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Topic: E9 to C6? |
Hans-Kristian Holthe
From:
Norway
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Posted 13 Mar 2021 10:38 am |
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Hi!
Bought a Carter starter a while back and have just start playing. Recently got really interested in the C6 tuning and want too try it out. I'm very new to pedal steel, so it's probably a dumb question. But I'm wondering if it's possible to tune the guitar to C6, or maybe E6 without much trouble?
Thanks! |
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David Ellison
From:
California, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2021 11:02 am
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If you tune it differently, the pedals won't be pulling the stings in a way that works. The pedals on an E9 pedal steel do things that are specific to that tuning, as are the pedals on a C6.
You can get a lot of C6 type sounds out of an E9 tuning without changing anything. Holding down pedals A&B give you a 6th chord across seven strings. The Eb lever lowers the fifths of the chord a half tone, giving you a 9th chord across the same strings two frets down. This is the same as on a C6 pedal steel.
If you're new to playing and want to experiment a little with C6 sounds, I'd recommend you start there. |
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Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2021 11:07 am
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Update: I see David just supplied the same info:
The way the Carter Starter is designed, you can't change the pedals or knee levers. However you could tune the open tuning to C6 and it would be a non-pedal guitar at that point.
Or, even easier, if you just lower your E strings with the knee lever, you are in B6 tuning. The root note is on string 10. You can skip string 9, and the rest of the strings will give you a B6 chord.
If you hold down the A and B pedals, you are in A6 tuning. The root note is on string 6, but you will hear that 6th tone if you include string 7.
What you are missing is some of the pedal and knee lever changes of a pedal steel set up for C6. But you can do a lot of playing without those pedals... like they did before the 1960's. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 13 Mar 2021 4:32 pm
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I am so glad you are curious about the C6 as it's a heap of fun. I was fortunate to start on a D10, not out of choice but because it was all I could find. It was so beat up the C6 part didn't work at all, but once I got it going I learnt both tunings in parallel and eventually switched to universal.
My advice would be to look out for a D10 and tune the rear neck to B6 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2021 5:19 pm
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Here is an example of getting C6-style sounds on E9.
This is an E6 chord (or partial chord) played in three positions. It could all be played over the band's E chord. You'll want to swing the rhythm here and jazz it up (sorry I don't know how to write rhythms with tab).
Key of E
"L" = lower E strings
| Tab: |
1 _________________|_____________________|_________________________|__________________|
2 _________________|_____________________|_________________________|__________________|
3 _________________|___________________11~12_______________________|__________________|
4__________________|___________________11~12__12__________12_______|_____7~~~5L_______|
5______________ 5~~7A___________________|____12A__12A____12A__12A_|_7A__7A~~5________|
6 ____________5_ 5~~7B___________________|_________12__________12__|_7B~~~~~~5________|
7 ____4~~5____5__5~~7____________________|_________________________|_7~~~~~~~5________|
8 ___4L~5L___5L___|_____________________|_________________________|__________________|
9 ________________|_____________________|_________________________|__________________|
10 ___4~~5________ |_____________________|_________________________|__________________|
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Here's what's happening in the tab in terms of fret locations and pedals/knees. There are three fret positions here:
1) The part in the 5th fret with the E's lowered is based on the B6 chord you get at the nut (with E's lowered). It's just slid up to fret 5 to put us in E.
You can always find this type of 6th-chord position 2 frets below the pedals-down version of the Major chord.
>> Example: E Major can be found at the 7th fret with AB pedals down. To convert that E to an E6, slide back 2 frets from that marker and lower your E strings with the knee lever. So, you'll be in fret 5 with E's lowered. String 7 is part of the grips in this position (see the tab).
2) The part in the 7th fret with AB pedals down is based on the A6 chord you get at the nut (with AB pedals down). It's slid up to fret 7 to put us in E.
You can find this type of 6th-chord position in the same fret as the regular pedals-down version of the Major chord... just include string 7 (or 1) to turn it from an E to an E6 chord.
3) The part in the 12th fret with A-pedal down, is just the open E fret... and the note on string 5 with the A-pedal down is providing the 6th tone of the chord, so it's yet another way to get a partial E6.
Since the positions listed in #1 and #2 are always just 2 frets apart, you can get a lot of cool sounds by sliding between them while the strings are still ringing, as was done at the beginning and end of the tab. Including string 7 in those slides is important to get the sound you're after. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2021 5:08 am E9 to C6
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I'm a firm believer if you play E9 and want to learn C6, you should go to B6 instead of C6.
All of your fret playing positions will be the the same on both necks and you can play open C on the first fret instead of no fret. I use a universal string set (12 strings) and don't use the top two strings. They are for the E9 side of the universal tuning. You can use them for spare E9 strings. |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 14 Mar 2021 1:49 pm Re: E9 to C6
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| George Kimery wrote: |
I'm a firm believer if you play E9 and want to learn C6, you should go to B6 instead of C6.
All of your fret playing positions will be the the same on both necks and you can play open C on the first fret instead of no fret. |
I started on a D10 with the rear neck tuned to B6 as I kind of knew I was headed towards a uni. But in any case it's good to get C away from the nut.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Gary Spaeth
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2021 10:47 am
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| if you can move your bell cranks to other strings it would be very doable without too much effort. from a picture it looks like they might be welded so not so easy. i've been thinking of doing this to my s10 so i've thought about how to do it a little. |
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