Gigging in multiple tunings

[jklotz]

I’ve been working up a bunch of finger style stuff during lockdown with the intention of being able to pick up some side gigs when we are able again. So far, I’ve managed to keep most of them in standard, drop D or double drop D, which I could pretty much do on the fly. But I really want to add a few that are in other tunings.

How do you guys do this? I can see taking 2 guitars to a gig, one for standard and the other in alt tunings, but I’d still be limited to one alt tuning per set unless I wanted to stop playing, mute and tune a few times. Are any of you guys doing this? How are you doing it?

Thanks.

[MakingMusic]

I saw Will Ackerman in concert last year (anybody remember concerts?). Will is known for his MANY, and often unusual, alternate tunings. He had several guitars on stage but a stagehand also kept carrying out different guitars throughout the set. I fell into a conversation with him after the show and he took me backstage where I did a quick count of 14 guitars lined up in stands! All in different tunings. So, your problem is solved. Just buy a dozen guitars and hire a stagehand and you're good to go.

Other than that, you might think about a good stage rap to distract the audience while you switch to a more complex tuning. You can certainly get away doing that once in a set.

I do a lot of alternate tunings as well and, unless you're tuning to a quick drop-D, as you said, you really need several guitars.

[JonPR]

It really depends on how far away from EADGBE the other tunings are.

For drop D, double drop D, DADGAD, open D or open G, I'd be fine with just one guitar. It takes maybe 10-15 seconds to retune. Any longer than that, you can tell a story, or just talk about the next song. I'd also plan my set so that I wouldn't be changing tuning between each song, and also so I'd need to change the fewest strings each time. E.g., DADGAD to open D rather than EADGBE straight to open D.

But if you have something more esoteric, like some of the weirder Joni Mitchell or Nick Drake tunings, you may well want a second guitar (at least), especially if some need so much downtuning you'd be better off with different strings. I'm happy taking my usual 54 6th string down to D, but down to C (or below) would not be ideal.
Likewise, if you have to retune all 6 strings - frequently - that's going to get tedious for an audience, even if your jokes in between are really good...

[Mandobart]

You're going to need some spare strings, since frequently tuning/retuning strings accelerates fatigue and failure.

If you think its awkward to stop and blather while returning you'll really like the running monologue while changing strings.....

[Andyrondack]

Whenever I have seen Martin Simpson live he had just the one guitar and retuned it several times while chatting . Only took him a minute or two and probably gave his voice a rest.

[JKMartin]

Post deleted

[Doug Young]

Stop, mute, re-tune. Talk a bit while retuning. I usually take 2 guitars, have one in a tuning I'll use the most, standard or DADGAD, use the other as a floater. I try to plan a set to minimize tuning most of the time, but if I have to retune every string because I really want to do a specific song, so be it. Some players use a different tuning for every song, so you just do it.

It helps if it's a show where people are focused on you and the music, and don't mind you talking between tunes, telling them about the song, etc. If I was playing in a different situation, like a wedding or a funeral, I'd try to limit the tuning to the guitars on hand so the music doesn't have to stop. In that case, I'd choose material to not require any more tunings than the number of guitars I'm willing to take, or limit changes to one string - like quickly dropping into Drop D from standard, etc.

[The Watchman]

Get a friend to help tune?

[Earl49]

I play in several tunings from standard E-e to Open G to others that change all six strings [CGEGCE]. I would bring three guitars and plan my sets accordingly, so I could do any major re-tuning on breaks. Some tunings only require changing one or maybe two strings, and that can be done on the fly. Be prepared to have the guitar in tune with itself, but off by a few cents from concert A440. Not a problem when playing solo.

The absolute king of re-tuning is David Wilcox. I swear that he never plays two songs in a row using the same tuning. He is a master of stage patter while getting close, and has memorized the number of turns on the peg that gets him there (one advantage to having only a single stage guitar). He can quickly do fine tuning by ear on one or two strings on the fly. Like any skill, you get better with practice. He also puts extra wraps around the tuner post so you bend the string around a larger diameter. Since he taught us that trick at a guitar camp, I have broken maybe two strings while retuning in ~20 years.

Tuning up and down is a quick way to kill the tone of a set of strings, however. I practice running through all my tunings on a single guitar in one practice session to maintain the skill, but only when the life of that set of strings is nearly done. At home, I have certain guitars dedicated to certain tunings.

[jklotz]

Thanks guys, this is very helpful.

[MakingMusic]

Originally Posted by JKMartin

Take a look at this page to get an idea of how many different tunings Will Ackerman uses: https://williamackerman.com/tunings.

He admits that even he cannot remember what tuning he used on some of his earlier work.

Wow! That's some list. I hadn't seen that.

I play a couple of Will's songs. One of them, "Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit" tunes to C# A C# Ab A E. Try doing that on the fly while on stage.

[Bob Womack]

I've never been a Duane Allman (tuning from concert to open E unmuted and live on stage). I typically carry two or three guitars. My typical rig might have two tunings and a backup. I typically won't plan for more than three tunings, and one of those is typically Drop D, which is easy to get to from Concert. I've been known to trot out the old saw, "Gonna do a Chinese number called 'Too-Ning'." Good for a snicker when used once.

Bob

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by jklotz

I’ve been working up a bunch of finger style stuff during lockdown with the intention of being able to pick up some side gigs when we are able again. So far, I’ve managed to keep most of them in standard, drop D or double drop D, which I could pretty much do on the fly. But I really want to add a few that are in other tunings.

How do you guys do this? I can see taking 2 guitars to a gig, one for standard and the other in alt tunings, but I’d still be limited to one alt tuning per set unless I wanted to stop playing, mute and tune a few times. Are any of you guys doing this? How are you doing it?

Thanks.

Hi kjl-etc

I usually actually tune to Dropped D songs onstage, and I simulate other tunings using a three string cut capo (I have ported songs from DADGAD or CGCGCD using the cut-capo while tuned to standard).

If I was doing an Open-G or Open-D, I made it the the last song in a set (and retuned during the break).

[_zedagive]

Get one of these:

https://www.roadiemusic.com/roadie3

[jklotz]

Originally Posted by _zedagive

Get one of these:

https://www.roadiemusic.com/roadie3

Ahh, the ol' robo tuner. Wasn't that the nail in the coffin for Henry J. of Gibson past?