12:14 am
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Here is a later version of Maurice Anderson's copedent that was published in the May 1979 issue of Steel Guitarist magazine, as a correction of the copedent that was included with the article about Maurice in the January, 1979 issue of the magazine.
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John Alexander
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Posted 17 Dec 2012 8:44 pm
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Here is the Bb6 tuning cited as "The universal tuning" on page 85 of Winston and Keith, Pedal Steel Guitar (1975).
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John Alexander
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Posted 17 Dec 2012 8:47 pm
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Also from Winston and Keith, page 120, here is Maurice Anderson's then "latest tuning and set up."
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John Alexander
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Posted 17 Dec 2012 8:53 pm
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The Bb6 copedent I've had on my MSA single 12 since late 1978, now qualifying as "ancient." The "E/F lever" on RKL and the first string lower on LKR make the Bb6 tuning vastly more E9-friendly.
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John Alexander
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Posted 17 Dec 2012 9:04 pm
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And the not so ancient Bb6 copedent most recently posted as Maurice Anderson's current version, transposed back into Bb6 from the B6 transposition shown in this thread: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=217644
Last edited by John Alexander on 17 Dec 2012 11:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Christopher Woitach
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 17 Dec 2012 9:17 pm
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This last copedent is what's on my Bb6 MSA, with one addition - RKL also raises string 1 to D. Reece told me he took this off his guitar to make the action of the lever smoother. On my 2011 model, this apparently isn't necessary. I love this tuning!
I should add that I started on E9/B6, very similar to Jeff Newmans, and I found it much less suitable for my purposes. The Bb6, in its current configuration, seems very logical, at least for how my brain works.
_________________
Christopher Woitach
cw@affmusic.com
www.affmusic.com |
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John Alexander
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Posted 18 Dec 2012 12:45 am
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| It's an interesting variation, especially the new pedal 7. I will look forward to hearing more of what you do with it. |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 18 Dec 2012 3:11 am
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Bb is where it's at...  |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 18 Dec 2012 6:01 am
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I haven't looked at these closely to see how they compare but here's a few Bb setups from a 1968 Tom Bradshaw newsletter. Look at Maurice Anderson, Bil Brady, Bud Carter. Also Bert Rivera has a 10 string Bb set up. Looks mostly like the standard C6 changes.
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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John Alexander
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Posted 19 Dec 2012 2:27 am
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| David Wright wrote: |
| Bb is where it's at... |
I've always thought along the same lines. BTW, today I got scrounging around in the archives on the history of the Bb6, and found this post from you, which is very cool - I hope you don't mind me quoting it fully here. There is so much interesting information in the Forum archives - the thread this post came from can be found at http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/006594.html
Posted by David Wright 21 November 2003 08:52 PM:
| Quote: |
I started playing the Steel Guitar in Jan of 1970 and began taking lessons from Maurice. I had moved to Dallas to learn to play. Even though I had been around it all my life, I didn't get the bug to play until I was 19. My Dad was working with Maurice and Tom at MSA, so I sold most everything I had and moved to Dallas. It's been almost been 34 years now.
Anyway, I started with the Bb6th tunning, it was what Maurice played and I liked what he was doing. Now is where I hope I remember the tunning he had me on, as Paul said, flatting your 3rd(D)and flatting your root (Bb) you now have your E to an A change. You just lower to get it. At this time another steel player named Billy Braddy was playing this tunning also. we tuned (I think) the top note to (A#), and raised it a half tone, we used a .010 or .009, it was really up there, by doing that change you could get the same sound you got with your 3,4,5, grip on E9th pedals down and lowering your E'S, it was a 7th. This is what we played then. Here again, if I remember right. After a coulpe of years on that setup, Maurice came up with raising our 3rds a half tone, and bingo!!!! You had a Eb 9th. At the same time we tuned our first string the same as the 3rd. Now as you look at it, you have two notes tuned the same, but, when you raise the 3rd your first string now becomes a chromatic in your tunning. What happens is two strings get turned around, in the Eb9th mode my second string is your third string, and your second chromatic is my first, very simple right???? Well I think so! Now, my first 3 pedals do the same as your A,B,C pedals do onthe E9th , and when I lower the 3rds back I am now lowering my E's..my fourth pedal is hald of the PF pedal, the other is on an up, I have many of the 9Th tunning changes, I think Paul is right on when he said Jeff created the Universal tunning which he is known for, it makes it easy for a D-10 player to make the switch over, But, if you look at the Newman tunning, he just reverses the way Maurice did his, where in a 6th mode open, Jeff is a 9th open, the two tunnings have a lot of similar characteristic.. We {Bb} players have a few different changes that your standard C6 players don't always use...If you listen to Maurice play a C6th, you really would think he's plaing a Bb, his cord voicings are done with grips that most steel players don't even know, they're spread way out, but I believe that's what puts Maurice's sound his very own. It's really not so much the Bb6th tunning as it is in his approach to playing cord voicings. This is not a "Maurice Anderson for President Posting" it is "my" take on the Bb universal tunnihg and the man who created it....
I might also add Jr Knight plays a Bb6th as most of you know, and I will bet my last dollar you wouldn't know the difference between the Bb6th and the E9th with your back to him!!!
one more, Bud Carter, plays Bb6th, and plays some of the prettiest country you'll ever hear and cords to kill for....
As we say Bb is where it's at !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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John Alexander
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Posted 19 Dec 2012 2:38 am
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| Dave Zirbel wrote: |
| I haven't looked at these closely to see how they compare but here's a few Bb setups from a 1968 Tom Bradshaw newsletter. |
Dave, thanks for posting these. Those are truly ancient Bb6 "chopedent's" (apparently not a typo, if I'm remembering correctly that it was Tom Bradshaw who coined the term). It's interesting to me that there seem to be some common ideas running through them that do not originate from the standard C6 changes, some of which seem to have dropped out over the years. I am curious how those were used. Plus, like the first one I posted above, these all predate the addition of the knee lever raising the D's to get into Eb9, and the A and B pedals. |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 19 Dec 2012 4:00 am
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| wow, I forgot about that post....thanks... |
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Christopher Woitach
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 19 Dec 2012 9:01 am
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It's fascinating to me to see the evolution of this tuning! It's also interesting to see how you got in to it, David - I wonder about everyone else - stories?
I posted a question 3 years ago about Universal tuning. I immediately received several emails about it, one in particular from Jack Schults, who recommended, among oyher things, that I call his friend Maurice, who could explain everything to me. Reece did explain as much as my brain could handle, and then some... I was using E9/B6, which Reece plays great (you pedal steel players blow my mind, that way), when I got together enough bread for a new MSA Studio Pro. I called up Reece, and said, do you think it would be OK if I just went to a 6th tuning - I'm sick of holding the lever over to get a tuning I like! He agreed that I should do it, and why not use his current copedent?
I've been playing Bb6 two years out of my three total - still a beginner, but I do believe I've learned fairly quickly, largely because of how much easier the Bb6 is for me. Of course, most of it is Reece's help, but tuning still a big plus
_________________
Christopher Woitach
cw@affmusic.com
www.affmusic.com |
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John Alexander
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Posted 20 Dec 2012 8:55 am
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In 1977 I met Frank Carter, and when I said I was interested in taking up steel, he said "I've got an extra one out in my station wagon that I will sell you for $700." He didn't tell me until this year that it wasn't an extra, but rather he was serious about quitting at that time, and was offering to sell me his only steel, a ShoBud D10. We didn't make the deal - he wasn't sure he wanted to sell, and I didn't really want a D10.
From studying the Winston/Keith book I had already gotten the idea that the Bb6 tuning was "cool." The only drawback was that I would have to order it new from MSA and wait for it to be built and shipped to me, which took maybe a month or two. |
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Don Drummer
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2012 5:47 pm
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I play a D-10 and my observation is that Universal tunings either have home key/copedant that "Starts" at one or the other. That is to say the Jazz neck or the Country neck, for lack of a better description.
Is that a close assumption? |
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Christopher Woitach
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2012 8:42 pm
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| Quote: |
| I play a D-10 and my observation is that Universal tunings either have home key/copedant that "Starts" at one or the other. That is to say the Jazz neck or the Country neck, for lack of a better description. |
Yes - that seems to be the case, unless you consider bOb's diatonic tuning a kind of universal tuning. The most common universal tuning seems to be the E9/B6, but I'm surprised to find so many guys that play Bb6.
_________________
Christopher Woitach
cw@affmusic.com
www.affmusic.com |
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Jan Oelbrandt
From:
Herzele, Belgium
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 3:23 am
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I am planning on putting my U12 in Bb6 tuning.
It's a 7x4, and most of the copedents here use 8x5. So my question - any suggestions welcome - would I be missing a great deal? Could you, as a Bb6 player, live without the LKV and pedal 8? |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 4:29 am
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While I recognize mine is an example of wretched excess, I'd probably recommend John Alexander's current tuning. I think I'd recommend adding the LKV, but it's probably not crucial
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Alexander
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 9:24 am
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I could live without an 8th pedal, but would not want to give up the LKV. (Considering how many variations of the Bb6 tuning Maurice Anderson has used over the years I find it remarkable how consistently his copedents have kept the same 5-knee lever configuration since the early 70s, including the LKV.)
All depends on what you want to play, of course, but in my 1978 copedent shown above I've used the LKV by itself and in in all of the following combinations:
LKV, LKR,P3,
LKV,P1,RKL(+1/2)
LKV,P1,RKL(+1)
LKV, P4
LKV, P5
In other words, it's a fairly versatile change that crosses over between the "9th" and "6th" aspects of the tuning. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 10:53 am
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True, but considering as it's native to neither E9 nor C6, he only loses the use of vocabulary not in his current lexicon. He can buy a kit from Michael Yahl in a little while.
PS: how important is the drop on 10? My C6 drops the semianalogous 4th string to G#, but 8 goes to G. Mine's so loaded because I'm trying to give up nothing as I switch to Unified
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Alexander
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 12:08 pm
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That's right, Lane. I'm just not sure what motivates a person to go to Bb6 unless they are looking for something a little bit outside the E9/C6 cookie cutter. Maurice's knee setup has its own integrity that is neither E9 nor C6, and is oriented toward the "one big tuning" concept.
The drop on string 10 gives you the root of the Gb major 7 chord that you get in combination with lowering strings 4 and 8 a half step, which was the Bb6 way of getting the chord voicings found on traditional pedal 4 (which was not on the Bb6).
It also gives you the root of the Gb aug7 chord you get in combination with lowering the third and seventh strings a half step. Raise 4 and 8 a half step with RKL to make a nice 13th chord.
If you are raising strings 3 and 4 a half step on traditional P5 and 6, instead of lowering them, it changes those chords - opportunity cost as usual. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2013 3:06 pm
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As an interesting bit to add here, over the years at the TSGA I have seen Maurice play the Newman tuning and a D-10 and he still sounds like Maurice!
Four or five years ago ( I believe they did most of the STEEL AND BRASS album that day) I was talking to him after his set and he said "my 6th guitar is in Houston so I played this one today". It was a Newman Universal setup!
So, as David points out, it has a lot to do with knowing what to do! And Maurice certainly meets that criteria. 
_________________
Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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John Alexander
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Posted 30 Apr 2013 10:34 am
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| Bill Cunningham wrote: |
| So, as David points out, it has a lot to do with knowing what to do! And Maurice certainly meets that criteria. |
No kidding! I recall reading somewhere Mr. Anderson telling the same story, and as in the MSA tone experiments, he seemed to enjoy that expectations also play a role in what people perceive.
Have you looked at his E9 U-12 tuning as posted in b0b's website? http://b0b.com/tunings/MauriceAnderson.html#E9th
Comparing it to the Bb6 shown above it on the same web page, it is very close. In particular, "the Anderson pedal" and his characteristic left knee levers are there, in E9 form. Don't know if that's the same tuning he used at TSGA, but if he was using his own guitar he probably would've had some of his preferred changes on it.
That being said, I have little doubt that his own style and personality would come through clearly even on a Carter Starter. It never ceases to amaze me the level of mastery some people are able to develop over a lifetime of playing an instrument. |
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