| Which 7 String C9? |
| C G C G Bb D E |
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20% |
[ 1 ] |
| C G C E G Bb D |
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80% |
[ 4 ] |
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| Total Votes : 5 |
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| Author |
Topic: Having Trouble Choosing Which C9 I Like Better |
Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 30 Mar 2023 8:55 pm |
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I’m currently torn between two versions of C9 for 7 string lap steel:
(Low to High)
V1 - C G C G Bb D E
V2 - C G C E G Bb D
V1 gives me a wider range from low to high. It also allows for an easy slant slide from the m6 to the m7. (Edit: The huge double C5 power chord on the bottom is also nice). Having the 3 on top has pluses and minuses that cancel out, but having the 9 next to the 3 may not be ideal
V2 gives me a really nice open 9 chord in root position all the way from low to high, Major, dom7, 9th. Also the minor 7 flat 5 (half-diminished) chord with the root on string 4. Then a basic minor triad on top. V2 also works equally well tuned up to D9, D A D F# A C E.
I play blues, free improvisation, and create sound art. I like 9th tunings because they work great for the genres that interest me.
Thoughts? Preferences? Opinions?
Please try your very best to limit opinions to these two tunings 
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – D G D G B D
7 String | G9 – D G B D F A D
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
Last edited by Allan Revich on 6 Apr 2023 9:29 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 30 Mar 2023 9:55 pm
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V1 is very pretty with a mysterious, gypsy jazz sound from the ambiguous power chord stack on the bottom + the root position G minor 6 chord on top.
I think it would be a great tuning for pieces specially arranged/composed for the parameters of the tuning in mind, especially in minor keys, but it is not as versatile as V2.
For the purposes you listed (especially blues) the third being in the middle gives idiomatic major and dominant 7th voicings that you just don't have on V1.
Just having that C major triad makes V2 easier to play.
I think there is a reason minor sixth chord tunings are rare.
(such as Amin6th (or rootless D9th) E C A F# E C A F#, which is an easy retune from A6th, good for St. Louis Blues).
Those top 4 strings sound really pretty, but it can be easy to get stuck playing the same spooky, ambiguous sounds with them because it’s such a distinct harmony.
And minor 6th chords just don’t have the versatility and flexibility of major 6th chords.
An unsolicited digression (I’m good at those) but the closest tuning to these I regularly use is an 8 string B11th.
Pitched in C for comparison, hi-to-lo:
F D Bb G E D Bb C
But this one is also very common. Basically V2 with an F on top:
F D Bb G E C G C
If I had 9 strings I definitely wouldn’t mind a re-entrant high E from V1!
Last edited by Joe A. Roberts on 30 Mar 2023 10:20 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 30 Mar 2023 10:17 pm
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| Thanks for that thoughtful reply Joe. If I was a better player, I too would play that B11 tuning. It covers every single base for me. I just don’t have the chops to handle a 6 note tuning and an 8th string on my guitar. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 6 Apr 2023 9:36 pm Addendum
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I’m definitely leaning more towards V2.
While V1 has that “nasty but nice” 1515 double power chord, the Gm6 on top isn’t especially useful. V2 still has the 151 power chord on the bottom, but besides the Gm triad on the top there is the nice Em7b5 chord also up there. And the C chords all line up in sequence from the root note. |
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