Who created the E9th tuning, when, and why?

GaryHoetker · From: Bakersfield, CA, USA

nm Thanks

Moon in Alaska · From: Kasilof, Alaska * R.I.P.

Gary --- I think there is no real answer to your 2 questions, the E-9th tuning slowly grew to it's present day from E major, which a lot of us used on lap steel.
When 8 string steels started getting popular, the bottom F# [ our 7th] was added. It took me a year to learn how to "dodge" it, before that string was added, we could strum the entire tuning. I think that Ralph Mooney added the high G# string, and Buddy Emmons the 2 wild strings. I am not really sure of this, as we were not in touch with each other those days !! We didn't have a FORUM back in those days !!

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Harry Hess · From: Blue Bell, PA., USA * R.I.P.

The E9th tuning evolved. If any one person had created it, they would deserve some kind of major award. The tuning is so logical and laid out so clearly and is so easy to understand. Many players have great difficulty moving to the C6 after becoming proficiant on E9, simply because the C6 tuning is not as obvious and requires jumping around the neck a lot more to get chord melodies, etc.

While the E9 tuning evolved, it would probably be said that Bud Isaacs, Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day contributed the most to it's present incarnation.

Regards,
HH

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

An interesting fact about the development of the the tuning was the first time I was aware of the high F# which we now use as the first string, the low F# string was replaced with the octave higher F# string at the time we were using 8 strings. This would have been the 5th string so you had to avoid it except for a lick or two you could use it on. The one I remember was common on Ray Price recordings which is still much used but with strings 6, 7 and 8 and B pedal down, move down two frets and release pedal. This octave higher F# gave it a very different sound. I actually believe at that time most of us were using a D9th so that string would have been an E. I also seem to remember having a 9 string E9th that did not have the now 8th string E, it was simply missing from the tuning. The E9th as we now know it evolved one string at a time.
Jerry

Al Marcus · From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)

Very true, Jerry. If I can remember, it all started with the E7 tuning.
E
B
G#
E
D
B
then
F# was put in place of E on 4th string. Then the E was put back between the F# and D.
the others were added later. I think Buddy Emmons put the D# and F# (chromatic called) on the bottom, then switched them to the top.
the rest was history....al

C Dixon · From: Duluth, GA USA

I may have the chronological order a bit off, but the following is to the best of my knowledge.

When Bud Isaacs drove 30,000 steel players crazy with his recording "Slowly" with a little back up from Webb Piece, the three most popular tunings for non pedal steel were:

E
C#
B
G#
F#
E
D
B

E
C#
A
F#
E
C#
A
F#

E
C
A
G
E
C
A
F

Bud Isaacs simply attached a lone pedal to his steel and pulled a G# to and A and pulled his upper B to a C#. So with one pedal Bud in affect combined (for the most part) the top two tunings above.

Of course we all just HAD to have it. I have not a clue to what Bud's whole tuning was only that he went from a I chord to a IV chord or a V chord to I chord with this one pedal.

And all of us used coat hangers, bailing wire and fishin line to do this on our double and triple necks. Mostly Fenders.

It stayed this way for quite a while. Bud was making Webb Pierce millions pushin a pedal. And we copied "note fer note" everthin Bud did. Other steelers for other stars started a doin it too!

Then came along a young JB maestro who probably didn't git any sleep because he done thunk up a way to embelish the sound the rest of us was adoin drivin our wives crazy doin the I to IV or V to I diddy. Course no way did she enjoy that repetitious sound like we did. Specially at 3 o'clock in the morning as we kept sayin,

"man I do love this sound"

But this young man by the name of Buddy who?

decided to split that lone pedal into 2 pedals. NO silly, he did not take a hacksaw and saw the pedal into. Read my fangers as Gomer Pyle once said. "One and a Two". Or ifn yer from the great state of Taxes it is uno, dos,

Yes Buddy now had 2 pedals. And ona them sapsuckers pulled the G# to an A and the other one pulled the B to a C#. Now as always in life, when a feller has 2 (dos in taxes) choices, some of us peapickers going to do it one way and the other adoing the tuther way!

Such was the case with 2 "still wet behind the years" hillwilliams by the name of Buddie (the name's Buddy! and don't you fergit it Carl!!) and Jimmy done and went and proved the previous paragraph to be true.

Buddy bein a "Damn Yankee"

had enuff larnin to not have to count on his fangers so he done and went and labelled them "pushin pedals" A and B. But that scoundral Jim done and went and split his into B and A. Dang his hide anyway.

So now we could get purtier sounds that would again drive our wives crazy all night long as we "rocked a bye baby" on them pedals, as she yelled at 2:45 in the morning,

"Will ya turn that dang thang off and come to bed?" Course as always we paid about as much attention to her as we did out Sunday school teacher tryin to keep us outa trouble!

Some where along in there, ole Bud (don't call me Bud #@#$%$$#@!) decided to add an F# (our first string now) to his git' tar but since this Bud don do NUTHING lack NOBUDY else, done went and putt that strang as the bottom strang. Can you imagine anyBUDy puttin a treble strang on the bottom.

Well Imagine it. Cuz that is what that young kid did!! You had to use yer dang thumb pick to pic that strang. And down at the first fret, it took 3 men and a "fat lady sings" to press that bar down on it

Then an ole country boy by the name a Ralph Mooney done went and added another strang. That ole whippersnapper done and went and putt a high G# and huked it up to that confounded B pedal. I got so mad at him fer a doing it, I coulda hung him out ta dry cuz my Fender 400 was the breakinest G string breaker you evah saw. Oops, skuze me, G# string breaker.

Continued on the next thread post cuz good ole boy bob done went and putt a limit on the amount of words in a post GRRRRRRRR!

[This message was edited by C Dixon on 18 July 2001 at 02:49 PM.]

C Dixon · From: Duluth, GA USA

Meanwhile back at the ranch Ole Bud and good ole boy Shot Jackson done went and formed a company not necessarily in that order (dummy

) and they called it SHO-BUD (Don't call me Bud @#$$#@!)

But ole shot don pay no "attenion ladies and gentaman" to know kid from indiana and he said if'n ya don lack it I'll refer to it as Shot Jackson and Bud Isaacs. Now sonny, if'n ya don lack at, there is the door and don't let it kick.................when ya leave!

And wouldn't ya know that ole salty dog Shot done a went and made Buddy (ya finally got it right carl

) a 9 stranger. Can you get over it? Ever steel player in the hole world got 8 strangers and this punk from Mishawalker "take me back to Tulsa" oops indiana, done come up wid a 9 stranger to accomadate ole moon's high G# to A change and that pesky F# as the bottom strang. Dang his hide. I gotta trade mah Fender on a 9 stranger now and NObody makes one but Sho-Bud (don't call me.....!!).

They oughta hang him HIGH. "High from the highest tree! Woman would ya weep for me." Boo Boop didam dadum wadum chew tobacco. Ok OK so, I forgot the words to the stupid song. What's that? Same to you buddy (NO not you BUD

. And NO, you caint hev yer dang cheapskate quarter back ya putt in the band's kitty bowl, snotnose!!

So we ordered our Sho-bud 9 strangers to git ole Mooney's High G string and Buddy's pesky F# strang. And wouldn't ya know it. I just got mine and before I could make the first late paymint on my new brand new Sho-Bud (ya done it again GRRRRRR), ole Buddy Boy (courtesy ET

), done and went and had ole Shot glass make him a 10 stranger. I was sa mad at him I wished I had been his daddy.

Why I woulda taken him out behind the smokehouse and when I got thru with his hide, he'da been the ona sangin "I got my edukashun out behind tha barn" in steada ole Long Tall Taxen by the name a Jimmy whatshisface. I thing it rhymes wid "Raisen the Dickens"! NOT Sho though, oops I meant SHO-Buddy. (Hey bud, lack at better

)

And you know what that kid done and done also? He done added a D# and he PUTT that F# on top (bout time he figured out whur a treble strang belonged) and went and done putt that D# rat under that F# strang.

Now I ask you, who in the plu perfect hellfar evah heeard of two notes lower on down in the scale a bein at the end of the scale? NObody sangs Do Re Me Fa DO MI La SOLe'. Yet that young yankee kid turned rebel done went and did it! Didn't aks nobody jes wint and done it jes lack he had good sense.

Again ole west coast b0b cat done and limited. Jes wait!!!!

Go to next thread.

C Dixon · From: Duluth, GA USA

So we all had to have a 10 stranger now. I got so mad at that kid, I coulda hit him right between the nose wheel of his "Four Wheel Drive" fer havin ta trade in a D-9 fer a D-10. And ta beat all, that kid from Misshap indiana done left Sho-buddy and done and went and run off with a man from NC called Ron and formed a new brand new company.

Mean while back at the ranch, Roy and Dale oops I mean nice players like Lloyd Green and Weldon Myrick done added other things. Like I don't have a clue who added the C pedal. "To be or not to be is the question." NO its not. Is it A B C or is it C B A?

And somebody added a knee lever that lowered the 2nd string to a D (no NOT C#!! that comes later silly---ole Bud is off in NC a "pushin and pullin") and the 8th string to an Eb.

Then ole Lloyd Bridges (oops Green as in "Greensleeves") done and went and added an F lever. And if that was not enough, somebody done and went an tuk that E to Eb change off that one knee lever and created an all new brand new knee lever that lowered BOF dem E's to Eb to match what that kid by the name a Lloyd did when he raised em up to an "F you got the money honey, I got the timeuh".

Ole Buddy meanwhile, with a Steel guitar blacker than a 1932 Model A Ford done pushed (NOT pulled) that second strang lower all the "way down in columbus Ga" to get a C# jes so he could dazzle us gear jammers with his unison notes wid his A pedal. Dang him. Is there no peace with a kid from "My home in Indiana"?

So there ya have it folks. Two "Bud's" and a "moon over Miami" in your new convertible and the farmer's daughter is what done and done it all. Course there was a little Lloyd "Green grass of home" and Weldon the crossrod back on my A pedal and a bit of Jimmy "Crack Korn" liquor thrown in for good measure.

Yesiree bobtail. Them sapsuckers done and went and added all them changes and strangs and then they have the gall to sit in "Tootsies" in Nashberg Tinnessee laughin and a jokin bout the money they caused all us string breakers ta spend in the U S of A and the world at large atryin to emulate ever note them scoundrals did on all them phoney graf rechordings.

I tell you the truth, I would like to get ever one of em in a room and...........

No I would not. I love them everyone dearly for what they did, to create the worlds most awesome tuning. E9th the real KING of country music. (Teresa, you a listen?

God richly bless them and all of you,

carl

Ernie Renn · From: Brainerd, Minnesota USA

I wonder why b0b made a limit?

Go, Carl, Go!

------------------
My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

Moon in Alaska · From: Kasilof, Alaska * R.I.P.

I THINK SOME OF YOU GUYS COULD MAKE A GOOD LIVING AS HUMOR WRITERS !!
I salute you !!!!!!!

------------------
<< Moon Mullin in Alaska >>
==Carter S-10==
<< Old Fender-400 >>
== Evans FET 500 Custom LV ==
Click HERE for Moon's Home Page

Bill Bailey · From: Kingman, AZ

Carl,
You may have missed your true calling. I love your hillbilly heart!
Bill Bailey

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jlsmith48 · From: blackwell ok usa

Everything you wanted to know about the history of the E-9th but was AFEERED TO AKS.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I've moved this topic to the Pedal Steel forum, where it belongs.

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