A440 or step down tuning for you?

[Tone2TheBone]

Or both?

Which of your guitars gets the Eb tuning and which of yours get the A440?

My Strat - Eb naturally

My Les Paul - Eb

My PRS SE Custom - A440

My Acoustics - A440

 

[duhvoodooman]

Eb for my Strat (what else for an SRV fanatic??), A440 for the Epi LP and my son's Tele (don't make me say it, Swede.... ).

 

[Tim]

Ok I need some help here. I thought tuning down to “Eb” was for 12 string guitars and guitars with heavy strings such as .013. This is helps save the neck from the heavy tension. Then the player uses a capo on the first fret to bring it back to “E”. Other lowered tuning would be the dropped tuning for slide guitar. Then again I never knew why they dropped the tuning for slide guitar anyway?

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Tim - Tuning "down" to Eb is optional without regard to the need for less stress for heavy strings on a guitar etc. It's just a matter of playing taste and usually a matter of being in the same key as some of our guitar heros so as to learn some of their songs while listening to them and playing along. Tuning down to Eb does sound heavier though because it's a lower key and thats why a lot of Rock and Metal bands tune down. They also tune down so that their vocalist can hit some of the higher notes as they scream.

Slide tunings are tuned so that when you play all the strings open they'll be as if you were playing a chord without having to fret anything. Open A and G tunings for example are great in blues slide playing. The slide rides perpendicular to the strings and so when the guitar is tuned to open chords it's much more pleasant sounding to play that way...although you can still play slide with standard tuning.

 

[Tim]

Thanks Tone! Another piece of valuable information from the man who knows. Maybe now I understand why I can seem to harmonize with some of the CD song tracks I try to play with. It’s the hidden factor of tuning down to “Eb”. Now is this just the 6th string and/or the 1st string or are all 6 strings tuned down ½ step?

There is a wealth of knowledge from all the guys on this site. I appreciate all that you share. And thanks again to you T2TB. I will try some of those CDs I placed off to the side because they were too hard to figure how to be in tune with. Rock & Roll here I come!

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Tim - No problemo. Tune your E to Eb and then tune the rest of the strings as you normally would (as if you were tuning them to E). I'll bet you thats why some of your songs don't match up.

 

[Bigbear]

Godin Radiator (Eb)
Squier '51 A440
1978 Epiphone 12string- Eb

 

[SuperSwede]

I always tune to A=440hz

 

[warren0728]

Tune your E to Eb and then tune the rest of the strings as you normally would (as if you were tuning them to E).

so then A would be Ab.....G would be Gb?

ww

 

[Tim]

Nope! Just the low "E" string to "Eb". All else stays the same.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Yikes!! No, Tim, that's not what T2TB meant! Turn your first string down to Eb and then tune the rest of the strings to that. So you ended up tuned Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb. Tuning just the low E down a half-step would sound terrible!

 

[warren0728]

Turn your first string down to Eb and then tune the rest of the strings to that. So you ended up tuned Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb. Tuning just the low E down a half-step would sound terrible!

and then just play normally...same scales, chords, etc.?

ww

 

[Tim]

Thanks VooDoo. That was good catch on your part. Here I was giving advice that I did not completely understand.

Warren, sorry about miss-leading you on that question. I was scratching my head on tuning down the “E” string. But said hey these guys know more than me.

This leads to the next question. If a guitar player tunes down to “Eb”, then does the rest of the band need to do the same?

 

[warren0728]

Warren, sorry about miss-leading you on that question. I was scratching my head on tuning down the “E” string. But said hey these guys know more than me.

no prob tim....hey we need to plan another jam (pm me some of your available dates)

ww

 

[duhvoodooman]

This leads to the next question. If a guitar player tunes down to “Eb”, then does the rest of the band need to do the same?

That would generally be the case, yes. The piano player is pretty much screwed, though, and will probably end up playing in a lot of flat/sharp keys! Tough on the horns, too, I would guess....

 

[warren0728]

That would generally be the case, yes. The piano player is pretty much screwed, though, and will probably end up playing in a lot of flat/sharp keys! Tough on the horns, too, I would guess....

so then what is the advantage to tuning down? I just tuned my strat knockoff to Eb and it sounds good but is there a real advantage to tuning down?

ww

 

[Tim]

Warren – I believe Tone said that back in an earlier thread.

To quote T2TB: “Tuning down to Eb does sound heavier though because it's a lower key and that’s why a lot of Rock and Metal bands tune down. They also tune down so that their vocalist can hit some of the higher notes as they scream”.

There maybe more to it. Let’s wait for other Fretters to give us some words of wisdom.

 

[Spudman]

Tuning down makes it easier to play heavy gauge strings. It also changes the harmonic characteristics of the notes. ie. string tension coupled with vibration.
Most modern keyboards have a detune function that lets them instantly transpose the whole keyboard. Horns? That is tough. I suggest going a whole step then Capo as needed.
Detuning will take some pizazz out of some tunes. Makes them seem sluggish or weak because the vocals aren't in a good pitch to project. If you are just creating your own music then by all means detune.

I love the character of my Strats detuned. It makes the bottom a bit more spongy and compressed sounding. The sympathetic vibrations change also and the whole guitar seems to vibrate more. I like it. Les Pauls can use heavier strings detuned. Nice feature that. More tone, easier to play and ballsy as all get out.
If you go to open mics and jams tuning down will be a problem. Take two guitars one in A440 and one not.

 

[warren0728]

thanks spud,

i don't think i'll be going to open jams anytime soon ....i will experiment with it a little since i don't have too worry about any horn sections and such either.

ww

 

[duhvoodooman]

so then what is the advantage to tuning down? I just tuned my strat knockoff to Eb and it sounds good but is there a real advantage to tuning down?

Well, for example, if you want to play along to a Stevie Ray Vaughan CD, tuning down to Eb, as he does, makes it a whole lot easier! That's one of the main reasons I keep my Strat tuned to Eb.

There are other "tricks" you can use to get around this, though, if you don't want to change your tuning. Audacity has the ability to change a track's pitch independent of tempo, which is a handy way to adjust the pitch of a recorded track to match your tuning. Rip it from the CD, import it to Audacity, and adjust the pitch to your needs.

There's a plug-in for Windows Media Player and WinAmp called Chronotron that lets you do the same basic thing. That one is particularly useful, since it uses a simple slider control on the fly during playback to let you match up the pitch by ear.

 

[warren0728]

Well, for example, if you want to play along to a Stevie Ray Vaughan CD, tuning down to Eb, as he does, makes it a whole lot easier! That's one of the main reasons I keep my Strat tuned to Eb.

now that makes sense voodoo! i think i'll keep my "strat" tuned to Eb for just that reason!

ww

 

[Tone2TheBone]

No no...I had forgot to say yes all your other strings are flat as well. Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb and Eb. I thought about this last night and I knew I would confuse you! Sorry!

Edit - Sorry I posted this before I saw the corrections of my quote from the other guys.

Oh also as a side note of most importance...this is the best reason why we need several guitars. *nods* Truly. Explain this reasoning to your wife/gf.

 

[warren0728]

this is the best reason why we need several guitars. *nods* Truly. Explain this reasoning to your wife/gf.

hey i'm always looking for "reasons" to have several guitars!

ww

 

[duhvoodooman]

Oh also as a side note of most importance...this is the best reason why we need several guitars. *nods* Truly. Explain this reasoning to your wife/gf.

Lemme see, there are 12 half-steps to the octave, so.....

(Yelling over my shoulder) Hey, honey, T2TB says I need 9 more guitars!.....Yeah, 9....No, I don't know exactly where he lives, but I'll ask.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

LMAO - Hey I'll take the heat for the suggestion!

 

[marnold]

Some use drop-D tuning, which is detuning the low E string ONLY to D. The only advantage I see there is that you can play one-finger power chords. If/when I get my Charvel Tele project finished, I'm going to detune it 1/2 step to Eb for SRV stuff. I'm going to keep my Fender in standard tuning.