Sucked down the rabbit hole! (Beyond open C, D and G)

[Mark Evans]

Okay
Phew!
Catch yer breath, Mark!

I’ve been a resident, on my weissenborns, of open C, D and G (with one string changes to minor tunings). I restrung a 4th Weiss (not in heavy rotation) to try more swing/hawaiian tunings… D9, E7, C#min7, D6… on and on…
And the more I searched on the Forum, the further down the rabbit hole I fell (I’m also haunting John Ely’s page and Brad’s Page of Steel).
Oh… retune this string from this tuning and another happier/darker tuning…
Oh this tuning can actually be arranged in many many ways!

Overstating the obvious for you seasoned players, but it’s crazy easy to suddenly look up and the sun has gone down and I’ve killed off a Sunday exploring.

One other thing… maybe we need a sub forum: Steels without Pedals - SIX STRINGS! (Ha ha ha) Search for E13 ideas and… 8-10-12 strings… alphabet city!!

But I’m Glad to be lost … hopefully temporarily
Mark E

[Allan Revich]

I fell down that rabbit hole years ago!
…And still haven’t found my way out of it.

My motto should be, “the best tuning is always the next tuning”.

[Joe A. Roberts]

Do we need a 6 string forum, or do you need an 8 (10, or 12) string?
Always take advantage of an excuse to acquire more gear!

The first E13th tuning, from the 30s, was for 6 strings. (It is often colloquially, albeit incorrectly, called C#m7th).
A pretty sound.
E
C#
G#
E
D
B
You don’t need the 9th tone (in this case, F#) for it to be an E13th. But you can tune the middle E up to F# for a truncated Noel Boggs E13th tuning for six strings.

From memory, using the same strings from your other post, you could probably try this E13th (or tuned down to D13th):
E
C#
G#
D
B
E
This tuning, but with the C# tuned down to B, results in a once popular variation of E7th tuning from the 30s. (one could still use a standard pack of guitar strings.)

[David DeLoach]

Have you delved into Leavitt tuning yet?

C# - E - G - Bb - C - D (low to high).

I'm about 200 songs in with that tuning and love it. It takes a bit of head scratching to learn your way around in it, but so many great voicings in that tuning.

[Mark Evans]

Thank you thank you for support
Guidance! Guidance is good… tho throughout my life I’ve found dumb luck discovery can be quite satisfying.

String gauge update:
Before the explore, I elected to ransack said string box, cross-reference online gauge guides, and go a tad lighter. I think I have - low to high:

.045
.038
.032
.027
.018
.025

That low string probably keeps me away from C tunings.
I took notes but I’m not confident in my note taking (vis a vis tuning names)

So far I’ve tried these tunings (let me tell ya… tuning higher and higher, waiting for strings to snap is too exciting)

Low to high

BDEGBD (D6?)

BDEG#C#E. (E7?)

AC#EG#BE (A6?)

ADF#ACE (I just wrote ‘bluesy’)

Then last night decided to push it

BDF#G#C#E (E13?)

BD#F#AC#E. (B11)

Okay… so… B11 is just gorgeous. I might just hang out in this garden for awhile. I even found some resources (Doug Beaumier!) with tabs and tips. Other resources?

My actual musical theory knowledge is very sketchy. More seat-of-the-pants, play by ear folkie back ground. I jam with another multi-instrumentalist guy, his programmed Afro-middle eastern beats, C and D, loooong trancey jams FUN! traditionalists might roll their eyes, but the singing lap Weissenborn can do quite well in the less structured mode.

HOWEVER… these 6th/11th/13th tunings initially beg for me to learn some structure, songs, chord locations… (gasp) THEORY! Plus my new girlfriend lived 40+ years in Hawai’i, and does hula dancing. Can an old dog learn new tricks? Do I ramble on and on too long? Maybe the answer is yes to both

(And am I soon on the hunt for an 8 string steel? 8 string Weissenborn - rare and pricey, but reg slab 8 string…. Hmmmm)

[Allan Revich]

Thank you thank you for support
Guidance! Guidance is good… tho throughout my life I’ve found dumb luck discovery can be quite satisfying.

String gauge update:
Before the explore, I elected to ransack said string box, cross-reference online gauge guides, and go a tad lighter. I think I have - low to high:

.045
.038
.032
.027
.018
.025

That low string probably keeps me away from C tunings.
I took notes but I’m not confident in my note taking (vis a vis tuning names)

So far I’ve tried these tunings (let me tell ya… tuning higher and higher, waiting for strings to snap is too exciting)

BDEGBD (D6?) >>> G6

BDEG#C#E. (E7?) >>> E13

AC#EG#BE (A6?). >>> A major 9

ADF#ACE (I just wrote ‘bluesy’) >>> D9

Then last night decided to push it

BDF#G#C#E (E13?)

BD#F#AC#E. (B11)

Okay… so… B11 is just gorgeous. I might just hang out in this garden for awhile. I even found some resources (Doug Beaumier!) with tabs and tips. Other resources?

My actual musical theory knowledge is very sketchy. More seat-of-the-pants, play by ear folkie back ground. I jam with another multi-instrumentalist guy, his programmed Afro-middle eastern beats, C and D, loooong trancey jams FUN! traditionalists might roll their eyes, but the singing lap Weissenborn can do quite well in the less structured mode.

HOWEVER… these 6th/11th/13th tunings initially beg for me to learn some structure, songs, chord locations… (gasp) THEORY! Plus my new girlfriend lived 40+ years in Hawai’i, and does hula dancing. Can an old dog learn new tricks? Do I ramble on and on too long? Maybe the answer is yes to both

(And am I soon on the hunt for an 8 string steel? 8 string Weissenborn - rare and pricey, but reg slab 8 string…. Hmmmm)

Generally when stacking a tuning vertically we write the lowest string at the bottom of the stack, going top down. When writing a tuning horizontally, lap steel is usually written from low to high, while pedal steelers usually write their tunings from high to low. Can get a bit confusing when old-timers or pedal players chime in on the Steel Without Pedals forum

When naming tunings by chord name, I try to look for the major triad notes (1 3 5) and then see what extension notes are also present (6[13],7,9,11)

[Mark Evans]

Thanks Allan.
Im learning new stuff daily

Any one recommend decent 8 string options without breaking the
‘Retired guy’ bank?

[David M Brown]

Low to high

BDEGBD (D6?)

BDEG#C#E. (E7?)

AC#EG#BE (A6?)

just to clarify...

BDEGBD is G6

BDEG#C#E. (E7?) E13

AC#EG#BE (A6?) I've never used this but the chord is an A maj9.

[Mark Evans]

Low to high

BDEGBD (D6?)

BDEG#C#E. (E7?)

AC#EG#BE (A6?)

just to clarify...

BDEGBD is G6

BDEG#C#E. (E7?) E13

AC#EG#BE (A6?) I've never used this but the chord is an A maj9.

Thanks!
I stand corrected.

[David M Brown]

Low to high

BDEGBD (D6?)

BDEG#C#E. (E7?)

AC#EG#BE (A6?)

just to clarify...

BDEGBD is G6

BDEG#C#E. (E7?) E13

AC#EG#BE (A6?) I've never used this but the chord is an A maj9.

Thanks!
I stand corrected.

I used that G6 a lot when playing with a Cajun accordion player using a C box.

[Fred]

A really cool retune from open E is F#9. From your open D it would give you E9.

E => E
B => C#
G#=> G#
E => E
B => A
E => F#