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Topic: What do I tune my other levers to? |
Del Hillier
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 14 Aug 2018 9:02 pm |
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Ok,
I have a 2010 Carter pedal steel - 10 string, 3 pedals, 5 knee levers.
I go off of these tunings (pictured) They are not 'tuned to whachever you may call it'(true tuning?) but they are altered and I like it and it works for me.
Missing the correct tunings for my 'g' and 'f' lever? I use to just make it up myself but now I want to solve the mystery. As you can tell I am not a great 'ear' player. These instruments seem to be mechanically made for certain tunings.
Guidance muchly appreciated! If there are more jeffran college tunings out there plz help!
D.
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 15 Aug 2018 6:25 am
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The F lever is on there. As far as the G lever goes, assuming you mean F#'s to G, when I was using a needle tuner, I just tuned the G's to sound good with the A&B pedal A chord.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 1 Sep 2018 9:19 am
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Your F lever will typically sound good at an eye-popping thirty cents flat.
You haven't said what your G lever does.
If your tuner has a cents scale (the upper scale on the tuner diagram in the picture you posted), the Buddy Emmons chart has most of the values you'll need
http://www.buddyemmons.com/ttchart.htm
One thing worth mentioning, every guitar will resonate a little different and every player will have slightly different Personal Taste.
I recommend making your own tuning chart. Tune it by ear after tuning your Es to 0.
Make a note of every value, write them down on your own tuning chart. Program these into your tuner, if you believe in that (I don't anymore). This will probably end up being close to the Buddy Emmons numbers, but will probably vary in a few places
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2018 3:09 pm
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| I think it's worth making a distinction: the above link is to Emmons Guitar Company numbers. (Buddy parted ways with the Emmons company decades ago.) Information in various threads on the Forum and elsewhere indicates that they are not Buddy Emmons's numbers--Buddy changed his tuning settings (like his copedents) more than once, but I don't believe his later choices resembled the numbers on that chart. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 1 Sep 2018 9:10 pm
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Indeed. His later choices were close to ET.
I think I'd ask Ernie for clarification on those being Lashley numbers (I'm pretty sure, but not positive, that the buddyemmons website used to be jointly Buddy and Ernie, but was later on all Ernie).
Those numbers are very close to the Newman offsets, only translated into sensible formats (cents makes far more sense than 'Hertz' numbers, which aren't the actual frequency).
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Drew Pierce
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 4 Sep 2018 3:15 pm
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"His later choices were close to ET". That's a fact. I recall a Steel Guitarist magazine article in the '80s where Buddy discussed abandoning his various tempered tunings and went just about full ET. I followed his suggestions and, after a period of transition, found it worked just fine. I now tune to pretty much straight up A=440 across the board. There are some "beats" in some of the changes, but they're not noticeable on the fly and it makes tuning open and changes real damn easy.
Minus 30 cents is a huge deviation, and while those tempered tunings can sound sweet listening to the guitar by itself, those deviations from ET will sound noticeably off against other instruments, especially keyboards, in a live or studio situation.
_________________
Drew Pierce
Emmons D10 Fatback, S10 bolt-on, Zum D10, Evans RE500, Hilton volume and delay pedals. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 4 Sep 2018 5:05 pm
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I'll mention my "barely sweetened" tuning that almost needs no charts or programming (if you have a needle or virtual needle: obviously Peterson and other strobe tuners need to be programmed).
All notes to 0, except for the notes that are primarily used as thirds: A#, C#, D# E#(fine, call it F but if it's the third to a C# Major chord, it's E#) and G#. These all go around 4-6 cents flat (but I don't get particular. Just aim the needle a little to the left).
Yes, E# SHOULD go double that deviation, but I don't bother.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Steve Mueller
From:
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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Posted 5 Sep 2018 8:24 am
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Lane,
That's elegantly simple, but so correct. I've changed my D12 temperments many times but eventually came around to 3-4 cents lower on the E9 strings you mentioned. 3rds, 6ths and major 7ths much the same way on C6th. Added benefit is you can play in tune with keyboards and don't have to avoid certain combinations, you can adjust with bar pressure or small slants. I do also tune my E9 7th string(F#) down 2 cents, so it goes with the C#'s. Not really noticeable against the B's. That's as close as I can get to ET without hurting my ears!
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2016 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2015 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2023 Williams S12 4 x 5, Milkman Amps, 1974 Gibson Byrdland |
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