Having the tonic at the fifth fret of the first string is a good thing, not a bad. Being able to slide in and out of the tonic from either direction gives a lot of options for expressive phrasing.
The fifth string generally has a stronger voice than the sixth on most guitars I've tried, so putting the tonic there works quite well.
Open D does not offer a strong alternate for the V chord bass, while open G gives a lot of options for alternating bass on the I and V.
The G is a very satisfactory bass note for the IV chord and supports a strong first position voicing of the IV.
Ledward Kaapana and Ozzie Kotani and Ray Kane and Sonny Chillingworth all play (or played) in open G <grin>.
Fran
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