Looper's Delight Archive Top (Search)
Date Index
Thread Index
Author Index
Looper's Delight Home
Mailing List Info
[Date Prev][Date Next]   [Thread Prev][Thread Next]   [Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index]

Re: Alternate Guitar Tunings (OT)

 Okay -I see some of you are talking about guitar tuning so I just thought I would dive into the pool with my thoughts  about alternate and open tunings.   I enjoy simple open tunings on my acoustic guitar as well as on my electric, though the electric is more suited  for the fairly esoteric systems made famous by Sonic Youth, even if they learned from among others, Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham. For many of their tunings they abandon conventional string gauges all together! The trick is to use only 3 size strings strung in pairs. This gives you wonderful drones and dissonances that are quite impossible with normal gauge strings.  I use the following set up low to high.  
38-38-28-28-18-18 but for the record SY uses slightly lighter strings in 36-36-26-26-17-17
Tuning these strings to their normal pitch as they would be pitched in a regular set this gives you the notes A-A  D-D G-G   Note that there is less than an octave between the lowest and highest notes   Tuning the G's up to A gives you the octave if you wish and a very usable power chord as well.   AA DD AA  Of course there are many many ways you can tune this wonderful set of strings.  If you have any interest in this I would be happy to give you some more of SY's tuning as well as some of mine and some links fur furthur research. I can also give you some tips on guitar set up. The nut often doesn't take to this very well and often needs some tweaking as does the intonation.   Finally I must say that cranked through a tube amp, these tunings give you sounds that you CAN NOT get any other way.   Really.  
 
thanks for this great web group!!
 
Marc