Alternate Tunings!

[StudioShutIn]

Just retuned my guitar to DGBEAD last night...man..I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner...it's really great
Sort of like standard tuning, but the way the middle strings are tuned lets you get some really interesting chord shapes under your fingers.

Edit: not just for rhythm, though..it also puts scale shapes into a little easier arrangement, especially for stuff in the "cowboy chord" keys

[VauxhallandNick]

Not sure if anyone posted this tuning but it's one of my favorites by far, just naturally beautiful and ethereal.

DADF#BC#

[soapbars]

I've got an offset strat, which I've had in CGDGAD for around 7 or 8 years.

Never really settled on any other tuning other than standard.

[StudioShutIn]

I've got an offset strat, which I've had in CGDGAD for around 7 or 8 years.

Never really settled on any other tuning other than standard.

Some other similar tunings you might explore (on other guitars, ideally...so you don't have to change your strat tuning)

CGCFGC
CFCFGC
CGCGGC
CGDGGD

[Redwood Cephalopod]

I've been writing a whole step down (D standard/DGCFAD) for about a year now and I think that's the way it'll stay. I have a low-ass voice that doesn't have a gigantic singing range.

[Alicetheenigma]

I love this thread. Alternate tunings are fucking amazing. I've kind of backed off on alternate tunings since I've been playing with other musicians more, though.

The tunings I usually stick to are:
-Drop D. Most of my songs work in this tuning, and I play a lot of Jeff Buckley, Soundgarden, and Porcupine Tree covers. (Occasionally DADF#BE, or DADFAE)
-Standard
-F# standard, for to compensate for my high voice. I use a capo to attain this, but if I could get a guitar in that tuning without snapping strings, I'd tune to that. Trust me, I've tried.
-My favorite tuning ever: EEEEEE. Ostrich E. I love using this tuning when I'm jamming, but it can be really really musical.

I might get back to exploring more effects, but for now I'll stick to tuning to something I won't have to spend ten minutes tuning out of and not playing music.

[Gearmond]

Fuck yeah. I just put my new bass in DADA. The high G up to an A is pretty stressfull, but Ill probably just grab a lighter gauge string pretty soon.

i tried that and loved it on my bass, but its still tight as fuck with high strings so I dropped it down a half step, and that really helped.

[Alicetheenigma]

And here's one for you guys... EADF#CE. Oh yeah.

[Adoom]

All of my stuff stays grounded in D standard (DGCFAD.) I started doing this when I was 15 and never looked back. It annoys the hell out of anyone playing in standard who tries to follow my fingers.

In my one band, The Ciem Show, in which I primarily play bass, the two tunings that I switch between are CGCF, of BGCF.
The one guitarist switches between CGCFAD, BGCFAD, and BEADGBE (for his 7 string.)
The other, who plays an extended scale 8 string, tunes his either BGBGCFAD, BGCGCFAD, or CGCGCFAD, with the strings in bold being in the bass octave and the rest in guitar.

As you can guess, it can be a clusterfuck when organizing parts/sheet music.

I will be checking this fellow out. And quite a few of the tunings here!

I'm a big alternate tuning advocate. Especially for guitar. Started out with Open C, discovered the minor ones, then figured out a few of my own.

At the minute I find a lot to be said for CADEAE, low to high.

There's also an A# tuning I'm still working on.

I don' find them a crutch, or lazy. They may guide the composition of a song, but no more than a guitar tuned in standard would guide it.

Also, if I'm to be playing double bass, I'll probably be using fifths.

[StudioShutIn]

There's also an A# tuning I'm still working on.

Also, if I'm to be playing double bass, I'll probably be using fifths.

details on the A# one once you figure out where you're going with it?

And, when you say fifths, I'm guessing you mean a sort of sub-cello tuning? (CGDA)

[Adoom]

There's also an A# tuning I'm still working on.

Also, if I'm to be playing double bass, I'll probably be using fifths.

details on the A# one once you figure out where you're going with it?

And, when you say fifths, I'm guessing you mean a sort of sub-cello tuning? (CGDA)

Exactly. I read an interesting article:

http://www.dennismasuzzo.com/bassinfifthsarticle.htm

on the advantages of doing so. Also, scales don't baffle me as much me in fifths, so it makes sense!

And details as soon as I have them, good sir.