Alternate Tunings -or- Help me Find Myself

[spacelordmother]

My alt guitar is typically tuned CGCGAC. Heavy and chimey all at once.

[neonblack]

I put it in DADGAD. I'm not sure how I feel yet. It sounds awesome but man I could just bar the 4 highest strings and grind away all day. It's almost too easy haha. Better than power chords though. And I've found a few interesting shapes. Weird droney notes. The couple songs I wrote before still work in the new tuning and with some minor adjustments, sound better than before.

I might leave it like this for a little bit and see how I like it.

[Chankgeez]

you're not gonna get used to a new tuning during the course of one night.

I actually play a lot of power chords on the top two strings in DADGAD.

You should definitely leave it like that for a while. Otherwise you won't really get a good feel for the tuning.

I tried playing in DADF#BD for a time. It didn't work out quite so well for what I was trying to do. So, I gave up on it.

[neonblack]

I think that may have actually been the tuning that the guy used? That sounds right. I'll try that one too.

I played around for the last couple hours with DADGAD and I do like it... And I've already got a couple fun little riffs.

I think I'll leave it like this until next band practice and see what I come up with, see how the guys feel about it. And then I need to finish my jag so I can have one in standard. Maybe, haha. Maybe the jag will go in a different weird tuning

[Olin]

CGCFCE is a great tuning for most purposes and doesn't get enough love.

[popvulture]

Weird droney notes.

IMO this is the best thing about playing in DADGAD. There are various positions using octaves and 5ths that will give you all kinds of cool, resonant sounds—it's super fun, especially awesome sounding when you leave several open strings to bring out that fullness. I feel like the most "classic" position is the D fretted on the 5th fret of the 5th string, coupled with the A on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. That's the first note of "Kashmir;" move the A up fret by fret and you'll start hearing the riff. Such a cool, Eastern sort of sound. Then the common octave positions, like say 2nd fret 6th string, 2nd fret 4th string—or 2nd fret 5th string, 2nd fret 2nd string—these also do really cool drone things when you strum all six strings. Then move the octaves around. Fun.

Second time I've mentioned this, which is funny—sounds like I'm some big grunge guy. Despite that not being the case, this was one of my first introductions to how cool DADGAD can be when I was in like 7th grade. Super Zeppy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TksqEIl1uxU[/youtube]

[humandingus]

dadfad is really fun too

[Inconuucl]

I want to change one of my guitars to New Standard Tuning, I'm a fan of large intervals and this seems to provide that in spades.

[MrNovember]

When I bought my Jazzmaster, the guy left it in EG#BF#BD#. I left it like that for a long while. Really fun, easy to write riffs, and droney

[oldangelmidnight]

For me, it's more related to the instrument. I get confused and bored if I play electric guitar in another tuning but I love a nylon string acoustic in DADFAD. My tenor guitar, ukulele, and mandolin are all tuned to different notes but all to fifths so I can use the same chord shapes and have similar feels.

I wish I could understand what Richard Thompson does with tunings. I guess it has something to do with english folk music but I'd love to see his approach recontextualized into something heavier or more fucked up.

[neonblack]

I'm resisting the urge to tune back to standard. I am currently confused and bored

[Olin]

This thread got me thinking quite a lot about tunings and there seems to be a vacant hole in the youtube world going over regular tuning and such. Mildly tempting.

Also, CACABE.

[Invisible Man]

Try spelling words with tuning for maximum punkage. Get a seven string and tune it to FUCKYOU.

Or father out and rock DADDAD.

[spacelordmother]

BADDAD
DADGAB

[Strange Tales]

Was at CACGCE for a while but just couldn't get into it (is supposed to be FACGCE but my bottom string is too thick for that).

Now I'm doing DGCGBE and it's surprisingly really nice.