maninblack Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I was at a shop in Kentucky this weekend and had the opportunity to test drive several nice guitars. Two in particular really impressed me. A NOS 2004 Luthier's Choice AJ in Cocobolo and Adirondack and a used Martin D-28GE. I liked them both better than the Huss and Daltons and McPhersons on hand. The AJ was a perfect example of the model. Loud, rich and lively. Wicked sustain and shimmery overtones. One of the best Gibson guitars I've played. Until... The D-28GE had a rather stumpy looking set of brazilian, but sounded immense. Balanced, powerful, robust, elegant. There was something magical at hand. I kept going back and forth trying to figure out why the 28 was outdoing the AJ. It sounded impossibly deep and a bit more resonant. It played a little easier too. Finally it occured to me that the actual notes were deeper. I pulled out my pocket tuner and the Martin was tuned down a half step on every string. At standard pitch much of the magical might was diminished. I went home and tried this on my J-45 Braz/Adi. It had the same effect. It is a nice guitar in standard tuning, but it really opened up and roared down a half step. Has anybody else experienced this? Am I late to the party? Does anybody keep their guitars tuned down all the time? I think my J-45 braz will be keeping it relaxed for the forseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisA83 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Didn't realise it could have such a bit affect. I thought the only reasons to tune down half a step were to suit your voice better and/or save tension on the neck. Might give it a go myself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenumber2 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I like to tune down now and then for a change from standard. I agree that it makes the sound a bit thicker and deeper. I also like the lower tension on the strings. Makes for easier playing in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Yes, I keep my J200 a half step down as my "standard" tuning. I no longer play out so it's never a problem. I do switch from light to medium gauge strings from time to time without noticable changes in the setup, but always a half step down. It's easier to play and sing with, less wear and tear on the structure of the guitar over the years and it does make the guitar big and fat sounding........as if the J200 needs some help in this regard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 My 17 year old Seagull guitar is tuned down 2 full steps all the time, and I now have the J-185 down a half-step, which reduces the tension and makes it easier for me to play (it has a wider neck so it's harder for me to play). If I need it in standard quickly, I just capo at 1. Tuning the guitars down opens up a whole new world. That being said, some guitars just sound muddy when they're tuned down, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcr1955 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 All my guitars down 1/2 step. I like them thata way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 John Foggerty tunes his guitars to "D" down a full step. A lot of blues and rag guys like to tune down and use the capo, for a better blues sound.....I like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2_usa Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Thanks for posting. I'm interested to hear about this topic also. I keep my guitar tuned down one whole step. It's suits my voice on most songs I've composed. However, my git (D-16rgt) is way boomy and bass heavy and prone to muddiness which I compensate by using a thin Fender jazz pick. Anything heavier and it's just noise. Half step down works better and sounds better to my ear, the best of both worlds. But when I retune to standard, I'm always welcomed by a little more ring and joyful sound to the tone that lacks when tuned down. I will probably return to half step vs. whole step since I've noticed when I perform at open mics, my nerves raise my voice a bit and it should all work out well. I do plan to record in the future, and will have to find a git that sounds really good tuned a whole step down, since I can sing more intimately in that range. I'm looking toward a J-150 for that if I can find a good used one. I love the SJ-200 but all the fancy doesn't really suit me. I have been tuning this way for close to a year and like I said, whenever I retune to standard - to play with friends - it's a bit of a homecoming since my particular git sounds best tuned standard. The GE Martin line is awesome. I'm currently gassing over a particularly phenomenal D-35JC I played over the weekend. One of those that just did everything I wanted it to do when I wanted it to do it and didn't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 John Foggerty tunes his guitars to "D" down a full step. A lot of blues and rag guys like to tune down and use the capo' date=' for a better blues sound.....I like it[/quote']If I remember what I read correctly, Paul McCartney recorded Yesterday with his Texan tuned down a step, so the song that is actually in F major was being played, by his hand, in G major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 If I remember what I read correctly' date=' Paul McCartney recorded Yesterday with his Texan tuned down a step, so the song that is actually in F major was being played, by his hand, in G major.[/quote'] That is correct, the Texan was in F# for Yesterday which makes it a helluva lot easier to play! I keep my Taylor GA12 tuned a 1/2 step low as I find most 12 strings really open up in F#. If you play with others, you just capo one to get back into standard tuning. Another famous guitarist who played tuned down was Stevie Ray Vaughn. He tuned to F# and used medium strings on his Strat. His saying was: "Tune low... play hard" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maninblack Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 Wow. I guess I was late to the party on this!! I can tell this little trick won't work on all guitars, but for a somewhat stiff sounding rosewood instrument it can work wonders. I have some hogs that would quickly turn to mud tuned down. I actually passed on a D-28GE (sound unheard) recently and went for the higher grade wood of a Collings D2HBaaaA. The Collings is fantastic. Now after playing the D-28GE I'm afraid they are different enough for the greedy little monster inside of me to covet both. Add to that a Legend J-45 and that Coco/Adi AJ. My wallet hurts just thinking about it. God help me if I ever get into OM sized models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I have used Drop D, DADGAD, Double Drop D, Open G and other tunings that keep me spinning the tuners on my guitars all the time. I have often thought that my AJ, in particular, has a beautiful ring and tone when playing down a full step, but even my Taylor maple guitar shines in DADGAD. That said, I almost always keep my guitars to standard 440 pitch unless I am working on a song in an alternate tuning. No other reason than I use my tuner whenever I tune and tend to go straight to EADGBE tuning. I think I will give going down 1/2 step a try for awhile on all three acoustics and see how I like it. Good thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I have used Drop D' date=' DADGAD, Double Drop D, Open G and other tunings that keep me spinning the tuners on my guitars all the time. I have often thought that my AJ, in particular, has a beautiful ring and tone when playing down a full step, but even my Taylor maple guitar shines in DADGAD. That said, I almost always keep my guitars to standard 440 pitch unless I am working on a song in an alternate tuning. No other reason than I use my tuner whenever I tune and tend to go straight to EADGBE tuning. I think I will give going down 1/2 step a try for awhile on all three acoustics and see how I like it. Good thread! [/quote'] What is this 440 thing I keep reading about? I know my electronic tuners all give options for 440 and other numbers, but I've never really understood what it means? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 What is this 440 thing I keep reading about? I know my electronic tuners all give options for 440 and other numbers' date=' but I've never really understood what it means?[/quote'] A440 is concert pitch, if i'm not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 But what does concert pitch mean? Is that the best, meaning most precise, pitch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 it's based off of A. a "correct" A note vibrates at 440Hz ...... that's back and forth 440 times in a minute. this has been adopted as the standard reference point for all other notes, and is referred to as "concert pitch" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 i just tuned one of mine down a half step. i like it. gonna leave it that way for awhile. when i got up this morning it looked so nice out, i thought i'd leave it out all day> kinda like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 What is this 440 thing I keep reading about? I know my electronic tuners all give options for 440 and other numbers' date=' but I've never really understood what it means?[/quote'] The guys above this post are correct. 440 A is concert pitch. One of the reasons I like my Korg tuner is when I used to play at Church. For some reason our piano was always slightly out of tune when we tuned to 440. We put a tuner on it and adjusted to the piano's "A" and found it perfect at 442. I just adjusted my tuner to 442 and tuned to pitch as did everyone else in the band and then we were in tune with the piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Ferguson Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 What is this 440 thing I keep reading about? I know my electronic tuners all give options for 440 and other numbers' date=' but I've never really understood what it means?[/quote'] Basically what others have said, but for a bit of clarification. To tune any instrument to some standard, we need a reference point for tuning; that is, we need one note to serve as the reference for all of the other notes. The standard we use is called A440 or Concert A. All this means is that we define the note A above Middle C to be the note corresponding to the frequency 440 Hz. Tuning forks at this reference frequency used to be very common, though with the emergence of electronic tuners and such, not so much anymore. In any event, once you define note A above Middle C, then you have defined all other notes (you have defined their frequency or pitch). Therefore, they are referenced to this standard, called A440 or Concert A. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Aha! I've learned something new today! I love learning new things. Thanks for the info Rob, Modac, Paul, and Greg. This explains why the exboyfriend is always showing off with his tuning fork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburude63 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Just a note about tuning down to take stress of the neck. the neck is made as well as the bracing to take the stress. If its designed for medium strings. Some guitars are voiced for lights. Like my Stave Swan/Santa Cruz SSJ (Roy Smeck). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Lowering pitch can mellow out a bright-sounding 25.5 scale guitar, deepening the bass and taking some edge off the trebles. I liked the effect on my AJ, but it might make a D28 more like a 12-fret D or a Roy Smeck (God knows what it would do to Roy). A 24.75-24.9 scale guitar might benefit from having medium strings if one were to keep it low, least it get too slack. Tuning low was also a favored trick of 12-stringers in the days of Black Diamond strings. ps re "what does concert pitch mean?" It evolved to set a standard/common ground for ensembles and singers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 i just sat and played my 08 TV J45 for 2 hours. tuned it down a half and love it. i can sing w/o straining and the slack is great for extended play. sounds deep and rich and i'm hooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 i just sat and played my 08 TV J45 for 2 hours. tuned it down a half and love it. i can sing w/o straining and the slack is great for extended play. sounds deep and rich and i'm hooked. Isn't it great!? I love what it does for some of my guitars (magic doesn't do so well tuned down). But the J-185 sounds so big and chimey and rich. And even if you capo up, it still has that sloppy string sound, which I love. Peter Mulvey plays some of his songs tuned down a full step, then capoed at 2 which makes it standard. But you still get that loose string sound because it's tuned down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigshot Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 How many cents is a half step? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.