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Post by jromano23 on Mar 2, 2022 15:26:39 GMT
I’m sure this has been covered in the past but wanted to see if others have had a similar experience or any historical context. I’m probably one of the few that flatpicks a tricone in standard tuning and find it can do just about anything. That said, I’ve started tuning down a half and full step and feel that the guitars seem more alive and open sounding with a little more bounce due to the tension reduction. I’ve read elsewhere that some believe standard E was sort of a holdover from classical guitars and gut strings and that early steel string guitars seem to be more at home tuned down some, especially guitars like the long scale Oscar Schmidt models, etc. Do others share this opinion?
Thanks
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Post by Michael Messer on Mar 2, 2022 15:42:01 GMT
Joe,
Many instruments sound great tuned lower than so called "standard". It is much better to look at tunings as intervals between notes, rather than the names of notes. Like Spanish tuning being (low to high)... 5 1 5 1 3 5.
Certainly National guitars can sound really good tuned down played in standard and in open tunings.
Many years ago I used to play with the soul singer, Ted Hawkins. Ted tuned his guitar a semitone down, so rather than the whole band playing in F# or E flat, we all tuned down a semitone and then it was a lot easier, except for the pianist!
These days I build my guitar playing around my voice. It is a lot easier to tune or find the chords to fit your voice, than fitting your voice to your guitar.
Shine On Michael
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Mar 3, 2022 9:04:27 GMT
These days I build my guitar playing around my voice. It is a lot easier to tune or find the chords to fit your voice, than fitting your voice to your guitar. Shine On Michael As Michael says, I can adjust the guitar tuning but, at my age, not my voice. Recently I have discovered that C Vastapol tuning is best for me and MM supplied biscuit, saddle and a set of telegraph wires to enable me to modify my Blues '28 accordingly. Thank you Michael. The guitar sounds superb tuned down there at C - pity about my voice, though.
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Post by blueshome1 on Mar 3, 2022 17:21:44 GMT
If we listen to pre war blues players most are close to A440. There are many exceptions, in particularcheck out Buddy Moss's 30's recordings; Josh White tuned down to C Vasterpol. Post war, Pink Anderson recorded an album tuned a half step down, Lightnin Hopkins early recordings were often one or two semi tones down. Long scale guitars, 6 and 12 string were designed to be tuned down. McTell got down to Ab on his later recordings.
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Post by blueshome1 on Mar 3, 2022 17:26:26 GMT
I forgot to mention to forget the A 432kH nonsense with mythical justifications. This is based on mathematical elegance (octaves are whole numbers of kH, but if we used a difference convention for a second,for example this would be meaningless. not any reality. The US studios in the 20s 30s used A440 and would have either a tuned piano or a tuning fork available.
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