E-flat tuning?

[dablues]

Does anyone regularly tune their guitar(s) down a half-step? I play alot of Beatles and sometimes those "high notes" can be vocally challenging. I know of a Beatles cover band that tunes down a half-step for that reason.

[GibbyPrague]

We play half a step down at our gigs. Mainly for the singer, so he can get through a 2 hour show without massive strain. But we also like the slightly darker tone.

Can always capo up if we want to get back to standard pitch.

[dablues]

Originally Posted by GibbyPrague

We play half a step down at our gigs. Mainly for the singer, so he can get through a 2 hour show without massive strain. But we also like the slightly darker tone.

Can always capo up if we want to get back to standard pitch.

That makes sense. Do you only tune down a half-step for playing gigs or do you leave your guitar that way all the time?

[Fngrstyl]

I use to always tune 1/2 down but haven't for a while. I don't sing or play with others so being right at pitch isnt a must. I also would need to capo at the 2nd fret. A capo on the 1st throws the position dots off and that really throws me OFF. At the 2nd, you still have your dots at the 3rd, 5th, 7th.. you get the idea

[GibbyPrague]

Originally Posted by dablues

That makes sense. Do you only tune down a half-step for playing gigs or do you leave your guitar that way all the time?

I keep all my guitars at normal tuning when at home except my 69' Hummingbird because I find it sounds best tuned half a step down.

[sweiss]

I keep all of my acoustics tuned down a half step for the following reasons:

Better playability

As Gibby said, easier for singing

To my ears a slightly richer tone

Also, a possible side benefit to downtuning could be that due to less string tension, the need for future neck resets may be forestalled. I don't know this to be a fact, and I don't know how much string tension is actually reduced, but it certainly seems possible to me.

It would be interesting to know how much the string tension is reduced by downtuning a half step. Does anyone know how to calculate that?

[jpd]

I take it a step further...whole step down and use 13/56 for a robust, full sound.

[estayton]

Originally Posted by sweiss

I keep all of my acoustics tuned down a half step for the following reasons:

Better playability

As Gibby said, easier for singing

To my ears a slightly richer tone

Also, a possible side benefit to downtuning could be that due to less string tension, the need for future neck resets may be forestalled.

These are all reasons I have kept my guitars 1/2 step down. When my O32 lives in "standard" rather than open tunings, it is usually either 1/2 or 1 whole step down. It sounds just as good to me there.

[Warren Gilmour]

Ever since I started singing which was about a year ago I've found that Im a bit more comfortable singing when tuned down a half step so I just keep my guitars tuned to E-flat. If I need to raise it a bit I'll use a capo.

[MotorCityLefty]

Most Nirvana songs are a half step down....

[ryan_g]

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tuned down a half step for much of their recorded work.

U2 recorded most of their work in standard tuning, but play much of it down a 1/2 step when they play live (most likely due to Bono's high range - he gets up there!).

E-flat tuning is also very common in alternative and hard(er) rock music.

[mustache79]

Both my steel string acoustics are tuned to Eb. My classical is tuned to standard E. I am thinking of trying 13-56 on my Alvarez and tuning to D. This gives me an variety of tunings to choose from with just swapping guitars and using a capo.

[Skarsaune]

All the time. As noted, easier on the singer (me!).

[Von Beerhofen]

I tuned a whole step down to get used to .12 strings after a long period of inactivaty to put less strain on my arthritic hands. Then tuned up by a 1/2 and now use normal tuning. Worked great. When it comes to playing songs in a different key I just transpose to the nearest easy open chord and see how it goes from there.

Ludwig

[laocmo]

Half a step down also shortens the scale length with a capo on fret 1. Makes it a lot easier for shorter fingered people to play. Half step down also makes Med strings have the tension of Lights. The strings last longer, etc. I've questioned the Internet groups why a guitar is tuned to 150 lb+ E pitch in the first place. Never got a definitive answer. Most thought the guitar is might be louder tuned to pitch. I never noticed a difference. Have tuned all my guitars down 1/2 since about 1955. I've played so long that I never use the fret markers anymore. In fact I never look at the fingerboard. If I do so I mess up the tune. Hammer-on, pull offs and slides compensate for the few mistakes made in grabbing a note. Most of the time I play along with my many backup tracks with my eyes closed. Very restful!