Alternate tunings (1 Viewer)

[Unicron]

I never really considered myself proficient enough in the old EADGBe to start experimenting with other tunings but in the past year I've started listening to loads of Sonic Youth and become more and more interested in that sort of thing.

I was messing about yesterday with a picky thing that I'd written that was a little bit of a stretch for my fingers and decided to try and make things a little easier for myself and wound up retuning to DAEABe.

As I usually do I ended up messing about with my effects and with a bunch of them on the strings started resonating in a pretty pleaseant way in a sort of Rafael Toral kinda way on top of a loop of the thing I'd already written. That killed an hour or so. Loads of fun.

Anyone got any other odd tunings they like?

 

[Space]

I've got one of my basses in CFA#D# it's a lot of fun with loads of distortion/overdrive.

 

[the departed]

funnily enough i only starting playing standard tunings about 9 years after starting playing guitar.
the thing about open/alt tunings is that its really hard to find one that isnt really limiting. like i was playing a variation on an open G for ages but everything i was writing was in the same key.
its part of the reason why sonic youth have about 9 guitar changes when they play live. thats sorta why i stopped fucking around cos id write a riff in one tuning in another in a different tuning and that automatically means i needed 2 guitars for a live set...

 

[Unicron]

its part of the reason why sonic youth have about 9 guitar changes when they play live. thats sorta why i stopped fucking around cos id write a riff in one tuning in another in a different tuning and that automatically means i needed 2 guitars for a live set...

According to Our Band Could Be Your Life part of Sonic Youth's fixation with alterate tunings at the start was because their guitars were crappy and cheap they sounded crappy and cheap in standard tuning but that was masked somewhat by alternate tunings.

 

[Space]

I've got one of my basses in CFA#D# it's a lot of fun with loads of distortion/overdrive.

I forgot to add that's not exactly an alternative tuning but I'm sure ye know that already.

I'd hate to have to change between different tunings mid gig, shitty for people watching too.

 

[Unicron]

I forgot to add that's not exactly an alternative tuning but I'm sure ye know that already.

I'd hate to have to change between different tunings mid gig, shitty for people watching too.

Would it be any different from having to retune your guitar mid set?

 

[Space]

Would it be any different from having to retune your guitar mid set?

Yeah I reckon so especially if you used more than one or two tunings, it's only ever gonna be slightly out of tune rather than whole steps or more out.

I never have to retune my bass during a gig so that could be my issue with it.

 

[the departed]

Would it be any different from having to retune your guitar mid set?

oh totally. id never ever ever tune differently during a set for many reasons. the most obvious being if your guitar is say set up with 10s standard tuning, then you go and fuck with the tuning(something more than just dropping a semitone)and itll play havoc with your neck and your strings. so youll be in and out of tune all over the shop. and itll take a good few minutes for it to settle into the new tuning.
also personally speaking once i drop below a semitone ill need to go up a gauge in strings..

 

[steveamanakick]

oh totally. id never ever ever tune differently during a set for many reasons. the most obvious being if your guitar is say set up with 10s standard tuning, then you go and fuck with the tuning(something more than just dropping a semitone)and itll play havoc with your neck and your strings. so youll be in and out of tune all over the shop. and itll take a good few minutes for it to settle into the new tuning.
also personally speaking once i drop below a semitone ill need to go up a gauge in strings..

i use 5, sometimes 6, different tunings on the same guitar in a gamak set. It's mostly the low E and A strings though:
standard E
Drop D
D#ADGBE
CGDGBE
BADGBE (w capo on 2nd fret omitting low E string)

Never causes too much bother i think, as in, no ones ever given out to me about it. I use 10's, they're pretty versatile.

In saying that, there's nobody else in the band that i could be out of tune with, so that's handy too

 

[the departed]

i use 5, sometimes 6, different tunings on the same guitar in a gamak set. It's mostly the low E and A strings though:
standard E
Drop D
D#ADGBE
CGDGBE
BADGBE (w capo on 2nd fret omitting low E string)

Never causes too much bother i think, as in, no ones ever given out to me about it. I use 10's, they're pretty versatile.

In saying that, there's nobody else in the band that i could be out of tune with, so that's handy too

you use 10s? no way, i would thought with your, dare i say, killer tone youd be using 11s.
and yes tuning the 2 low strings wouldnt effect the neck/tuning because the rest would keep the tension.

you should use 11s!!

 

[avernus]

I use a bunch of different tunings. you can find some really stunning melodies using alternate tunings combined with standard chord and scale shapes. as for playing live, all you need is a couple of guitars and a mate off stage to tune them different according to the set. sounds simple enough.. but I haven't played a gig in years. whoa is me.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i cant play a guitar for five minutes without messing randomly at the tuning. if i hit on a riff that i might want to play again then i take note of how to get that tuning again. i agree about open tunings being a bit limiting, im tired of listening to people playing songs in open d tunings and thinking its good just because they can get a nice big round guitar sound with little effort

 

[Anthony]

the Mound have been known to go from Fsharp to lowA in the one gig.

 

[ann post]

I am currently working with the tuning CEGEGD.

them close voicing things can be good. the over 7thness of it is turning me against trying it. it will always want the 5th fret?? or no?

 

[Oggy Pip]

Legend has it that guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Albert King (or one of the Kings) taught themselves guitar by learning in whatever tuning it happened to be in. Mayfield I believe uses some wierd F# tuning.

Nick Drake found some lovely ones too.

 

[washingcattle]

them close voicing things can be good. the over 7thness of it is turning me against trying it. it will always want the 5th fret?? or no?

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. "voicing", "7thness" "fret" What the ?