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Topic: Favorite tunings on double neck steel |
Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 4:39 am |
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Since a few days I am the lucky owner of a doubleneck steel guitar (thanks to forum member David Soreff) 
I normally play in A6 and C6 so I tuned the outer neck to A6 and the inner one to C6.
My question now: Since both tunings can be realized by only retuning three strings and by using the same string gauges, does it make sense to reserve one of the necks for a totally different tuning (maybe Open D ....)?
What are your favorite tunings?
BTW: The guitar sounds and plays fantastic!
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 8:26 am
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To my mind, it doesn't make sense to have two very similar tunings on the same neck (everything you can play on one neck, you can play on the other neck by just moving 3 frets up or down). If I am committing to the extra expense and carrying weight of a double neck, I want some different sounds for my trouble 
What sort of stuff are you playing? I play a lot of old country and swing stuff. I really like A6 as my main tuning and use Leon McAuliffe's E13 on my second neck (High to low E C# B G# F# D G# E. Lots of nice fat chords and a completely different feel from the 6th neck when soloing.
You could just use the 2nd neck to try out a bunch of different tunings until you find one you like. |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 8:30 am
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Oops - just noticed you have a double 6 there - that 13th doesn't really work cut down to 6 strings.
I'd still not go for A6 and C6 though - maybe a 7th tuning would sound good.
There is actually one circumstance in which I'd use 2 very similar tunings. On a country gig if you wanted to do a few fake pedal steel licks (on A6, tune the 2nd string down a tone to Band bend it back up to pitch behind the bar with your finger - the classic b-bender lick on guitar). It sounds pretty cool but it would be useful to be able to jump between them A6 at will - maybe to do a quick bender solo before jumping back to the main neck for chords and fills so maybe .
Last edited by Jeff Mead on 23 Jul 2015 8:40 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Keith Glendinning
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 8:35 am
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Hi Peter,
I just replied to a similar post from Trent Harris and suggested B11 for the second neck
It's also referred to as Dropped "A" because for 6 string Lap Steel it's the standard A6 tuning with the 5th string dropped from E to D sharp. For 8 string tuning, check the John Ely site.
Regards, Keith |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 8:36 am D6 tunings
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I don't have a double 6, but I have two 6-string lap steels. Here's how I tune them:
E/A: A C# E G# B E
C6th: C E G A C E
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-๐๐๐- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 1:17 pm
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Thanks so far for your replies
@ Jeff: Since I'm not familiar with the E 13th tuning: Why does it make no sense with six strings?
@ Keith: I was thinking about B11th for the outer neck, too. Sounds very "hawaiian"
@ b0b: That E/A tuning of yours sounds very interesting. For what kind of music are you using it? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 1:26 pm
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| Peter Funk wrote: |
@ b0b: That E/A tuning of yours sounds very interesting. For what kind of music are you using it? |
Folk, country and blues. It's the same tuning that I used on my Stella album, only a step higher. Stella is tuned G B D F# A D.
_________________
-๐๐๐- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 1:55 pm
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| Peter Funk wrote: |
@ Jeff: Since I'm not familiar with the E 13th tuning: Why does it make no sense with six strings?
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Peter,
I can't really explain using music theory but the thing about that E13 tuning is that it covers quite a large range (actually the same range as a regular guitar - the top and bottom strings are the same as a "spanish guitar") so you can get some lovely big fat chords. You can get riffs that are almost like a horn section.
When I use it, I like the contrast between the way the top strings sound versus the bottom ones in the sense that the top strings have a sort of a 6th sound but the lower strings have more of a 7th or 9th sound to it so I often start a solo on the top few strings and then, as I move up to the next chord, feature the lower strings a bit more.
I wonder if it would work using a tuning based on the lower strings of that tuning and do some neck jumping to achieve the same result?
By the way, that looks like a lovely guitar (short scale too, which I prefer) and I think I'd be sorely tempted if a double 6 like that came up for sale in my neck of the woods. |
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Jouni Karvonen
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2015 9:23 pm
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Of course, a 13 is a 6, but that given E13th tuning is most notable for it's odd little sequence in the middle:
1
6
5
3
2
b7
3
1
There's no root in the middle, and knocking off the top and bottom strings to 6-ize it gives you an E6/9 sort of thing - without an E! If I were gonna go with that, I would try to choose strings so that EITHER the b7 or the 2nd could be retuned to a root as needed. And any theory groupie can tell you:
- you can rename any chord using any note within the chord as the root.
C6th is a given - motherlode - but I think the other really ought to depend on what you need it for. It's awfully hard to beat good old open E if you have some howling to do:
1
5
3
1
5
1
Which is easily retrained to open A to get in touch with your inner Johnny Winter. Or drop 'em to D and G as starters. If you buy a piece of properly-sized delrin or aluminum rod - string height plus you file a little flat spot in the bottom; then saw off pieces eight-strings-wide. You just cram them under the strings at a "fret", actually back a bit as the height sharps the notes a bit. But it's much less obtrusive than a "real" capo for pulloffs and such. You always knock them out of tune; do I even need to say "it's only rock -n- roll?"
bob's string gauge guide is godlike -
http://www.b0b.com/infoedu/gauges.htm
They trend a bit heavy, but used proportionately everything is absolutely perfect. |
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Steffen Gunter
From:
Munich, Germany
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Posted 26 Jul 2015 1:36 pm
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| Peter, in you very special case with a six-stringer and as a master on Open D I'd add Open D (perhaps sometimes changes to Dm) to a C6 or A6 neck. So you'll get along with just one guitar for your gigs. I'd love to to hear some of your Blues skills with Chicago sound now! |
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C. E. Jackson
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Posted 26 Jul 2015 2:22 pm
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Peter, you might consider changing the outer neck to A Major tuning:
E C# A E C# A (H-L)
Lets you play major chords, single string melody, and harmonics, easily, when with a group and another player is featured. Can easily be changed back to A6. I personally like to use A for that purpose at times.
C. E.
_________________
My Vintage Steel Guitars
My YouTube Steel Guitar Playlists
My YouTube Steel Guitar Songs
A6 tuning for steels |
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Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Posted 27 Jul 2015 1:33 pm
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Since I "only" have 6 strings on every neck, I think, C6 and A6 might might make sense. In A6 I can at least use some of the Dobro licks I know (the 5th is on the top string). In the future I might change to B11th ...
For the other styles that we cover with our band (Bluegrass, Blues etc.) I still have a Dobro and a Tricone |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 27 Jul 2015 2:27 pm
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Peter,
C6th and A6th sound very similar. In fact, half of the strings are tuned to the same notes. You can quickly and easily retune a C6th neck to A6th. That's why I recommend a totally different tuning for the other neck.
_________________
-๐๐๐- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Jamie Mitchell
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 27 Jul 2015 3:28 pm Re: D6 tunings
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| b0b wrote: |
I don't have a double 6, but I have two 6-string lap steels. Here's how I tune them:
E/A: A C# E G# B E
C6th: C E G A C E |
bob! we're using identical tunings on our steels...
sometimes i use a D on top for C6.
i wish a had a double-neck, so i could feel a little more comfortable easing into gigging on C6.
that E/A tuning is a really cool one, and, you can easily bump the low strings up to B & D for bluesy stuff. |
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Frank Welsh
From:
Upstate New York, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2015 7:02 am
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Peter, after years playing I have settled on C13th and B11th for my D8 which I play almost exclusively now. For me C13th was a given, but why B11th for the second neck?
The B11th seemed to be a great complimentary tuning for C13th. B11th not only does Hawaiian tunes like "Sand", "Mapuana" and "Hana" very well but enables chord-rich interpretations of other tunes which are a part of my non-Hawaiian repertoire:
How Deep Is The Ocean?
I Love You So Much It Hurts
I'm a Fool to Care
Innamorata
Just One More Chance
Moonlight In Vermont
Once In A While
Out of Nowhere
Picnic/Moonglow
Prisoner of Love
Summertime
Unforgettable
Girl From Ipanima
Old Cape Cod
East Of The Sun
With both necks activated I sometimes play a melody on the C13th neck and then play a bit of improvisation on the B11th. Sometimes I do the reverse.
It works for me and I hope you will try B11th...it can sound really Hawaiian as has been pointed out here, but some might be surprised at how jazzy and "non-Hawaiian" it can sound for many tunes (yes, I love old standards).
My B11th from high to low is E C# A F# D# B F# B since the old "Hawaii Calls" radio show (Jules Ah See and Barney Isaacs) inspired me way back then. The use of this tuning on the show drove me nuts with mystery and envy since at the time as a beginner I thought the straight A major was the only steel guitar tuning (!!!). |
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Thiel Hatt
From:
Utah, USA
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Posted 30 Jul 2015 12:43 pm
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| What about a bit different direction and try Jerry Byrd's C Diotonic tuning ? Low to high E F G A B C . Jerry used a 7 string tuning for this one and added an E on top . |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 30 Jul 2015 10:30 pm
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I would also recommend B11. But something else you might try is C#m9. I remember seeing it and playing some tabs from the Jerry Byrd instruction book. But I can't remember exactly how it goes. Maybe from top to bottom E-C#-G#-F#-D-B. But Ray Monte can certainly tell you. He is the chairman of the board at the Jerry Byrd fan club.
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Amor vincit omnia |
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