Show Me Your 9 String Tunings (2017 Edition)

[Halowords]

That set linked above is really on point BUT it's totally balanced, meaning the trebles are as tight as the wounds nearly. Wouldn't recommend it personally, especially as it's a tight wound set to begin with. The wound portion would be fantastic though!

Good point. FWIW, on my LP-scale and normal tunings, I tend to use 11's for the 1st string tuned to high-E, and like thicker strings. So I'm used to thicker strings and like that tonally. You can keep that in mind as your preferences may differ from mine, and I asked for something kind of specific and pretty much got it.

 

[Halowords]

So I'll probably go to .118" for the C#1, and maybe .158" for the G#0.

[snip]

The overriding factor is that there is a limit to how low we can tune an instrument. I've got this Quake bass being built, which will be tuned to C#0, which is ridiculously low. It will be interesting to see how it sounds.

Yeah. The B0 at 30" does not sound bad, it just sticks out a bit to my ear. Maybe with the proper setup a/o thicker string or whatever it would be great. However, I'm thinking of just tuning the thing a bit higher overall and tune up to a major third on the 4th string instead of the 3rd and try it that way to change things around a bit.

Anyway, I'd love to hear if going thicker on the bass-side of things makes it sound better or just more like a compromised bass.

As for the Quake bass...should sound (or probably even more than that, feel) awesome! It is one of those things I think I would love, however find myself interested more in also going higher than going that low, just with how I end up playing these days, so I've not quite given up on A4 or the like at this point.

 

[PBC]

Thank you guys for your feedback!

@Winspear @Halowords :
What string gauges would you recommend for BEADGCFAD on my 28" RG9?
Plus: Is there a six string set for D tuning you could recommend?

Thanks in advance.

You didn't ask me but I feel that for your tuning a 9-46 set (ernie ball hybrid) for the D standard portion with a 64 for A, and 82/84 for E and a 110 for B would be a good benchmark. That's about even on the bottom end but lighter on top to compensate for the 28" scale length. I must mention that I couldn't fit my ernie ball .105 completely through the string ferrule on my RG9, which I think coincides with some other people's experience. You could always drill it.

 

[TWF]

Thanks for your advice, @PBC, and the note on potential problems with the string ferrule. That's something I have not thought about...

The Kalium strings have not yet arrived. But I have an "Ernie Ball 9-String Slinky" set here with a .105. Do you use that for your B? How's your experience with that?

I may also be trying BEBEADgbe tuning first as I am so used to standard tuning.

The ideal solution for future guitar building might be a 9-string with two extra frets for the lowest two (or three) strings. Such as the Rick Toone Blur has it. So the open strings could be B and E, the rest could be standard, and the intervals would still be standard. I know I could use a capo for the first seven.

 

[Daken1134]

ill bite!
[youtubevid]
Tuning is C-G-C-E-G-C-G-C-E

 

[TWF]

ill bite!
Tuning is C-G-C-E-G-C-G-C-E

Sounds great!

 

[Ram150023]

I am anxiously awaiting my Agile 928 to arrive hence my stop on the thread... @Hollowway... Thanks for always keeping me in "GAS mode" for more strings with your adventures over the years hahahaha

@dean... That was an awesome display mate!! I will have to try the tuning your using!!

One of my main concerns is/ was the string gauges... I order from and have been using for quite a while now... Stringjoy's brand.

Drilling the tuning peg is a fore-gone conclusion as ive done this to each 8 I have ever owned to accomodate a .090 / .095 tuned to E /A/G#... So i know ill be doing it to the new 9 as well...

For the new 9 however... Really curious with a 28.625 scale... What would be the general concensus to avoid a floppy, s#itty sounding 9th string for gauge?

 

[GunpointMetal]

What are you tuning to?

 

[EverDream]

Okay so I play an 8-string guitar, but I'm using a 9-string tuning with no high string basically. All you 9-stringers just imagine your high string broke and you only had the 8 lower ones... those are the same as my 8, lol.

So right now I have it in Drop-B: BF#BEADGB with a .012 - .110
It's going to be in Drop-A after I put the new strings on I just got and then it'll be: AEADGCFA with .0125 - .118, assuming the .118 fits through the string holes in the body.
If that doesn't fit then it's going to be in either Drop-A, or B: BEADGCFA with .0125 - .114. If .114 doesn't fit then it'll be in B with .0125 - .110.

(So I ordered 10 strings total: 7 gauges for each of the first 7 strings (.0125 - .082), and 3 gauges for the lowest string (.110, .114, and .118) so that I could find out the biggest string gauge that will fit through my guitar's body, the .110 I know will fit so that one I bought as a fail-proof last option if the .118 and .114 both don't fit.)

@Ram150023 I have a .110 tuned to B0 on my 28.625 scale Agile right now, and it feels great to me and not "floppy, s#itty sounding" lol!

More about that:

My guitar is an Agile 828 so it's also 28.625 scale and the .110 I have on it sounds fairly decent (it feels great though, doesn't feel floppy at all to me), although it is a bass guitar string (D'Addario) that I took off an old bass I'm not longer using (after buying a newer, better one), but since my other 7 strings (LaBella) are still the guitar strings that came with the guitar (the high string broke and I moved the last 7 strings over one string to make room for the .110 to be the 8th) and that was nearly 2 years ago, and since the bass string didn't have nearly as much playing time on it, there ended up being no weird tonal difference between it and the other 7 guitar strings, haha. It worked out perfectly as an experiment to see if the guitar would fit a .110 through the body and it did!

So I bought a set of Kalium all 8 are guitar strings this time, this time I got a set for B with .0125 - .110, but I also bought a .118 and .114 as well to see what will fit through. I'm gonna first try the .118 and if it fits then I'm tuning it to Drop A, and if it doesn't then I'll try the .114 and if that works then I'll do either B or Drop-A, and if that doesn't fit either then I'll just do the .110 like I have on now and tune it to B (but this time it will be brand new and an actual guitar string, and a different brand as well (Kalium instead of D'Addario) so it would still be different even though it's the same gauge string).

That being said I think the .118 is probably going to fit, seeing as how I noticed when I put the .110 through the body, there was still room to spare. There wasn't like a TON of space, but it wasn't like it "just barely" fit through either. I'm guessing that the body hole is probably about .125, since that's the diameter of a Hipshot bridge saddle hole (at least the ones I've read about anyway). However your 9-string might have bigger through-body holes for the lowest strings than my 8-string (Yours may or may not, but one thing I feel is that... any 9-string guitar SHOULD be built with a bigger string hole (I'd say 1.5 times bigger, so assuming .125 is normal, then .1875) for the lowest string at the very least if it was designed intelligently, and ideally the 2 lowest ones (or 3 lowest if it was a 10-string) should be bigger and also have bigger bridge saddle holes and tuner holes (or just bass tuners even) IMO and an 8-string guitar should have the lowest string setup like that as well), but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't, in which case my findings would probably (I only say "probably" because mine is an Intrepid Pro 828 that I bought 22 months (almost 2 years) ago, and yours you just ordered and it's a 928 and not an 828, and plus you might not be getting the Intrepid Pro model, etc.) apply to your guitar as well.

 

[TWF]

Just as a little update after all your help:
My tuning is now
BEBEADGBE.
And I feel very comfortable with that. I think this will be my standard tuning for my 9-string.

String gauges are:
110, 90, 64, 46, 34, 24, 16, 11, 9
110 and 90 are bass strings. The tension from E to E is great. B0 could have a little more, but .110 is the thickest that works with the RG9's mechanics.

 

[GunpointMetal]

If 110 feels right in B at 28.6 you'll probably be alright with 118 in A. I'm running a 118 for my low A, but its a 30" scale. I actually preferred the 124 in feel, but it was too big of a jump from the 8th string size-wise and was screwing up my picking having to adjust over that huge string, lol.

 

[CollinG96]

Two steps down because I'm a bastard. (from lowest to highest): A, D, G, C, F, A#, D#, G, C.

 

[TWF]

Here are a some tunings, based on the idea that the 9-string guitar merges electric guitar and electric bass in on instrument:

• BEBEADGBE (standard 7-string + 2 lowest strings of a 5-string bass)
• BEAEADGBE (standard 6-string + 3 lowest strings of a 5-string bass)
• BEADADGBE (5 strings of standard guitar + 4 strings of 5-string bass)

Note that there is always a drop/perfect fifth irregularity separating bass and guitar part.

 

[Grindspine]

A long while ago, I remember seeing a Chapman Stick Bass for the first time. It was a Chapman stick version that had a bass low side and high treble side, more aimed toward guitar/bass players than the regular low string in the middle style Grand Stick.

That Stick Bass was eight strings with the four lowest being like a four string bass (EADG) and the six highest being like a one step detuned guitar (DGCFAD). To this day, that tuning still makes the most sense to me as a guitarist who sometimes picks up basses. EADGCFAD feels very natural for chording and lower single note lines.

To that note, seven strings at ADGCFAD still feel very natural to me as well.

 

[summit101]

main is DbAbDbGbBEAbDbGb (Drop Db for 8 string w. an added High GB) or DbGbDbGbBEAbDbGb or Gb0GbDbGbBEAbDbGb. alternate tuning Bb0FBbEbAbDbGbBbEb or DbEAEADGBE or AEAEADBGE or standard lol

 

[Poo]

...I've got this Quake bass being built, which will be tuned to C#0, which is ridiculously low. It will be interesting to see how it sounds.

My Squire JBass (34") is tuned B00 - B0 - E1 - A1 and it sounds pretty good so I can only imagine that the Quake will sound excellent with the longer scale.
A demonstration: https://soundcloud.com/hermann-snorri/b00

 

[TheOnlyKtulu]

Guys!
I'm in the process of designing, together with a veteran luthier here in Romania, a 9-string acoustic ERG guitar for me.
And I'm not talking the likes of this one (already existing). I'm sure we can all agree on the flaws it has.
Instead, although he first disagreed with my take on this, it's gonna be a 30" scale, NON-fanned (cause let's be honest, barrés are a bitch on that fretboard type, at least for me), and with body bout-roundings styles taken from harp-guitars.
It's all meant to be aimed at getting the best sound possible, especially from the lows.
Adjustable bridge, and I'll also try to convince him to design a compensated bone nut.
He also came up with the idea of mounting a Fishman.

I then came up with the idea of putting it up on Reverb when it's done. Cause if such a guitar would sell, then he'd be doing another one.
Now... I'm not asking how much you'd throw in, for something like this to be yours... But I am however curious if you'd be interested in such a project.
So, I'd like to know. Just to make myself an idea. Thanks!

FYI, I'm already years now into Reverb with my personal gear, but recently also with some of his (he's 60 and not willing to make an account for himself, lol).
I can tell you, his stuff is a beast, at least the looks and the wood.
If you wanna know more, just pm me.

 

[TheOnlyKtulu]

I'm actually beginning to root for that
F#(1)B(1)EADF#BE
that Hollowway wrote about.
Adding the B(0) on a 9-er, it's kind of neutral and covers the most barrés. Well... The most among other options.