blindboygrunt Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 i tend to keep my guitar tuned down so all the strings are flat ..... i know a couple of you guys do similar ..... just wondering why its not more commonplace ? is it frowned upon in some way ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Do you mean tuning down a semi-tone/tone, or tuning standard but not at A440? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 down a tone or semi tone i know aussie does it sometimes .... but i have never sat down to play with someone to be told oh i'm a semi tone down .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I had a Kay Jumbo that had a 26" scale length. At full pitch it felt like playing rebar. I always kept it tuned a full step down and loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I think that the only reason for not tuning down would be when playing with a group of other musicians (bass, guitars, harmonica and especially piano) It would be a major chore to tune the piano down, and impossible for a harmonica.... No? Other than the rest of the band tuning likewise, I see no problem with it, epecially when playing soloB) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 I think that the only reason for not tuning down would be when playing with a group of other musicians (bass, guitars, harmonica and especially piano) It would be a major chore to tune the piano down, and impossible for a harmonica.... No? Other than the rest of the band tuning likewise, I see no problem with it, epecially when playing soloB) yeah , i appreciate the band scenario , especially the piano situation .... maybe loads of solo/duo guys do it and i just dont know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 personally I don't like the relaxed tension on an electric, acoustic, not sure it would matter a heck of a lot. Most of the time it's done to give the vocalist an easier time signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Lightnin' taught us about tuning down a whole step back in the 1950s. And for those who played 12 strings it wasn't a choice - it was a matter of survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Some of my instrumnts are tuned down a whole step, some a half step, and some kept in the good old missionary position. The ones tuned down require 13s, otherwise they are muddy or loose sounding. The Jackson Browne model is superb down a whole step and sounds great. I also play harmonica, but it cannot be done with a guitar down a half step, otherwise, I usually have a compatable key in my bag. Practised one time with a guy at full pitch, we take the stage at an open-mic and he's down a whole step, and says to me - just transpose... yeah right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 down a tone or semi tone i know aussie does it sometimes .... but i have never sat down to play with someone to be told oh i'm a semi tone down .... All our guitars are tuned down a semi-tone for gigging... we've two songs that are arranged in Em, but a semitone down, they don't sound the same if I play an Ebm in Std. More to suit the singer though, he is rarely in the same key as an original song so we've tunes that use a lot of capo action, I'm up as far as 8 on two numbers. Pain in the proverbial, but people notice a singer not in a uncomfortable key far more than a guitarist forced to move the chords about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Just not jam friendly. Play out much? If not, then go nuts. If you do play with others, then I guess you could learn enough music theory to do the math & tell your accompaniment what key to use, or where to capo. It is nice to tune down once in a while, though; a guitar you thought you knew takes on a new persona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I tune down half a step during our gigs as its easier to sing for my vocalist over 2/3 hours, plus we like the harder tone of half tuned down guitar. I also keep my 69'er tuned down half a step as I really like the tone of the guitar in that tuning, and also its good when playing along with all my fave Seattle bands from the 90's ..... Plus I often like the feel of half step tuned down guitar, easier to bend etc .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 jesus , seems like it was a daft question , everyone tunes down !! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I tune down half a step during our gigs as its easier to sing for my vocalist over 2/3 hours, plus we like the harder tone of half tuned down guitar. I also keep my 69'er tuned down half a step as I really like the tone of the guitar in that tuning, and also its good when playing along with all my fave Seattle bands from the 90's ..... I'd actually thought a bit about getting one of the guitars setup for stupid thick strings so I could get down to C# save me so much capoing to suit the singer, in that key I'd be able to transpose a lot of our stuff dead easy without losing too much from any of the arrangements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 My Cafe gig guitar is tuned to D# or Eb.....you choose.....D-18 strung with 13's, my fingers are always thanking me...still sounds good.....some guitars just don't sound good tuned down, at least to my ear. For example my SJ-200, not so good, but I have only 12's on that one, if I slapped some 13's on that one , perhaps.........some guitars thrive on it....so it is guitar based too....The main reason I tune down is not the guitar, but my voice...tuned to "D" would be best for my voice, but the Martin sounds a little anemic at that tension.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I sat down last night to begin and learn the Nat King Cole ""The Christmas Song" lesson off of you tube. Pulled out the Lowden which is the best acoustic I have, saw it was not quite up to pitch & said oh no..stiffer than this I cant do.. Pulled out the most easiest guitar to play.. ..a Carlo Greco Semi Hollow with .009-.036 Strings..and progress. Basically I gotta do something... All my acoustics feel stiff with those .012's on there,especially at this certain time of the year for some reason. Either I gotta reduce strings to .011 on acoustics...or..or The short scale Lowden is almost perfect in feel..I dont want to lose any of that sound on that thing. BB..Tuning down a note to 415 is more like the historically accurate tuning for hundreds of years...in the 19th Century pitch began to rise to get more volume out of the instruments to reach the increasing audiences. To me 415 resonates much nicer. But most modern songs are usually at 440. Oddly some of the highest reguarded guitarists tuned in 415 ...Jimi Hendrix...Tony Iommi(The father of heavy Metal)...etc My quest has been to find guitars that could be tuned to 440..that felt almost like 415. Problem is it wrecks havoc on the vocalist doing modern covers...I didnt like getting used to singing at a lower pitch, and many of those songs lose something in the lowering of pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatbaroque Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Funny timing on this topic for me. I muck around with open tunings a fair bit but had never really tuned down in standard.....until I thought I'd record Summertime a couple of days ago. So I tuned down a whole step thinking it might make the vocal better.But I didn't really like the feel that much.It was ok but just a little too loose. Strings were 12's. So I tuned back up and went in standard. Maybe I'll try a half step for something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 My brother was in a band and had me come over to do the singing.. Im singing and saying to myself somethings wrong .. The guitar player was used to playing his electric guitar tuned down 3 notes ..echh! Im like can you play the songs in original pitch..he says so its easier for you to sing.. Im like, I dont need the pitch lowered. Damn.. three steps lower,mama mia. Cramped his style of playing, transposing everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfbird Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I keep a variety of guitars in different tunings. I have a Squier Tele tuned to Keith Richards open tuning with removal of the low E. I have acoustics in drop D and keep most of my standard tunings guitars at least 1/2 down because it sounds more pleasing to my ears. The JB model is kept a full step down, but I do it with 12s and it is a bit muddy. I'm going to put 13s on later next week when it's time to freshen it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Tuning down a whole step is a fairly radical thing to do. Half the way makes many guitars sound better, like more profound. Though one can clam on a capo, it's not for beginners, it simply isn't. I consequently play half down - but one whole when with my little band thus have to do some hellish chord-math on the spot when communicating. Gives the bass-player a healthy challenge – you know a cliche like G-F# to Em suddenly becomes F-E to Dm and so forth. And yes ! - I drop my '54 6th to deep C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Often tune older guitars down 1 or 2 steps, plus my old Gibson 12 string is a must to be down 2 steps or the top will blow.... Always good to give other singers and even better, harmonica players, a little surprise when they jump up for a jam! BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Hmmmm? I never knew so many guitarists tuned down... I can see why you might on an old guitar ? But as has been said ..depends on if your playing with other musicians..esp' in jam/session situations. Personally I see little point.. if I want to play in a different key..I simply use the capo. My last band..I would just hit them with songs they maybe didn't even know..while playing live,,haha..I would just name the key..and the bass and harp would follow... luckily the bass player was in his 60's and had been playing all his life..so he could follow practically anything. harp..well if you play well...anything kinda fits..as long as you have the right key..but its all about the phrasing for me. interesting thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I see your point Del, but from a guitar playing perspective... .from a group perspective it's normally built around the singer. ex. We gigged last night, played 23 songs, we're tuned down a half step at the mo. Of those 23 songs, only 3 have no capo for the singer. From a second guitarists perspective this is a bit of a nightmare. Requiring a lot of transposing, reworking of things to yield the same result, or capo'ing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I see your point Del, but from a guitar playing perspective... .from a group perspective it's normally built around the singer. ex. We gigged last night, played 23 songs, we're tuned down a half step at the mo. Of those 23 songs, only 3 have no capo for the singer. From a second guitarists perspective this is a bit of a nightmare. Requiring a lot of transposing, reworking of things to yield the same result, or capo'ing too. I am the singer .... so your tuned down a half step... making it easy for the singer apparently..yes ? well instead of capoing at the 3rd fret for insatnce..just capo at the second... do you follow..? am i missing something?.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 lets say I want to sing/play in Eb I just capo at the first ( or 3rd ) and change positions..it aint hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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