Anybody here trying altered tunings?

[nightflameauto]

Tune to FFFFFFFF, and just one finger that bitch!

No thanks, I think there's several bands using that one already.

Minor thirds ... interesting choice. There's a mathematical trick to choosing gauges for this, using unit weight values from the D'Addario tension chart ... let me know if you're interested in knowing the method.

Thanks, but I've got a few options for tension calculators I'm using already to get close to what I'm looking for. I like inverted progressive tension (lower tone strings tighter) so I think I've got it all calculated out about right. Just have to figure out if I can pick them up locally or need to order.

I had enough spare strings laying around to try out five strings in minor thirds last night and plugged in to hear it under my usual amount of gain. WOW.

Discovery 1: Major chords at full gain. It's like a power chord with an extra thickener in the middle.

Discovery 2: Moonlight Sonata is now effortless. As is Home Sweet Home.(<- the piano player in my past is creeping back out.)

Discovery 3: Chord structure outside of standard major just flows really easily. There's a sense of symmetry there I haven't felt on guitar in a long time.

I'm probably honeymooning a bit with this right now, but I'm really liking the way this is working out. Can't wait to try the whole guitar in minor thirds. Should be a blast.

 

[ixlramp]

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.

I'm assuming this is high-to-low, correct?

I was confused by this ... but then realised it might be stated as descending fifths = ascending fourths. So, decoding ... intervals between open strings in semitones from low to high: 5 5 5 5 1 8 ? Such as BEADGAbE ?

 

[nightflameauto]

Circlekstrings.com has their guitar single strings up. They ended up being the only option for finding the gauges that actually fit my tension calculations for the minor thirds tuning I want to try out. Strings are ordered and should be coming in next week. Can't wait to try some things out.

 

[Sy01]

Another advocate of the EAEADGBE tuning here; though I go half a step down, but it's the same intervals. Occasionally I'll alter it so it's the same intervals as the Monuments/Fellsilent tuning; D#G#D#G#C#D#G#C#

 

[skeels]

I find that it is bad form to tune your guitar.


Okay okay -for serious now..
I use the New Andy Skeels Symmetrical Super Standard Tuning, which is AEEABEA.
Yes, two low Es.
Different gauges gives them a slight chorusing effect and means if you bust one, you've got a spare!

I've also just recently dabbled with regular tuning again with a low G.
It pleases me. Oh the old chords! How I missed you so!

But lately I'm thinking about BADBABE....

 

[ixlramp]

Circlekstrings.com has their guitar single strings up.

I just received confirmation from Skip of CKS that the guitar singles .017-022 are plains not wounds as stated on the site.
With these thirds tunings reducing range i like the idea of spreading the desired range over 2 guitars. I was going to do this with my two 6 string basses in neutral thirds but then i sold one to a friend.

 

[PasIvre]

I've currently got my 7 tuned E (same as E on a standard bass)-Bb-E-Bb-E-Bb-E (same as high E on a standard guitar), all tritones. Everything can be moved an octave by just moving two strings up or down, and sweeping is a dream.
Seventh chords, especially major sevenths and dominant sevenths, are a piece of cake, as are sus2 chords, which have all but replaced power chords in my musical vocabulary. I use crazy-ass thick strings for the bottom end: .090 and .068 on the two lowest.

 

[nightflameauto]

I just received confirmation from Skip of CKS that the guitar singles .017-022 are plains not wounds as stated on the site.

Hmm. Wonder if t hat's gonna have an affect on the two strings I have coming in that range? Guess I'll be seeing.

With these thirds tunings reducing range i like the idea of spreading the desired range over 2 guitars. I was going to do this with my two 6 string basses in neutral thirds but then i sold one to a friend.

Playing around more with my current setup before the full set of strings arrive, I'm really thinking this could be a lot of fun on a ten or more string instrument to cover a larger range.

At the moment I'm thinking I may do some recordings mixing a "standard" tuned (although at B or C on the low/high string) 6 string guitar on one side and this minor thirds tuned 8 on the other side, six string bass matched up in the middle. The interplay between standard chords and the more piano like chords could get really interesting.

So much potential fun here.

 

[siddha]

I'm practically obsessed with messing with tunings.

A few I've tried on my 8: (all low-to-high)

E A D A D G B E
E B E A B E A E
E B E A B E B E
F Bb F Bb Eb F Bb Eb
F Ab Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb
... and so on.

And my acoustic 6-string has been in DADGAD for a couple years now.

 

[Zeetwig]

Hi guys dropping a random question into this thread

I have heard quite a lot about different alternative tunings, but not really tried one. I have tried different standard tunings (normal E and C for instance), and I think I played something in drop D a few years ago, but that was before I had familiarized myself with the fretboard and I was just learning covers (I had no idea of theory or scales or anything like that Yes I was noob when I started playing, like everybody else )

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone of you could just make a short list over what kind of tunings that people use? Just the most common ones, like standard, drop, etc. I have read about all thirds and all fifths, but these seem to be a bit... complex. What would be a nice alternative tuning for someone like me that isn't familiar with alt tunings, but would like to try? 6s and 7s

 

[nightflameauto]

Zeetwig, asking people for a "short list" of alternative tunings for seven and eight stringers is kind of tough. As this thread shows, there's a LOT of possibilities. It's pretty much a situation where your imagination sets the theoretical limit.

My strings arrived. Ordered Saturday afternoon, received them yesterday. I was sorta surprised by that since we had no postal services Monday. Circlek even set them up in 8 string sets without me asking them to. Those guys are good. Now to get a night to set up the guitar properly.

 

[velvetkevorkian]

I've currently got my 7 tuned E (same as E on a standard bass)-Bb-E-Bb-E-Bb-E (same as high E on a standard guitar), all tritones. Everything can be moved an octave by just moving two strings up or down, and sweeping is a dream.
Seventh chords, especially major sevenths and dominant sevenths, are a piece of cake, as are sus2 chords, which have all but replaced power chords in my musical vocabulary. I use crazy-ass thick strings for the bottom end: .090 and .068 on the two lowest.

That sounds pretty cool. What scale length are you doing that on?

 

[Zeetwig]

Zeetwig, asking people for a "short list" of alternative tunings for seven and eight stringers is kind of tough. As this thread shows, there's a LOT of possibilities. It's pretty much a situation where your imagination sets the theoretical limit.

Yeah I assumed that was the case. Though I might have been a bit vague in my latest post. What I meant was just a short list over the most common tunings. Not key-specific tunings, but general alt tunings. Like standard, drop lowest string, etc. But as you said there's a lot of possibilities! Sorry for asking

 

[PasIvre]

That sounds pretty cool. What scale length are you doing that on?

I've got it on a 27" scale, but my tension is relatively high. Something like 25 pounds or so on all strings (bangzero string tension calculator and juststrings.com are pretty awesome). You can also move it up a semitone or two with thinner (but still production) strings pretty easily, so you could do it on a shorter-scale guitar, I suppose. I prefer the longer scale length because I have ridiculously large hands/fingers and it makes higher frets actually feasible. I'll eventually move up to something more like 30", I think.