Seven String Tunings

[Prometheus]

Down 1/2 step, seems to me to be the heaviest tuning, and I have no idea why I've tuned lower, but nothing sounds as brutal to me as Bb standard. Although, I've also recently taken a page out TDW's tuning, and dropped the Eb down to C#, and then the Bb down 2 full steps to F#. Interesting tuning, you come up with riffs and sounds like you never would've otherwise. Not heavier as such, but different.

Damn, I love my 7!

 

[Alpo]

I recently started tuning down a whole step. I really like the sound of it.

 

[The Dark Wolf]

Bob!!



I think our little boober has altered his drop F tuning of doom. I think its GDADGBE now. He took it up a step.

Not to sound too picky but shouldn't being tuned to all fourths, BEADGCF be on there as well?

Yep, this is absolutely true.

I use two tunings anymore - the aforementioned, and I also use drop A (the rest standard).

 

[OzzyC]

My RG will always be in B standard
My Strat is in Drop A right now, I want to try out some others (Open C, TDW, New Std./DR...) when I get some heavier strings.

 

[DDDorian]

Down 1/2 step, seems to me to be the heaviest tuning, and I have no idea why I've tuned lower, but nothing sounds as brutal to me as Bb standard. Although, I've also recently taken a page out TDW's tuning, and dropped the Eb down to C#, and then the Bb down 2 full steps to F#. Interesting tuning, you come up with riffs and sounds like you never would've otherwise. Not heavier as such, but different.

Damn, I love my 7!

^^I've messed about with that same tuning too recently after receiving the latest Deftones album as a gift and hearing Stephen Carpenter using it on a few tracks. If I had an eight-strng I'd use this tuning with a low B, for sure.

I'd prefer a thirds tuning to standard, just haven't decided on which particular permutation I'd use. For the last few months it's been Bb Db Ab Db Gb Bb Db for me, but I just tuned back to drop-A, so that's what I voted for.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Bb standard
Drop Ab
Drop C# w/ a low G# on the bottom
C standard with a high F on top
DADGAD with a low A on the bottom

 

[TomAwesome]

My main tuning is Ab Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb. I love Eb standard, and for some reason, I just like having a low Ab more than a Bb.

My 30" scale Bich is kind of an extension of that tuning with Eb Ab Eb Ab Db Gb. It just adds a low Eb (and removes the top strings, of course). Between the two guitars, I have a virtual 8-string... kind of.

I've got a few guitars in C standard that I use in my band. The main one is a 7 with an extra high F. Yes, I do use it... sometimes.

Squier Strat VII in B E A D G B E. Strung up with a set of DR 9's, the tension is just perfect.

Acoustic in Eb standard.

I won't go into tuning variations, as I have probably 4 or 5 alternate tunings based on my "Drop Ab" tuning alone.

 

[zimbloth]

ADGCFAD for life. Perfect voicing for me. On 6-strings I like standard D, C or B.

 

[Naren]

Both of my guitars are tuned to standard, but I sometimes mess with the tunings on my hardtail (AEADGBE, ADADGBE, GDADGBE, GDGCFAD, ADGCFAD etc.). So, even though all my sevens are in standard, my six is in one step down.

 

[Toshiro]

I just tuned up to B Standard from Bb, and I have to say I like the tone and tension a lot more.

 

[bostjan]

Bb standard
Drop Ab
Drop C# w/ a low G# on the bottom
C standard with a high F on top
DADGAD with a low A on the bottom

I've messed with A + DADGAD and C# standard + F#. Have you tried G + DADGAD?

I used to have this open C thing for six string: CGCGCE. I've tried this with a low G as well on my acoustic. Pretty radical for fingerpicking stuff.

Fourths tunings are interesting. It makes it easier to play a lot of altered scales and ethnic scales. I find it more challenging to play standard diatonic/harmonic scales, though.

 

[Matt08642]

GCGCGCE, so... fifths I guess.

 

[distressed_romeo]

I've messed with A + DADGAD and C# standard + F#. Have you tried G + DADGAD?

I used to have this open C thing for six string: CGCGCE. I've tried this with a low G as well on my acoustic. Pretty radical for fingerpicking stuff.

Fourths tunings are interesting. It makes it easier to play a lot of altered scales and ethnic scales. I find it more challenging to play standard diatonic/harmonic scales, though.

I haven't tried the G+DADGAD thing, although it sounds fun!

Open C's an awesome tuning. That's the main one I use on my fretless guitar.

 

[bostjan]

GCGCGCE, so... fifths I guess.

That's more like open C, fifths would be Bb F C G D A E or something, like a mandocello with seven strings. That would completely destroy, but finding strings to work for that would be a pain.

I have a six string baritone tuned to F C G D F A at 30". It's a cool tuning at first, but the fifths + the long scale get cumbersome after awhile. It'd be great for someone with huge hands, though. It kinda works for slide, but only to an extent.

If I had a sevenstring with that length, I'd probably tune it E A D G B E A or maybe a whole step up from that. I used to keep the 30" six string tuned like the high six of that.

 

[exafro]

I have my seven in B standard, but would like to get a baritone 7 and try out F# or E standard

 

[Durero]

Fourths tunings are interesting. It makes it easier to play a lot of altered scales and ethnic scales. I find it more challenging to play standard diatonic/harmonic scales, though.

The tuning really works well if you use strict 3 note-per-string scale fingerings. It gets rid of the mandatory shift between the G+B strings of 3nps played in standard tuning.

 

[The Hiryuu]

Down 1/2 step, down 1 step, down 1 and 1/2 steps, and "jazz" in all of those. Never really tried any of the others. Not really that adventurous tuning-wise anymore. Maybe when I pick up another 7-string.

 

[bostjan]

The tuning really works well if you use strict 3 note-per-string scale fingerings. It gets rid of the mandatory shift between the G+B strings of 3nps played in standard tuning.

I'm all about the shapes being convenient.

Yet the high B string seems so inconvenient. I only use it in 1/2 of the arpeggio shapes.

It does make for easier unison bends and better piano-like chord voicings, though. I can't give that up. That's why I've messed with the standard + high G. It gives you really good piano-like voicings for triads and chords. But it sucks for arpeggios and sweeps and whatnot.

 

[distressed_romeo]

One thing I've really wanted to try, but don't have a spare 7 to devote to it, is 'Crafty fifths'; the tuning Trey Gunn uses on the melody side of his Warr guitars.

CGDAEGA

Basically the Fripp-ian NS tuning, with an extra high string. You could come with some fascinating chord voicings, although I imagine playing leads on it would take some getting used to.
I tried a similar idea on a six, going CGDAEF#, a while ago, and it was really interesting (do a search, and you'll probably find some detailed threads on it and other fifths-based tunings elsewhere on the site), although the whole-step between the top two strings made the high F# difficult to incorporate into leads. Regular NST was slightly better from that point of view, and I ended up going back and forth between both tunings when I had a guitar set up for it (52, 42, 30, 18, 11, 10 gauge strings on an acoustic).

 

[ElRay]

I've been babbling about an All-Major-3rds tuning, and I think there's a couple of folks here that already use it. That's not an option in the survey.

Ray