Best open tuning (G or D) for learning slide blues?

[blue]

Originally Posted by Bikewer

The late slide master Bob Brozeman recommended open G to start with... Said it was kind of a "natural" tuning that folks all over the world seem to have figured out independently....

However, I agree that you have to consider your vocal range if you're going to sing....

I was a fan of Bob's until the end. One thing that drove his love of G, is that folks all over the world gravitated to it to play all kinds of music. Pentatonic, to major scale, and everything else. It is probably more "useful" if you are a player of "world music" though a master of D can probably figure anything out they need to.

I happen to agree with him. If it weren't for the James-s (Elmore, and Skip, though Skip used dminor) I never would have gotten into D

edited to add that Rob Anderlik, who hangs out in the Other Stringed Instruments sub forum plays the loveliest stuff you could want in D on lap guitars. I tried after hearing him a few times and gave up and stick to G and a couple C tunings for pretty stuff on lap guitar.

[blews]

I love both open G and D.....prefer G and that's where I got started in open tunings both fingerstyle and slide....I don't like other open tunings as I don't like to raise strings above their normal position....

I personally feel that open G has more bite and bark and is best suited for blues....

Open D is much prettier and melodic sounding to my ear....don't get me wrong, the blues still works well In Open D, but most everything I play in open D is more melodic and less harsh.....

Don't think one is harder than the other to learn and I like the ability to play slide in both...

Nothin' better than some harsh blues in open G with slide....

[blue]

Originally Posted by blews

Open D is much prettier and melodic sounding to my ear....don't get me wrong, the blues still works well In Open D, but most everything I play in open D is more melodic and less harsh.....

Just "shows to go ya'"

I find the exact opposite. Being a devout Slack Key Open G player, I have to concentrate to not fall into "pretty" when playing G. If I pick up a guitar in D, I just naturally start playing Elmore James and Bukka White songs