|
Post by menamestom on Dec 1, 2006 17:35:39 GMT
Hello,
After getting my first Reso a couple of months ago I've not been even the slightest bit interested in my 'normal' guitars. I previously used old acoustics for slide now and again, but now I have a reso, it's all I'm interested in. Open E, D, G, DADGAD,E minor, any tunings except standard!
My poor Strat is gathering dust, and my dreadnought has not been touched.
Has anybody else gone through this? Do you still make an effort to play in standard even though the growl of the open G reso awaits?
I'm even thinking of selling my start to buy a tricone even though I've had it for 12 years!
Somebody tell me this is normal!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2006 9:47:08 GMT
I got into open tunings & slide then bought my first reso (wood) which is usually in open D, I thought I'd get another reso (metal) for open G leaving my electric & 'normal' acoustic for standard tuning. Strangely enough the metal reso has hardly been in any other tuning but standard since I got it & it's the only one I play on a regular basis. So in a round about way I suppose I'm saying you'll probably come back to standard at some time. But in the meantime - have fun exploring. Recently my daughter claimed my tele, which I haven't touched for years, to continue her lessons and I forgotten how great it is to play. C'est la vie.
|
|
|
Post by andys on Dec 2, 2006 11:50:26 GMT
My main acoustic reso is in open G, which occasionally gets put to G minor with a twist of a tuning peg, but never changes from that. My other acoustic is tuned to DADGAD predominantly. However my two electrics, a Tele and a self-made Les Paul Junior style stay in standard tuning nearly all the time, occasionally having a low E dropped to D if the mood takes me. but heres a thing, I have recently been experimenting with tunings on the solid bodied resonators that I have started building and selling, and I find that they sound good in both standard tunings and open tunings. I have to say though that personally I have never got on well with open D tuning, theres something about it that I dont get on with, believe me I've tried. I always find I go back to open G, it just seems to sound nicer to my ears anyway. My two young kids each have a cheapo electric to pose/thrash/mime with, one of them is a humbucker equipped Encore, which I have tuned to open E which sounds nicer to me than open D, maybe its the string tension which makes a difference.
By the way has anyone on this forum fitted Scruggs/Kieth style tuners to a reso for quick changes in tunings. I saw Nick Harper some time ago, he has a Lowden with a full set on, and the stuff he does with those is awesome. he does a whole song where his fingers never actually touch the fretboard, the whole song is carried by his tuning up and down with the Scruggs pegs. Astonishing!!
Yours
Andy S
|
|
|
Post by Mairena Red on Dec 2, 2006 15:37:50 GMT
Hi Tom,
I have a number of guitars in different tunings. I have a Regal RD45 Dobro-style roundneck which is tuned predominantly in open G, though occasionally I tune it up to Dobro G (GBDGBD) to play a little lap-style bluegrass. I also have a Dano U2 which usually stays in open D for Elmore James-style workouts, a Strat which stays in standard tuning and an acoustic which usually stays in standard tuning as well, though lately I have been experimenting with DADGAD for celtic folk workouts á la Richard Thompson.
The joy of having so many different alternatives is that you never get stale. Obviously, I go through phases of playing one guitar more than the others, but it's amazing how hearing something on the radio or reading about something in a magazine or on the net stimulates me to get out a different guitar and try something new.
I wouldn't worry about your other guitars. You'll come back to them and you'll enjoy them even more for having left them abandoned for a while
All the best,
Joe (aka Mairena Red)
|
|
|
Post by Michael Messer on Dec 4, 2006 19:33:20 GMT
Hi Menamestom,
I would advise you to open tune your strat and see how that feels. I have many different types of guitars, but none of them are tuned EADGBE as I have not played in that tuning for 30 years or thereabouts. If I pick up any guitar I generally drop it into an open tuning. You don't have to play slide, you can play great electric guitar in open tunings. Ry Cooder and Keith Richards are two names that spring to mind for playing great open tuned electric guitar. Ry Cooder, around the Chicken Skin Music period, was playing some awsome open tuned electric without a slide. Equally....I would try your resonator guitar in EADGBE tuning and see what that does.
>>>Hi Andys, the Scruggs pegs should be okay on a National. I have not seen them on one, but have often thought about trying it. I have sen a few guitarists play a whole song and do all the changes with the Scruggs pegs, it certainly seems to work.
Shine On, Michael.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2006 17:32:21 GMT
I really like standard tuning for certain slide applications - especially playing a single note slide solo when accompanied i.e. without me having to worry about self accompaniment. I find playing slide in standard is also good for stimulating creativity because you can have a lot of fun seeing how your stock non-slide licks sound with a slide.
|
|
|
Post by Michael Messer on Dec 8, 2006 10:40:02 GMT
Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk and Muddy Waters (late 1960s onwards), all played slide in EADGBE tuning to great effect. Personally speaking I find it very limiting, but that is because I very rarely play guitars in EADGBE. It's all personal and what one gets used to.
Shine On, Michael.
|
|
|
Post by snakehips on Dec 8, 2006 12:05:29 GMT
Hi there !
Muddy did play a lot of slide in open G (Louisiana Blues for example).
But he also played slide in regular tuning from the early 50's though : "Long Distance Call" and "Too Young Too Know" for example. Listen out for the tell-tale non-slide chords - back and forth between E7 and Eb7 (D7 chord shape, only 2 and 1 frets higher, respectively),
In fact, from the early 50's onwards, the only example I can find of him in open tuning anything is "Feel Like Going Home" that he recorded solo on acoustic (in the 60's), on the "acoustic/folk" album with Buddy Guy on 2nd acoustic (with Willie Dixon ruining the rest of the album with crap bass-lines). Way too much reverb on that album too.
|
|
|
Post by lee holliday on Dec 8, 2006 14:12:27 GMT
I always admire the people who can play slide in standard tuning beyond the limitations of single string fills, Sonny Landreth is someone who comes to mind. Peter Green refers to open E/D as Automatic, a bit like the difference between a manual (spanish) and automatic(Open) car. Regards Lee.
|
|
|
Post by Michael Messer on Dec 8, 2006 15:16:28 GMT
Muddy Waters' album, Folk Singer, is one of my favourite albums and I am amused by your comments about Willie Dixon's bass playing. That is quite a statement! Personally I love the sound of this album, and the extreme reverb to my ears is part of the character of the music. Buddy Guy's playing on this album is wonderful, in fact the three of them together; Muddy, Buddy & Willie playing acoustic blues is awsome. It can't really get much better than that....can it?
I haven't got the inclination to list all the songs that Muddy played in different periods and tunings, but I have been pretty close to his music for a long time.
Shine On, Michael
|
|
|
Post by snakehips on Dec 8, 2006 16:40:42 GMT
Hi again !
"Muddy, Buddy & Willie playing acoustic blues is awsome. It can't really get much better than that....can it?"
How about Muddy Waters with Little Walter and Big Crawford on double bass ? Million times better ! Big Crawford kept things propelling forward so no need for drums - and got the right notes, and on the nail !
Naw ! I'm not asking you to list lots of stuff. However, other than "Feel Like Going Home", can you name ANY (even just one) song with Muddy in open tuning after 1951 ? Anyone ? (my challange to you all !)
On that "Folk Singer" album, Willie Dixon doesn't follow Muddy's songs very well - changing chords when there isn't usually one and/or not changing when supposed to. He also ruined what should have been a great live Howlin' Wolf album - the "Live in Europe" one (I think !) - same reason.
Have you seen the Canadian TV broadcast from 1966 - now available on DVD. Its got Muddy with Otis Spann, and James Cotton and band (including electric bassist). However, some songs are played with Willie Dixon on upright double bass. His playing is well dodgy ! AND - you can see Muddy and Otis Spann glare at each other in disbelief for a split second. Classic footage - ruined to a certain extent, by Mr Dixon. The best footage of Muddy and Spann I've ever seen. Actually, the most bizarre thing about that recorded show is that Mr Dixon plays perfectly in tune on the songs he sings/leads on. (Bizarre ? Maybe on purpose ?)
|
|
|
Post by Michael Messer on Dec 8, 2006 18:22:57 GMT
How about 'Rolling & Tumbling' - recorded in 1972. Unless I am mistaken, this would have been played in an open G tuning - I think the actual pitch is A flat or A. You only asked for one didn't you? I picked one from the seventies, rather than the fifties or sixties, because it is rare in that late period to hear Muddy recording in an open tuning. That is the challenge over and done with.
I agree with you about the EADGBE tuning being there in the early Chicago days, this I reckon would be the influence of Robert Nighthawk on Muddy's playing.
It is always good to know who you are dealing with. I know that you are a dentist and you live in Scotland, so I would be a fool to try and get one over on you on the subject of teeth, gums and the geography and culture of Scotland. There are two subjects that I do have a pretty good knowledge of; the first is slide guitar and its history and the second is National guitars and their history. These two subjects and various related subjects have occupied 30 years of my life. I am not saying in any way that I can't make mistakes and don't have holes in my specialist areas of knowledge, but if you read any interviews or biogs about me, you will find that I credit Muddy Waters more than any other artist as my main blues slide guitar influence. I am not an obsessive collector, so I don't have everything he ever did, but I do have a good cross section of his life's work.
I do have the films that you mention, they are excellent and a wonderful addition to anybodys collection. I also have some other footage on various old tapes and some lovely concerts on cassette from the shows with Johnny Winter. Willie Dixon was a 'master' and helped shape the Chicago blues and the Chess sound. He also wrote, co-wrote and borrowed from older songs, many of Muddy's classic songs, therefore being one of the definitve creators and catalysts of blues and rock music. I think if there is any weakness in his playing it was due to old age, however I am listening to 'Folk Singer' as I type this message and he sounds pretty spot on to me. Very laid back - almost falling off the beat, but well in the groove of what's happening. This is another area that I have a pretty good knowledge of, having made many records and been a band leader for the past 20 years.
Willie Dixon was not a small man and would have eaten folks like us who critisized his work as snacks between recording sessions.
Shine On, Michael.
|
|
|
Post by mirrormist on Dec 8, 2006 20:22:47 GMT
Hi...I would recommend keeping the strat unless you have to sell it in order to raise funds for a tricone...you will get back to it sooner or later and when you do it will be like starting a new romance all over again...recognising the beauty you saw on first meeting:)...I have a couple of guitars in open tunings G & D...recently I heard a bob brozman tune that sounded neat in (I think) an open minor tuning...perhaps Dm...I don't recall...but it did sound cool...Also have some in standard which I play mostly. I might go a few months without picking up a particular guitar but when I do may play that and nothing else for just as long.
Enjoyed all the blues refs…thanks
mm
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2006 23:15:18 GMT
Yeah, this is perfectly normal. You'll never want to do it with a woman again... I'm in the same boat, having a Gold Tone Paul Beard single cone & a polychrome tricone. I too am looking at my trusty Fenders & thinking I could flog those and get a Delphi. It's a weird, twilight sort of existence. Subjects are often unable to stop talking, writing, reading & dreaming about resonator guitars. We probably need help but what the heck. When you think what some people get up to... Anyway, it's good to know you're not alone.
|
|
|
Post by snakehips on Dec 13, 2006 13:47:51 GMT
Hi again !
Sorry Michael ! I wasn't having a go at you about when and where Muddy played which tuning etc.
Its just that I started trying to learn guitar (+ piano actually) at the same time I discovered blues, all when I was 15 years old. For the next 2 years, I struggled to suss out how Muddy Waters played slide and got all the chords too. I didn't realise he was playing in standard tuning !!! I finally sussed it out when I saw Louisiana Red play some gigs at the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival (way back in 1988) - he did some Muddy, some Elmore and some Lightnin' Hopkins style blues - thus I could see how he had his guitar tuned for each style.
My post was just to try and prevent anyone agonise for years like I did, what+where the hell to start, playing Muddy Waters style. I could suss easy enough that Muddy was in Open G on his really early stuff, but just couldn't work out the bulk of his work - as I didn't realise he was playing slide in regular tuning.
|
|