What weird tunings do you have your guitars in?

Jawoom

Jawoom

Inspired
I typically play in Standard E or Drop D, but I recently set up a LTD to be in a weird tuning I learned from being interested in Alter Bridge songs. I don't know what you call this one, but it's Bb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb (essentially Eb standard, with a low Bb). So when you play a power chord shape on the 2 lowest strings it's actually just an octave. It's been really fun tripping up my brain or rather trying new things.

To compensate for the Bb, I bought a 7 string pack of guitar strings, then used the 7th string instead of the 6th. Seems to be holding stable for now. When I took the LTD for a set up, some of the front employees questioned if it will find stability, but the tech said it would be fine.

(Picture is reference for the guitar, but this is before the set up)

20200702_183244.jpg

What weird or different tunings do you have your guitars set up in?
 
I keep the guitar in standard tuning or drop d. I'll use a digitech drop pedal to drop further. Nice guitar!

I used to have an LTD AX350 - played that thng to death, beat it up well and good, then sold it on ebay as a project guitar.
 
Nothing super exotic here:
  • Standard
  • Drop D
  • Drop C
  • Dsus4 (DADGAD)
  • Csus4 (CGCFGC)
  • EAEADGBE for the eight strings
I like the sus4 tunings because they can be super heavy and very pretty at the same time.
 
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When I used to record, I always liked to have at my disposal one baritone, one Nashville, one twelve string, and one standard. Now I also keep one guitar in drop C.
 
My main gigging electric guitar is in Drop C, but when we do acoustic shows I swap between open Csus2, open Csus4 (DADGAD down a tone) and open C minor (similar to @shemihazazel )so I can plow away with one finger power chords on the low strings while droning the high strings open.

Some others I enjoy
CGDABE (my lazy take on New Standard Tuning)
BEAGBE (As used by Karnivool)
Standard with a capo at fret 5 or 7 on the treble strings only
FACGDE
Standard with every second string a quarter tone flat

I covered some of them here
 
Mostly E, Eb, and D standard. I like open tunings too and usually have an acoustic in DADGAD or something. When I play my seven string I like messing around with Monuments' tuning (Bb F Bb Eb F Bb Eb).

Also when I used to own a Floyd Rose equipped guitar, I would leave the guitar with broken strings and all out of tune because I liked the challenge of making it sound musical and I hated tuning the damn thing! 🤣
 
Roland VG. Anything goes. E, Eb, D, Drop D, Drop Db, DADGAD, DbAbDbGbAbDb, Nashville, Open anything, and 12 string tunings with the pairs set to harmonize.

Not as good as the real deal, but so easy and versatile.
 
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My three main guitars ar—

Standard/drop D
Drop C
Drop B

The last update to the pitch block has had me using one guitar to do all 3 drop tunings, so I might change things up as a result.

Often, when I’m overdubbing acoustic parts, I’ll re-tune it for specific parts. There’s an intro I wrote in DADGAD, occasionally open C and probably my favorite one is the Sevendust tuning, C# G# C# F# B C#, which can be heard below.


 
The alternate tuning I use the most is drop D but also play some tunes in open G. Since being in quarantine, I've been playing a lot of acoustic and started going through this book:

http://taooftunings.com/

I'm really enjoying it and find myself playing for hours on some of the tunings. I've also started playing 4 string cigar box guitar which is in open G (GDGD). First tune I learned was my favorite Pink Floyd song Fearless which is so fun to play with a slide.
 

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I have a couple of baritone guitars (B to B), a 10 string Warr Guitar (Trey Gunn tuning), and few basses (both 4 and 5 string, plus a fretless 4 string). Other than that, all my guitars are in standard E to E tuning, with one exception: I've just started to learn New Standard Tuning (CGDAEG) in preparation for a workshop with Robert Fripp. NST is pretty difficult to get into at first because everything you think you know about guitar is out the window, and it's fiendishly difficult to play anything in a close voicing. It sure opens some cool possibilities with the mostly-fifths tuning, and the wider voicing is really nice. I'm also learning to apply Robert's pick technique, which another challenging adaptation after decades of existing muscle memory.
 
Jawoom said:
I typically play in Standard E or Drop D, but I recently set up a LTD to be in a weird tuning I learned from being interested in Alter Bridge songs. I don't know what you call this one, but it's Bb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb (essentially Eb standard, with a low Bb). So when you play a power chord shape on the 2 lowest strings it's actually just an octave. It's been really fun tripping up my brain or rather trying new things.

To compensate for the Bb, I bought a 7 string pack of guitar strings, then used the 7th string instead of the 6th. Seems to be holding stable for now. When I took the LTD for a set up, some of the front employees questioned if it will find stability, but the tech said it would be fine.
Click to expand...

Tune everything one semitone up to normal with a low B and you basically have what Tom Morello used on Calm Like a Bomb, Gasoline, Shadow of the Sun and The Worm. I've used it myself as well as it sounds heavy as hell.

What weird or different tunings do you have your guitars set up in?
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Standard tuning, drop D, dropping the E to B of course, Eb and one of my favorites, what I call the Black Sabbath tuning as used on Master of Reality, C#. But overall I play mostly in standard or drop D, bringing out the low B or C# sparingly, so it will always sound fresh and heavy.

MrGuitarabuse said:
In this day and age, standard tuning is probably the most weird you can tune your guitars in.... :D
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True. Downtuning your guitar gives a heavier sound, but only if you use it together with standard tuning. It's the contrast that will make it sound heavy. All downtuned all the time is like all angry all the time. It becomes normal and ceases being heavy.
 
Pretty much E standard Or Eb, I do have 2 guitars that live in C# standard, once in awhile I’ll jam something I drop D or Db.
 
shemihazazel said:
Open C# minor - C#-G#-C#-E-G#-C#
Click to expand...

Same intervals as my go-to open acoustic tuning, DADFAD. I find the minor open tuning more flexible than an open major tuning; it only takes one finger to make the barre major. Works well on slide, too. You can angle the slide between the 2nd and 3rd strings to get a major third or the “blues third” and fifth.
 
Aside from good old Drop D, I also play in what I'd call Drop A Standard. I slap a .58 on the low E and tune it an octave below the adjacent A string. I've recorded quite a bit of original stuff in this tuning.
 
My Taylor has been in DADAAD since the Save It For Later thread earlier this week... ;-)

I usually keep one guitar in DADGAD, the rest in Standard, occasionally Drop D. And I'll mess around with other tunings like for the Rain Song, David Crosby's Laughing, and I think I have one in New Standard right now.
 
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