onewilyfool Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I have a '69 Harmony Sovereign 1203....which is a great guitar, and today I brought it out to play with my friend who has a 1920 Stella ladder braced guitar that is just a fantastic guitar, with that old time, bluesy, resonator type sound. Only problem is.....he tunes it to "D".....so to play with him, I down tuned my Harmony to "D" and WOW!!!! It is like getting a whole new guitar. This is really the tuning this guitar has been waiting for. Great Bass, and easy to play, great sound. I will have to tweak the neck relief a bit later today, but for the time being, what a great guitar. I tried some of the Beatles tunes I play in standard tuning, that strain my voice and I can now sing these songs without stressing my voice.....I will have to play and experiment further, but wondered if any of you had a similar experience down tuning one or one half step. I once read an Article about Jackson Brown, who often down tunes his guitar until he finds the "perfect" tuning for the "voice" of the guitar....anyway, I'm amazed by what I found today.....and will be playing this thing til my fingers bleed to discover the nuances of this tuning..........
stein Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 i have found that to be true in a lot of cases as well. i think it comes down to different guitar responding better to different string tension. i would then try to match the gauge of string to what i thought would match what i have when the guitar is "alive" with this "perfect" tension. i find that i don't seem to notice so much the playability differences in the different gages so much when the guitar is in the tension zone. i dig being in the tension zone.
BigKahune Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Down tuning has it merits. When I was younger and playing with groups I didn't do it much. These days I drop down when I feel like it, but I don't keep any of my instruments tuned down. Glad to hear you're enjoying your discovery. B)
Tennroots Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 OWF, That's a lead in to the rationale of why we need more than one guitar; one tuned standard, one tuned open "G", one tuned to DADGAD, open "D" etc...
Red 333 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I have a '69 Harmony Sovereign 1203....which is a great guitar, and today I brought it out to play with my friend who has a 1920 Stella ladder braced guitar that is just a fantastic guitar, with that old time, bluesy, resonator type sound. Only problem is.....he tunes it to "D".....so to play with him, I down tuned my Harmony to "D" and WOW!!!! It is like getting a whole new guitar. This is really the tuning this guitar has been waiting for. Great Bass, and easy to play, great sound. I will have to tweak the neck relief a bit later today, but for the time being, what a great guitar. I tried some of the Beatles tunes I play in standard tuning, that strain my voice and I can now sing these songs without stressing my voice.....I will have to play and experiment further, but wondered if any of you had a similar experience down tuning one or one half step. I once read an Article about Jackson Brown, who often down tunes his guitar until he finds the "perfect" tuning for the "voice" of the guitar....anyway, I'm amazed by what I found today.....and will be playing this thing til my fingers bleed to discover the nuances of this tuning.......... Speaking of Beatles' tunes, McCartney keeps his Texan tuned to D for Yesterday, and any other songs he performs on it. Red 333
Red 333 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I have a '69 Harmony Sovereign 1203....which is a great guitar, and today I brought it out to play with my friend who has a 1920 Stella ladder braced guitar that is just a fantastic guitar, with that old time, bluesy, resonator type sound. Only problem is.....he tunes it to "D".....so to play with him, I down tuned my Harmony to "D" and WOW!!!! It is like getting a whole new guitar. This is really the tuning this guitar has been waiting for. Great Bass, and easy to play, great sound. I will have to tweak the neck relief a bit later today, but for the time being, what a great guitar. I tried some of the Beatles tunes I play in standard tuning, that strain my voice and I can now sing these songs without stressing my voice.....I will have to play and experiment further, but wondered if any of you had a similar experience down tuning one or one half step. I once read an Article about Jackson Brown, who often down tunes his guitar until he finds the "perfect" tuning for the "voice" of the guitar....anyway, I'm amazed by what I found today.....and will be playing this thing til my fingers bleed to discover the nuances of this tuning.......... Speaking of Beatles' tunes, McCartney keeps his Texan tuned to D for Yesterday, and any other songs he performs on it. Red 333
E-minor7 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I do all the time. All 4 Gibsons are half a step down and sound delicious. Especially the 63 SJ and the 66 C&W – they are beyond. The Mart. D-35 has been a whole tone down for over 10 years and loves it. Such a mighty ship. My home drawn 12-fret becomes richer and more relaxed. It has not so much to do with the vocal (though singing I'll Follow The Sun, which I'm learning these days, is easier), than it has to do with getting some depth and dungeon into the sound. I really dig the heavy bass response down there and punching f.x. an E-minor7* is just huge. If I feel like going the other way, there is always the capo. Recommend medium or light strings for those who wanna try. Only prob. is communicating chords to the band (who stay up). Try to do the math as I speak, but in the midst of battle it still sometimes goes Monty Python. Yet it challenges the bass player to approach his 4 strings from new angles. He's simply forced to think different – a healthy task for the old vet. Oouuh 1 other advantage vox-wise : It opens fresh, at times surprising paths when writing. *in reality D-minor7
livemusic Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I have a '69 Harmony Sovereign 1203....which is a great guitar, and today I brought it out to play with my friend who has a 1920 Stella ladder braced guitar that is just a fantastic guitar, with that old time, bluesy, resonator type sound. Only problem is.....he tunes it to "D".....so to play with him, I down tuned my Harmony to "D" and WOW!!!! It is like getting a whole new guitar. This is really the tuning this guitar has been waiting for. Great Bass, and easy to play, great sound. I will have to tweak the neck relief a bit later today, but for the time being, what a great guitar. I tried some of the Beatles tunes I play in standard tuning, that strain my voice and I can now sing these songs without stressing my voice.....I will have to play and experiment further, but wondered if any of you had a similar experience down tuning one or one half step. I once read an Article about Jackson Brown, who often down tunes his guitar until he finds the "perfect" tuning for the "voice" of the guitar....anyway, I'm amazed by what I found today.....and will be playing this thing til my fingers bleed to discover the nuances of this tuning.......... Yep, I regularly tune 1/2 step down, as well as 1 whole step. I do this for vocal reasons.
EuroAussie Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 My first experience in detuning was with the seattle grunge bands, in particular Nirvana and Alice in Chains. I loved the growl they got when tuned down half a step. Always enjoyed that tuning. My 83 Ibanez HB copy sounds really great tuned down half a step and I keep it permanently in that tuning. Might try it with the SWD when we play out sometime, although I have a feeling it would suit better mahogany guitars. I'm sure my singer would not mind also ..
larryp58 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 OWF, That's a lead in to the rationale of why we need more than one guitar; one tuned standard, one tuned open "G", one tuned to DADGAD, open "D" etc... Love that DADGAD tuning!!! Makes a guitar sound like a different beast! The best guitar recorded in that tuning is Neil Young......
Gilliangirl Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Magic is ALWAYS a half step down, and right now the J-185 is a full step down, which makes it really sloppy-chimey and cool sounding for some songs. The lowest tuning I ever used was 2 full steps down so that I could play Me and You and a Dog Named Boo in the key of D (which would REALLY be the key of Bb I think?)
Gilliangirl Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Do you want a good laugh this morning?! I went on a search for a video of Magic tuned down and found this one. This was a video I made for my mom about the fact that I can't palm mute and create rhythm. It is an OLD video, but hilarious. I blather on about nothing for the first few minutes so if you want to hear the guitar tuned down go to about 2:30 into the video. You can hear the guitar go out of tune while I'm playing it as it creates some interesting problems when yer tuned down so far. But anyway, have a laugh on me this morning! (I must be crazy posting this) And please excuse the lousy singing.
BigKahune Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Hey GG, not so bad, but funny too - Talking while holding the pick with your teeth - classic ! . . Love it ! . .
larryp58 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Do you want a good laugh this morning?! I went on a search for a video of Magic tuned down and found this one. This was a video I made for my mom about the fact that I can't palm mute and create rhythm. It is an OLD video, but hilarious. I blather on about nothing for the first few minutes so if you want to hear the guitar tuned down go to about 2:30 into the video. You can hear the guitar go out of tune while I'm playing it as it creates some interesting problems when yer tuned down so far. But anyway, have a laugh on me this morning! (I must be crazy posting this) And please excuse the lousy singing. Nice pic, Karen! Where's the video?!!!! (or was that the laugh you were talkin' about?!!!)
Versatile Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 One of my favourite Paul McCartney songs 'Mother Nature's Son' is in 'tone down' tuning DADGAD-ers abound... John Renbourn, Jimmy Page, Davy Graham.... V
Gilliangirl Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Nice pic, Karen! Where's the video?!!!! (or was that the laugh you were talkin' about?!!!) Hmmm, good question. Maybe click on the picture? Weird that there's no PLAY arrow on it tho'?
BigKahune Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 . Larry - Click the pic - - - - it's linked to the video. <oops GG was posting at the same time as me.>
nodehopper Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Do you want a good laugh this morning?! I went on a search for a video of Magic tuned down and found this one. This was a video I made for my mom about the fact that I can't palm mute and create rhythm. It is an OLD video, but hilarious. I blather on about nothing for the first few minutes so if you want to hear the guitar tuned down go to about 2:30 into the video. You can hear the guitar go out of tune while I'm playing it as it creates some interesting problems when yer tuned down so far. But anyway, have a laugh on me this morning! (I must be crazy posting this) And please excuse the lousy singing. ----yes all just click the picture it will take you to the video page LOL GGirl....that is a funny funny video I especially like the random mumbling and muttering with the pick in your mouth. Reminded me of a crazy homeless street musician talking to an invisible friend .... LOL Priceless You are wonderful for sharing that with us.... I little peek into the mind of GGirl!! You definitely made my day! You are awesome!
larryp58 Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 You are a hoot, Karen!!! So sincere! You are a very brave girl for posting that one! I did have a good laugh! Thanks!
Gilliangirl Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 ----yes all just click the picture it will take you to the video page LOL GGirl....that is a funny funny video I especially like the random mumbling and muttering with the pick in your mouth. Reminded me of a crazy homeless street musician talking to an invisible friend .... LOL Priceless You are wonderful for sharing that with us.... I little peek into the mind of GGirl!! You definitely made my day! You are awesome! I'm glad you got a kick out of it Stephen! All meant in fun, nothing serious here.
Gilliangirl Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 You are a hoot, Karen!!! So sincere! You are a very brave girl for posting that one! I did have a good laugh! Thanks! Yeah, I sure hope I don't regret it! Like I said, it was a video done years ago for my mom, meant to be funny back then too. The reason I have it today is because my mom saved it back then as she got a laugh from it too.
E-minor7 Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 I really found this performance entertaining – Recognized the situation, , , and the tune. In fact I listened to it one to Tube some months ago during a sweet 70ties rerun. Was it Lobo. . . May the good fun continue -
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