7 String C6 Tuning

[Tony Oresteen]

I am getting ready for a 7 String lap steel guitar and the first tuning I will use is C6. Do I add a high G or a low A to my 6 string tuning?




First number is the String, the letter is the Note, 2nd number is the ISO Octave.

Which do you find more useful?

Thanks!

[Cartwright Thompson]

Try tuning your seventh string to Bb

[Jack Hanson]

Try tuning your seventh string to Bb

That's how I set up my 1941 KEH-7:


Note: The 7th string (Bb) is pitched between the 3rd (A) and 2nd (C) strings.

[Tony Oresteen]

So that would make it a C6/7 ?

[Jack Hanson]

So that would make it a C6/7 ?

C13, I would reckon.

[Tony Oresteen]

Humm. Here's how I look at it. The C based chords are:

C: C E G

C6: C E G A

C7: C E G Bb

C9: C E G Bb D

C11: C E G Bb D F

C13: C E G Bb D F A

The core C6 tuning is: C E G A C E

We are missing the 9th note - D
We are missing the 11th note - F

Without the 9th & 11th there is no 13th chord (it is a 6th chord) so I do not see how you could call it a C13 tuning. With the Bb tuned below the root of C that is a very common inverted 7th chord voicing. EDIT: As suggested the Bb would be tuned higher that the root making it a normal C7 chord.

So I come back to C6/7 name for it.


Thoughts?

[Robert Murphy]

I tune my 7th string to D and it gives me a nice melody note plus add the G for an implied 5 chord added to the C+A for an implied 4 chord.

[Mike Neer]

Tony, C13 with a Bb for string 7. Bb C E G A C E
The next best 7 string tuning is A6, with A as the lowest string. A C# E F# A C# E

[Tony Oresteen]

I tune my 7th string to D and it gives me a nice melody note plus add the G for an implied 5 chord added to the C+A for an implied 4 chord.

That's an idea, a C9 tuning. Thanks Robert!

[Nic Neufeld]

I too would go for C13 in that regard (yes, it is missing the 11th and 9th). C13 is what it is traditionally called, though. You can easily retune it to a pure C6 by flatting the 7th string to A, and you can retune it to C6/A7 by sharping the sixth string to C# (and flatting the 7th string to A again).

That said some people really love the high G. It's a preference thing.

A classic "intro" sound on a lot of Hawaii Calls type recordings is the dominant / V chord being strummed across a tuning like this with the low b7 going up the strings to the 13th...b7 1 3 5 13/6...its a pretty sounding chord!

[Allan Revich]

A slightly different 7-string C6 tuning is this one,

E
C
A
G
E
C
G

The low G adds the “missing” low end to the standard 6 string C6.

[David DeLoach]

Which string do you think you'd use the most? The lower bass 7th string, or the higher treble 1st string?

[Tony Oresteen]

David,

Having thought about it I decided that the high string would be more useful.

Then I took a left turn and went with A6 with a high E. Same intervals as the C6 but down a step & a half.

[Allan Revich]

A slightly different 7-string C6 tuning is this one,

E
C
A
G
E
C
G

The low G adds the “missing” low end to the standard 6 string C6.

And for those (like me) who want an even bigger bottom,

CGCGACE or CGCEACE

Although the CGCGACE tuning works for me, I think that the “standard” 7 string C13 of BbCEGACE would be hard to beat for versatility.

[Chris Sattler]

Have you considered the 7th string as a C and the 6th string as a C#? On a six string it is an easy matter to just retune the bottom C to a C#. But you can have both with the extra string. I personally like 8 strings.

[Tony Glassman]

Buy a Scruggs tuning key, place it on the 7th string and toggle between C6th & C13th as desired.

[Allan Revich]

Have you considered the 7th string as a C and the 6th string as a C#? On a six string it is an easy matter to just retune the bottom C to a C#. But you can have both with the extra string. I personally like 8 strings.

C C♯ E G A C E was one of Jerry Byrd’s tunings, known as A7+C6.

[Joe Kaufman]

I think AC#EGACEis a strong contender!

[Andy DePaule]

Hi Tony,
Go for the high G because every retired gentleman like to play around with a snappy G string now and then!

[Andy DePaule]

Plus having a 5th on the top shelf is great when you feel like getting high!

[Allan Revich]

I think AC#EGACEis a strong contender!

The other variation Byrd’s C6+A7!

Deciding which one to use was solved by using an 8 string, tuned A C C# E G A C E.

[Allan Revich]

@Tony did you get your 7 string, and if so, what tuning did you settle on?

EDIT: Reread the thread, looks like you answered this question back in January,

David,

Having thought about it I decided that the high string would be more useful.

Then I took a left turn and went with A6 with a high E. Same intervals as the C6 but down a step & a half.

So, A C# E F# A C# E?
Are you still digging that tuning?

[Tom Wolverton]

I much prefer A6 with the E on top. It seems to fit well with the vocalists I play with.

[Jack Hanson]

I much prefer A6 with the E on top.

Ditto that. For a 7-string, it's A6 for me.

On my 6-strings, I usually favor C6 (1-3-5-6-1-3), but have specific instruments set up in G6, Bb6, and D6 (using the same intervals), too.

[David M Brown]

One could tune to A6:

A C# E F# A C# E

and easily retune to C6 w/ Bb:

Bb C E G A C E

with the same set of strings.

Best of both worlds.