| What Do You Tune To? |
| Open major triad chord |
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20% |
[ 14 ] |
| Open minor triad chord |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| 6th chord (1,3,5,6) |
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46% |
[ 31 ] |
| 7th chord (1,3,5,7) |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| 13th chord (1,3,5,7,13) |
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19% |
[ 13 ] |
| 9th or Major 9th (1,3,5,7,9 - ie/G B D F# A D) |
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2% |
[ 2 ] |
| Extended chord with 6 or more notes (ie/B11 - B D# F# A C# E) |
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2% |
[ 2 ] |
| Diatonic, Leavitt, Alkire, or other non-chordal |
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7% |
[ 5 ] |
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| Total Votes : 67 |
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| Author |
Topic: Favorite Tuning TYPE |
Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 9 Oct 2021 8:00 am |
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There have been several threads and polls over the years asking the “what’s your favorite tuning question?â€. I’m not sure if there’s been a short, simple, poll that asks only for the TYPE of tuning. IE, major, minor, 6th, 7th, 13th, diatonic, other extended, or combination.
This is that poll. 
Last edited by Allan Revich on 9 Oct 2021 8:17 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 9 Oct 2021 8:17 am
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| I have an 8 string that is tuned to C6th with a high G for first string. Like I tuned a Pedal Steel. So I used the Peterson tuners "sweetened" Jeff Newman C6th. I don't think it falls into any category you have listed. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 9 Oct 2021 8:25 am
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| Jack Stoner wrote: |
| I have an 8 string that is tuned to C6th with a high G for first string. Like I tuned a Pedal Steel. So I used the Peterson tuners "sweetened" Jeff Newman C6th. I don't think it falls into any category you have listed. |
I’d place it as an extended tuning with 6 or more notes.
C6 + 9 & 11 I think?
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 9 Oct 2021 10:28 am
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My most used tuning is G6 (A6 down a tone) on my 8 string lap and 8 string reso. My old National Style 1 is usually in low bass G, and my OMI Dobro is in variations of a C tuning, CGCGCE, with the top E sometimes lowered to Eb, or the highest C lowered to Bb.
Those are my main steels, and there's a couple more that I can't remember what tuning I last left them in. For the poll I chose "6th".
_________________
David K |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 2:16 am
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Quote:
C2 F2 A2 C3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4 D4
C6 Tuning
https://www.petersontuners.com/myinstrument/pedalSteel
I use a high G for first string rather than the Buddy Emmons "chromatic" D string. I started out on lap, then changed to pedals and carried over the high G that was the "standard" in 1969 when I started with pedals. Most pedal C6th players have embraced the D, but there are still hold outs like myself. I lose too many licks without the G.
My 8 string is tuned (high to low) GECAGECA. The original Jeff Newman C6th tuning chart included the high G, but not the newer D. I have the original Peterson tuning program that includes the high G note. |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 3:58 am
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Tune? You havta tune this thing?
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 8:50 am
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Its 13th tunings for me (primarily C13) but I find the topic interesting. I think 13th tunings break down in a few subcategories as well. You have tunings (like C13 and potentially A13 on an 8 string) that have the b7 at the outer edge of the tuning, so it plays like a 6th tuning in general and the 7th/13th aspect can be pulled in only when needed. And then there are tunings that have the b7 smack in the middle of the tuning (and sometimes also the 9th) like various versions of E13. Those tunings are harder for me to get used to.
One other possible category would be what I generally call split tunings...from the bottom one chord, from the top, another. Most common example of this is the C6/A7 Jerry Byrd tuning. C6 from top down (at least through the fifth string) and A7 from the bottom up.
While I think B11 is accurately named...it is an eleventh chord, certainly...I tend to think of it -functionally- as A6 / B9. From top down it is A6 for four strings (where most of the melody happens) and from bottom up it is a B7 / B9 (where chordal accompaniment happens usually).
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 9:15 am
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| Misspelled Alkire |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 7:59 pm
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| Bill McCloskey wrote: |
| Misspelled Alkire |
Shoot!
Doesn’t seem to be a way to edit the poll, just the post. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 10 Oct 2021 8:03 pm
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
Its 13th tunings for me (primarily C13) but I find the topic interesting. I think 13th tunings break down in a few subcategories as well. You have tunings (like C13 and potentially A13 on an 8 string) that have the b7 at the outer edge of the tuning, so it plays like a 6th tuning in general and the 7th/13th aspect can be pulled in only when needed. And then there are tunings that have the b7 smack in the middle of the tuning (and sometimes also the 9th) like various versions of E13. Those tunings are harder for me to get used to.
One other possible category would be what I generally call split tunings...from the bottom one chord, from the top, another. Most common example of this is the C6/A7 Jerry Byrd tuning. C6 from top down (at least through the fifth string) and A7 from the bottom up.
While I think B11 is accurately named...it is an eleventh chord, certainly...I tend to think of it -functionally- as A6 / B9. From top down it is A6 for four strings (where most of the melody happens) and from bottom up it is a B7 / B9 (where chordal accompaniment happens usually). |
I thought about a “split tuning†category, but most of them duplicate 9s and 11s I think. I also left out “rootless†chord tunings. I felt that I might have too many options already 
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 11 Oct 2021 12:12 am
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| Quote: |
| Doesn’t seem to be a way to edit the poll, just the post. |
Not sure if you can edit the poll or not, but I can - it is now "Alkire". I think the poll would be improved by adding categories for "Compound Tuning" (or 'Split' if you prefer), "Multiple Types (explain), and "Other" (explain). But I won't mess with it unless you ask me to. I, and I suspect a lot of players, use multiple tuning types frequently, and obviously many use compound tunings.
BTW, Jack's hi-lo GECAGECA is a straight 8-string C6.
| Quote: |
| While I think B11 is accurately named...it is an eleventh chord, certainly...I tend to think of it -functionally- as A6 / B9. From top down it is A6 for four strings (where most of the melody happens) and from bottom up it is a B7 / B9 (where chordal accompaniment happens usually). |
I agree with that thinking. I actually find some of the traditional naming a bit off-putting to actually using some of the tunings functionally, especially the compound type. |
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Andy DePaule
From:
Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon
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Posted 11 Oct 2021 7:54 am Two I like best
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Two I like best is A6th and E9/6 for 8 string steels.
A6th is my most used, but like the E6/9 for duplicating E9th pedal steel licks.
Bottom up:
A6th: E A C# E F# A C# E
E6/9: F# C# G# E B G# F# E or D Depending on the song?
_________________
Inlaid Star Guitar 2006 by Mark Giles. SD-10 4+5 in E9th; http://luthiersupply.com/instrument-gallery.html
2017 Mullen SD-10, G2 5&5 Polished Aluminum covering. Custom Build for me. Great Steel.
Clinesmith Joaquin Murphy style Aluminum 8 String Lap Steel Short A6th.
Magnatone Jeweltone Series Lap Steel, Circa 1950? 6 String with F#minor7th Tuning.
1956 Dewey Kendrick D-8 4&3, Restoration Project.
1973 Sho~Bud Green SD-10 4&5 PSG, Restoration Project. |
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Miles Lang
From:
Venturaloha
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 8:32 am
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Even when I use extended chord tunings like C#m7 or B11, I’m always treating it like a 6 chord
_________________
Santo Fan Club - from the island of Coney to the sands of Rockaway
Jill Martini & The Shrunken Heads
All aloha, all the time |
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Liam Tyner
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 1:19 pm
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Whoah 13s are way down in the poll now. I highly recommend tuning that low A on C6 to Bb for a bit. Found that since I’ve made the switch my low strings get a lot more action.
_________________
WWJBD |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 5:39 pm
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| Quote: |
| Whoah 13s are way down in the poll now. I highly recommend tuning that low A on C6 to Bb for a bit. Found that since I’ve made the switch my low strings get a lot more action. |
I think about all this as, "What is the nominal tuning" on a neck. For example, if you have a 6th tuning with a couple of 6th intervals relative to the root - e.g. low-to-high 5-6-1-3-5-6-1-3 or 6-1-3-5-6-1-3-5 - then it's a trivial matter to tune one of the 6ths to a b7th with a single half-tone raise of the 6th. And the compound tunings like C6/A7 or A6/F#7 are, again, a single half-tone raise of the root. And back again, all in a few seconds. I imagine lots of people do it - I go back and forth frequently. For me, the issue is, "What tunings are reasonable, given the strings on the neck?". Generally, it's quite a few. If a slight re-tuning gives me what I need, I just do it, and pick my string gauges so that it's possible. Of course, some sets of intervals are incompatible with others, that's where the multi-neck guitar comes in handy. |
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Joe Cook
From:
Lake Osoyoos, WA
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Posted 13 Oct 2021 9:25 pm
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| Liam Tyner wrote: |
| Whoah 13s are way down in the poll now. I highly recommend tuning that low A on C6 to Bb for a bit. Found that since I’ve made the switch my low strings get a lot more action. |
Same here, Liam. My favourite tuning now. |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 14 Oct 2021 2:56 am
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I voted 13th tuning, however but I have the Leavitt tuning in there.
In fact every single option could have been checked because as I'm realising that Steel can be looked at like other instruments that are not strummable and more for chordal work but then it can also be strummable depending on what you need. The defining characteristic that is unimitable is the "FLOW" of the bar ie Slide from one note to another.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 11 Nov 2021 10:21 pm
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Hmmm…
I guess my latest tunings put me into the “other non-chordal†category, even though it actually consists of a simple major triad and a simple minor triad of the same key.
I’m calling it D/Dm (D over D minor) f D A D F# A D or f A D F# A D
I suppose it could be counted as an extended chord, D +b3?
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Tom Keller
From:
Greeneville, TN, USA
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Posted 12 Nov 2021 2:51 pm
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| E minor 7th, EGBDEGBD |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 12 Nov 2021 6:18 pm
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| Tom Keller wrote: |
| E minor 7th, EGBDEGBD |
I have a couple six-strings set up like that, omitting the top D bottom E, making it G6. Very useful. |
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