How many of you play a guitar tuned down to Eb?

[chet]

What happens when you play at a jam with that guitar? I'd think that you'd just have to tell everyone else what key you're in etc. Does the Bass player necessarily have to tune his bass to Eb also?

[Johnny Caster]

You can capo the first fret that way you're in standard tuning, get looser string tension (if that's what you're going for) and lowest possible nut height (almost like a zero fret).

[Cyrithicus]

I have at least one guitar I keep tuned down.

When my wife sings with me, she likes it flat to ease tension on her voice.

If one goes flat, or sharp, everybody tunes to the same.

[Rocker AK]

I do it quite often. My ESP came, factory setup, a half-step down. I readjusted the Floyd Rose , truss and intonation to standard tuning, but it never sounded quite right. I readjusted everything back and it was perfect again. I don't know if it's the pickup winding or what. It never sounded right tuned standard. Now, I just use my Fernandes Tele copy to learn material at different tunings. It never causes a fuss.

I have an Ovation with nylon folk strings that usually stays at Eb.

What happens when you play at a jam with that guitar? I'd think that you'd just have to tell everyone else what key you're in etc. Does the Bass player necessarily have to tune his bass to Eb also?

It would sound better! A good drummer will make the necessary tuning adjustments, too. If you are going to use drop tunings, everyone needs to do it for it to work right. I did it, in the past, when working with a lower, register vocalist. It does beef-up the bottom end some, but I prefer standard tuning.

[fakeocaster]

To be honest Ive never seen any point in tuning in Eb.Im not a singer but Ive played with many who sing in every key known to man(and more) so I learnt how to adapt.Once I learned to transpose without a capo I found it easier to stay in standard and work from there.

I did sit in once at a blues festival with a SRV wannabe who wanted the bass player and I to tune down to Eb with him in order to play ONE SONG (Pride and Joy).

We just played down a semitone instead and everything was fine


Im sure if you want to stay in Eb you could get used to transposing up a semitone instead.


Its probably a case of picking one tuning and staying with it

[chet]

I have a Strat that I have tuned to Eb to play Stevie and Jimi Hendrix songs. I think Eb lets you play with a horn section also.

[J. Hayes]

I'd venture to say that there are probably no guitarists who play with horn sections that tune below standard. IMO if you're going to play guitar you should be able to play any song or chord progression you know in any key if you have any hope of becoming a well rounded guitarist. I do have one guitar that I tune down (A Les Paul) but it's tuned a whole tone flat so it's
D G C F A D low to high. It's only because of working some with a singer who likes to do Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" in G so I have to do the opening low string riff usually done in E in D instead. I worked it out in dropped D but the fingering used doesn't sound as good as a lower tuned guitar. I do an occasional Country or Yacht Club gig with a band which has a trumpet, sax, and trombone but for that my guitar's always tuned standard..........JH in va.

[Jorge]

That's my main tuning!.. Just like Hendrix and SRV , and they had tone!

[woodman]

i did it once on my first homegrown Tele, put 12's on there and loved it! i was smitten by the "big" sound. unfortunately, the bassman and rhythm player said, "man, you're nuts if you think i'm doing that!" even the drummer thought i had a screw loose. so that was that.

if i was in a horn-driven band, i'd consider doing it again, because i loves them open strings ... but the odds on that are slim as a razor blade.

[Jorge]

Originally Posted by woodman

i did it once on my first homegrown Tele, put 12's on there and loved it! i was smitten by the "big" sound. unfortunately, the bassman and rhythm player said, "man, you're nuts if you think i'm doing that!" even the drummer thought i had a screw loose. so that was that.

if i was in a horn-driven band, i'd consider doing it again, because i loves them open strings ... but the odds on that are slim as a razor blade.

Yeah I agree with you that is a big problem with it, that the bassplayer gets so tuned down that his sound doesn't sound good anymore. It hurt's us guitarist that wants a better sound.. damn!

[Tedecaster]

I mostly play bass & I can't exactly remember WHY I did it, but I had my bass tuned down a whole step for a year or two. Knew all my parts that way but later tuned up to standard tuning & re-learned the songs with new positions which was easier that I expected.

[jjh37854]

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos

[getbent]

Originally Posted by chet

What happens when you play at a jam with that guitar? I'd think that you'd just have to tell everyone else what key you're in etc. Does the Bass player necessarily have to tune his bass to Eb also?

What happens is that you tell the other players what key you are playing in or they tell you and then you play in that key... no biggie.

The bass player doesn't have to change tuning at all... but he does need to know the key.

I occasionally use my strat and it is tuned to eb just for playing "don't let our love start slippin' away" although lately it is just easier to play it in d or e and not switch axes.

I have been intrigued because Buck and Don were tuned down to do it... but, and this is probably really crazy, a guitar with newer strings strung to pitch has a certain chime that I don't hear when it is tuned down... I'd love to know if anyone else hears that?

[aznxtasy341]

Eb??

hell ive tuned mine down to C to play some of the RL burnside stuff. of course id probably have to use 13's to not make it bend a 5th by just touching it.

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by chet

I have a Strat that I have tuned to Eb to play Stevie and Jimi Hendrix songs. I think Eb lets you play with a horn section also.

Same here I keep my Strat tuned to Eb for Hendrix SRV and Buck.

Some Hendrix songs just dont sound right unless they are in Eb.

[mellecaster]

I've done it to a few acoustic Flat tops....some Tops just sound better tuned down a half-step....and while we are are the subject....will you people with the short scale travel...mini...and kid's Guitars....quit tuning to standard pitch, and then wondering why they sound so Flabby ?....Crank em up!...they are a shorter scale !.....I feel better NOW !

[Joe-Bob]

Originally Posted by chet

I think Eb lets you play with a horn section also.

Actually, I do play with a horn section, and I tune to standard pitch.

I play in a jazz big band, and since we sight-read a lot of charts, it would just make it WAY too hard...hell, it's hard enough already.

I don't like to tune down. I think it confuses things too much. If the singer wants to sing in flat keys, fine. He can bring all the flat-key charts he wants to....chances are he won't go through the trouble; or can't transpose. Problem solved.

[franchelB]

The guitar, bass guitar, and it's strings were and are designed to be tuned to "A=440". It wouldn't sound "right" when you tune it either flat or sharp...they're either too "floppy" or too "tight"! As long as I have played with an ensemble, the "horns" have ALWAYS transposed to the guitar.

Can anyone imagine a "jam" with other guitar players where everyone is in standard tuning, and that one guy playing on a "capo'ed" "I fret"?

[ccyork]

Originally Posted by franchelB

Can anyone imagine a "jam" with other guitar players where everyone is in standard tuning, and that one guy playing on a "capo'ed" "I fret"?

I frequently play my D-18 this way. I LOVE the low action you gets with a capo!

-- ccyork

[Axis29]

I recently went down to Eb. First time I played wiht the band was the other day and I enver expected them to tuen down, I just capo'd. I'm not sure I'll stay there, but it is easier to do those big bends. As someone said, some Hednrix stuff just sounds right down there...

It's a lto easier to play along with some CD's when it's tuned down.

Maybe this is my excuse to buy double of every guitar I own? But Honey, it's the only way I can play Hendirx and SRV!!!

[Paul in Colorado]

I don't down tune a piano, why would I down tune a guitar?
I've known people who tuned down a whole step on their 12 string and then used a capo at the second fret to avoid stressing the neck, but I don't see the point otherwise. It just seems silly to me. YMMV.

One story I've heard is Jimi only tuned down because his roadies were too stoned to read the strobe tuner.

[hillbillyjazzer]

I keep one of mine tuned down all the time to Eb (sometimes D just depending on the mood). I like getting that Don Rich sound especially bending on them low strings. And those low sounding chords tend to compliment my vocal range.

[Chuck 909]

Originally Posted by Paul in Colorado

I don't down tune a piano, why would I down tune a guitar?
I've known people who tuned down a whole step on their 12 string and then used a capo at the second fret to avoid stressing the neck, but I don't see the point otherwise. It just seems silly to me. YMMV.

One story I've heard is Jimi only tuned down because his roadies were too stoned to read the strobe tuner.

I doubt Jimi had a strobe tuner! It was all by ear. You can hear him stretching his strings with big Albert King style bends and tuning up *while* he's playing HEAR MY TRAIN A COMIN, the first song on the 5/25/69 San Jose, CA tape.
I suspect it was like that a lot and Eric Barrett or whoever slapped on a set of strings 10 minutes before the gig most times.

Back in the day I got sooo tired of retuning all the time so I finally got a strat tuned to Eb for Hendrix, Trower stuff I wanted to learn and another guitar tuned to concert pitch.

[playanotherchord]

I occasionally tune down to Eb, especially if i'm singing.. it's just easier for me to sing a half step lower. Also, Eb is friendlier on the pianist (if you have one), and works with orchestral instruments such as trumpets and saxophones, since their natural keys are Eb and in some cases Bb. It's very hard for those instruments to play in 4 sharps.

[Blazer]

I do, my band plays Iron Maiden style heavy metal so it gives that extra evil grunt.

[slauson slim]

I'll tune down two steps to D sometimes, and last year tried tuning down to C. I like the ease of bends and different tonalities. My Guild has always been tuned to D or lower, and my 12 string is down at Bb.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Chuck 909

I doubt Jimi had a strobe tuner! It was all by ear.

thass rite -- i don't remember strobe tuners til very late '71 or early '72 ... but then i didn't travel in the same circles as Jimi!

but even if he'd had the most acutely calibrated strobe tuner in the world, the first time he hit that whang bar, that's all she wrote. playing lead, through some superhuman instinct, he could bend his notes into tune, but then when he dropped back to rhythm, the whang bar curse would show through.

[getbent]

I don't remember jimi worrying too much about being in tune either though.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by getbent

I don't remember jimi worrying too much about being in tune either though.

ha! yeah, that was a secondary consideration in those days ... when i first heard Dylan's "Highway 61" album, i wondered if they were doing some exotic mideastern 12-tone tuning (the raga-rock era, you know). i ultimately realized they were just too stoned to get in tune!

[getbent]

see bobby zimmerman was so close to the right lyrics! "they'll tune you when your b is kinda out, they'll tune you when your a has gone sharp, they'll tune when you're all alone, they'll tune you when you've gotten kinda stoned, you would not feel so all alone, when you're in tune, everbody gets great tone"

or not.

[chickenpicker]

If you want a looser feel, put thinner strings on, I'd say.

I keep mine tuned to A=440, unless I have to tune to an instrument that's slightly different and difficult to retune.

If I played with another guitarist who dropped a semitone, I'd stay at 440, and either play in whatever key they were really in, or leave. I wouldn't drop my guitar down a half-step.

[T-bone Tone]

Originally Posted by franchelB

The guitar, bass guitar, and it's strings were and are designed to be tuned to "A=440". It wouldn't sound "right" when you tune it either flat or sharp...they're either too "floppy" or too "tight"! As long as I have played with an ensemble, the "horns" have ALWAYS transposed to the guitar.

Can anyone imagine a "jam" with other guitar players where everyone is in standard tuning, and that one guy playing on a "capo'ed" "I fret"?

Really? Says who? We are talking a half step, here. That's all. Also there are plenty people who do, IMO, far worse by tuning to A=444 or 442 (I believe Tommy Emmanuel tunes to this or similar). This slight 'out of tuneness' can be a real pain when you all think you are in 'A'! Once you get used to Eb tuning, it is addictive.

I actually jam all the time with players in standard tuning, no problem at all. I can capo, but most of the time I just play one whole, difficult, fret higher.

[franchelB]

Originally Posted by T-bone Tone

Really? Says who? We are talking a half step, here. That's all. Also there are plenty people who do, IMO, far worse by tuning to A=444 or 442 (I believe Tommy Emmanuel tunes to this or similar). This slight 'out of tuneness' can be a real pain when you all think you are in 'A'! Once you get used to Eb tuning, it is addictive.

I actually jam all the time with players in standard tuning, no problem at all. I can capo, but most of the time I just play one whole, difficult, fret higher.

"A-440 Tuning Reference - this is the industry standard for tuning modern instruments. The "A" stands for an A note, and 440 refers to the speed of the vibration that leads to what we consider a perfect A note. The reason is that all sound is vibration, and the speed of these vibrations produces the pitch of the sound. Frequency (or vibration speed) is commonly referred to as Hertz, or Hz. So when something vibrates at a speed of 440hz, it will produce a standard A note. You can use this reference tone to tune your instrument with.

As you tighten your guitar strings they will vibrate faster producing higher tones. When you loosen them, they vibrate slower producing a lower tone. The idea is to match your A string perfectly to the A440 reference tone. If you are using a digital tuner as I am sure most are, you'll simply tune until the tuner indicates that you are at A440 for the A string, or indicates proper tune for other strings."

[franchelB]

Originally Posted by franchelB

...

Can anyone imagine a "jam" with other guitar players where everyone is in standard tuning, and that one guy playing on a "capo'ed" "I fret"?

This was a rhetorical question. I really can't imagine being in a guitar "jam", where most are in "standard tuning", and I am the only one with a capo on the "I fret"! People would think that I was "off my rocker"!!

[chet]

Robin Trower plays in "D" tuning because he feels he can bend the heavy strings he uses better.

I read in GP that Clapton wrote "Sunshine of Your Love" after hearing Jimi a few times. Great stories this month.

[Cyrithicus]

Originally Posted by chet

I read in GP that Clapton wrote "Sunshine of Your Love" after hearing Jimi a few times. Great stories this month.

And he liked it too!

That clip has a great bass solo from Noel!!

[OrovilleTim]

I've got my Tele tuned down a whole step right now, just because I like the way it sounds. Drive-By Truckers do just about everything tuned down like this, and it sounds mighty nice.

[sewkid]

If you are talking less string tension for bending, in the 60's, I have used flatwound 12s with a wound 3rd. I moved every string down one position throwing the 6th string away and using a tenor "A" string for #1, Then tuning it to standard tuning made all the strings real easy to bend.

[bowlfreshener]

Originally Posted by OrovilleTim

I've got my Tele tuned down a whole step right now, just because I like the way it sounds.

I have all my guitars tuned down a whole step as well because I like the sound and feel of the strings that way...

[boneyguy]

Originally Posted by chet

What happens when you play at a jam with that guitar? I'd think that you'd just have to tell everyone else what key you're in etc. Does the Bass player necessarily have to tune his bass to Eb also?

Well if you're fronting the jam set then, yeah, you get to call the key but if you're just up there backing up someone else then you've gotta transpose for your tuning.