Anybody here trying altered tunings?

[nightflameauto]

Guitarists sometimes get stuck in ruts. I'm currently going through one of those periods right now and wondering about messing around with tunings on my eight to shake it off.

It seems the vast majority of guitarists are stuck in mostly fourths tunings with the occasional drop and the third at the second string. The other usual alternative is to go for an open tuning. G seems to be the common one that comes up.

I find myself very curious about trying out an all thirds tuning. It would shrink range by a bit, but could create some very interesting opportunities for side-by-side work and make for some odd chord voicings.

I've also seriously considered grabbing a six or seven string fanned fret to try an all fifths tuning on. My brain is sort of all over the map on possibilities, I'm just not sure which avenue to pursue yet.

Thoughts, anecdotes, stories, ridicule?

 

[MapleLeaf97]

One time I got really bored and tuned my 7 to A-D-A-D-G-A-D

 

[kerska]

Right now I'm playing my 7 in G D G D G D E. It makes for some weird dissonant chords, but I like a lot of melodic dissonance so it works out.

 

[ElRay]

I find myself very curious about trying out an all thirds tuning. It would shrink range by a bit, but could create some very interesting opportunities for side-by-side work and make for some odd chord voicings.

I love all 3rds: Symmetric tuning (chord shapes, scales patters, all 100% movable), good, piano-like, dense chords, clear lay-out for sight-reading, single note runs in one position, etc.

There's a bunch of threads here: 3rds tuning - Sevenstring.org - Threads Tagged with 3rds tuning

Also look at Ole Kirby's site: M3 Guitar -- Play any style of music on an electric or acoustic guitar tuned in major thirds

and Ralph Patt's: The Major 3rd Tuning

That said, I've driffed away from it, because I'm in a big solo-fingerpicking phase, and as great as it is for "lead" playing, it's not that good for alternating bass, open string drones, etc.

I've also seriously considered grabbing a six or seven string fanned fret to try an all fifths tuning on.

This is another favorite. Symmetric tuning again, but a bit more spread-out. This one is better for drones and Lifesong chords, but some folks don't like the spread for melody playing.

Again, there's threads here: 5ths tuning - Sevenstring.org - Threads Tagged with 5ths tuning

Explorer used to tune this way, but he drifted away from it too. Not sure just why.


Currently I'm experimenting with "Low C" (CGDGAD) -- close to the best of both worlds. What I am thinking about doing down the road is to go with 5ths in the bass bass strings and 3rds in the trebles. That will need to wait until I get an 8-string. Right now I'm down to an acoustic that has to stay in E-Standard (my daughter's taking Classical lessons) and a Revenger-7 that's about to go through a string-ectomy to become a Fingerstyle/Classical spaced 6-string.

If I were to push the "Low C" to a 7-string, I'd likely go: CGDGADG that would span the whole range of both a cello and a violin, let you use anything written for Fripp's C-Pentatonic/NST/Crafty tuning. You wouldn't have the open high-E that a violin would, so if you thought you'd want a denser top-end, you could go CGDGADE.

Ray

Ray

 

[nightflameauto]

Thanks ElRay. Very informative and gives me more to think about.

 

[vansinn]

I can vouch on the major 3rd tuning, very interesting, and lends itself well to scales inspired by Arab and Indian music.
The all-fourth tuning is also a very neat symmetrical tuning on 8-stringers.

My Riot 8 is currently tuned with the three lower-most in fourth (starting from B), the rest in major 3rd
While this may sound weird, it actually quite interesting for alternating between low chugga and higher tightly packed shreds..

 

[Sponge]

I tune the 7s to GDGDGBE, GCGCGCE, AND AEAEDGBE.

8s: DGDGDGBE, EAEADGBE

The open tunings open up nice shapes for having major and minor chords on the lower strings without getting too muddy.
Instead of having a root, 3rd, 5th in the same octave, you get more spacing with the root and 5th on one octave, and the 3rd on the higher octave. It is easy to double up on the notes that you want to stick out more as well. If you also have other instruments in the band and want to leave more space for them, you can always triple up on the same note and have a very powerful sound, or even a bold and beautiful sound with clean tone. If you do this with clean tone, you can always use the other open strings for harmony as well.

Arpeggio shapes are very straight forward, and you can also play around with 4 note per string patterns for different techniques and idea shaping.

 

[nightflameauto]

I started looking at the Chapman sticks again (dream instrument for me, though lord knows if I'd ever be able to learn how to play it) and the way they tune fourths up top and fifths on the "bass" strings got me wondering about doing a split tuning. Not exactly like theirs, but using fifths for the top four strings to get a full guitar range in less strings, then inverted fifths on the bottom four strings to cover bass territory. I'd have to replace a nut and ultimate may need a longer scale instrument to pull it off, but it could make for some interesting patterns.

Too much time to think during the day when I'm not near my instruments.

I suppose I could just start saving and have enough to buy a Chapman in about, oh, twenty years or so. OK, probably more like five years. Hmm.

 

[leftyguitarjoe]

Tune your 8 to EBEBEF#BE

 

[ixlramp]

A somewhat crazy suggestion: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/music-theory-lessons-techniques/161530-retune-play-quartertone-scales-microtonal-beginners-guide.html
More realistically i love fifths, very refreshing, chords are beautiful. The Fripp/Crafty tuning for 7+ strings is mostly fifths plus a minor third and a tone on top, such as FCGDAE G A but you will probably want to detune this a bit to avoid that high A. Fifths low down are great for clear chords, and the close-tuned strings on top create interesting new chord possibilites.

 

[ElRay]

... The Fripp/Crafty tuning for 7+ strings is mostly fifths plus a minor third and a tone on top ...

I like the idea of adding a 2nd on the top. Most folks just talk about adding one or more fifths on the low end: _FCGDAEG That would relive some of the complaints about 5ths-based being too spread-out for melody work.

Ray

 

[Eric Christian]

Is it possible to tune an 8 string to either of these tunings starting with the low string? (DGCFAD_ _), (CGCFAD_ _) I know there is no way you could tune down to C or D below the standard 8 string F# so it would have to an octave above. Probably too much tension.

 

[ixlramp]

Is it possible to tune an 8 string to either of these tunings starting with the low string? (DGCFAD_ _), (CGCFAD_ _)

DGCFADEG tone / m3 intervals on top
DGCFADFG m3 / tone intervals on top
That top G is possible on 25.5" with normal strings like a .008.

 

[Bboren]

Tune your 8 to EBEBEF#BE

This was always my favorite when I had my 8 string.

 

[drmosh]

my baritone 6 is agdgbe and my 8 is eaeadgbe.
make for some interesting chords

 

[Nautilus]

I've gone down the route of something closter to symmetric tuning myself. Personally, I've never been that satisfied with fifths. Indeed, my 7 is currently using:

3rd-7th-5th-5th-5th-5th as relative intervals between the strings. It's liberating.

 

[nightflameauto]

A somewhat crazy suggestion: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/music-theory-lessons-techniques/161530-retune-play-quartertone-scales-microtonal-beginners-guide.html

I really like this idea, but I'm not sure I could retrain my ears to make use of the microtones. Hmm.

DGCFADEG tone / m3 intervals on top
DGCFADFG m3 / tone intervals on top
That top G is possible on 25.5" with normal strings like a .008.

One of my favorite tunings on my 25.5 8 string thus far has been C standard on the center six with a high G at .007 on top, so I know I'm capable of doing a high G.

I think I'll be ordering out some single strings to try various tunings this week and kick some things around.

 

[Solodini]

Try FACFCGCF. Keeps a good range and creates nice little pockets of close notes for mobile bass lines, some 5ths and a bit either way on a couple of strings for harmony while maintaining pretty normal spacing for melodies up high. The CFC/CGC inversions, coupled with the high CF also make it good for revoicing ideas and shifting them up an octave, respectively, for interesting solo arrangements.

 

[ixlramp]

Chords and intervals become less clear and more dissonant the lower they are played, so in a way it seems a good idea to have the intervals between open strings large low down and small up top. The harmonic series is like this, a harmonic tuning of harmonics 2 to 9 would be something like CGCEGBbCD low to high, intervals 5th-4th-M3-m3-m3-2nd-2nd.
Harmonics 1 to 8 would be something like CCGCEGBbC low to high, intervals octave-5th-4th-M3-m3-m3-2nd.
CG CG CEGBb is harmonics 23 23 4567, intervals 5th 4th 5th 4th M3 m3 m3.

 

[ixlramp]

I really like this idea, but I'm not sure I could retrain my ears to make use of the microtones. Hmm.

That quartertone neutral thirds tuning is perhaps better suited to a 'spare' guitar, not your main one. However if you end up tuning in major thirds it's only a slight retuning from that. It's even closer to alternating major thirds / minor thirds.

More ideas ... if you want to expand your range CGCGCGCG, or perhaps all tritones C#GC#GC#GC#G.

All tunings quoted low to high.