Altered Tunings: All on One Guitar?

Timcito

Certainly on tutor videos, the guitarist always says, if a different tuning is used, that 'we are going to tune down this string to that, and that one to this. etc.' They give the impression that when they use an altered tuning, this is what they do - use the same guitar and alter its tunings as and when. They never suggest that the student should designate one guitar to the tuning they are using. Some might say that these teachers are imagining an audience that has only one guitar, of course, but I've never really thought that.

Stuckfast

I think it depends how far away from standard tuning you're likely to go. Some folk players like to use tunings with unison pairs, like say CGCGGD or something. In that case you're not going to want to have one of the Gs be wound and the other plain for example. Or if you're tuning the top E string right down to an A you wouldn't want to be using a .009.

stickyfiddle

Timcito said:

Certainly on tutor videos, the guitarist always says, if a different tuning is used, that 'we are going to tune down this string to that, and that one to this. etc.' They give the impression that when they use an altered tuning, this is what they do - use the same guitar and alter its tunings as and when. They never suggest that the student should designate one guitar to the tuning they are using. Some might say that these teachers are imagining an audience that has only one guitar, of course, but I've never really thought that.

I would assume part of this is down to online lessons being aimed at people new to it, so when explaining how to use a given tuning it they make it obvious that if your bottom string is tuning to C it’s the C below the normal E pitch, not the one above, etc etc

BahHumbug

I used to do a lot of playing where I was changing between various modal tunings - Martin Simpson, Sam Carter, Nic Jones, Chris Wood stuff, as well songs in standard tuning.  I just used one guitar and got good at re-tuning (and living with the intonation issues).
I did find that the strings would fatigue at the point where they wrap around the tuning posts, so breakages would occur - usually the 3rd and 4th strings would go while being detuned.

BahHumbug

Also, watching some of the above named players live, plus some others, eg Clive Carroll, who use a variety of tunings…..they might travel with a couple of guitars, but one is just a backup.  Generally they’ll do a gig with one guitar and retune while introducing the next song/tune.

drofluf

As @Stuckfast says it depends on your range of tunings. I can go from CGCGCD via DADGAD and drop D to standard comfortably on the same set of strings

Stuckfast

BahHumbug said:

Also, watching some of the above named players live, plus some others, eg Clive Carroll, who use a variety of tunings…..they might travel with a couple of guitars, but one is just a backup.  Generally they’ll do a gig with one guitar and retune while introducing the next song/tune.

I could wish Martin Carthy DID bring more than one guitar. Most of his set seems to be retuning...

ToneControl

drofluf said:

As @Stuckfast says it depends on your range of tunings. I can go from CGCGCD via DADGAD and drop D to standard comfortably on the same set of strings

also your gauges - I use 11s and they get flappy if you drop them really, and tone suffers.
For DADGAD I tune up a semitone to get the same average tension if I retune with ordinary  11s

Timcito

stickyfiddle said:

Timcito said:

Certainly on tutor videos, the guitarist always says, if a different tuning is used, that 'we are going to tune down this string to that, and that one to this. etc.' They give the impression that when they use an altered tuning, this is what they do - use the same guitar and alter its tunings as and when. They never suggest that the student should designate one guitar to the tuning they are using. Some might say that these teachers are imagining an audience that has only one guitar, of course, but I've never really thought that.

I would assume part of this is down to online lessons being aimed at people new to it, so when explaining how to use a given tuning it they make it obvious that if your bottom string is tuning to C it’s the C below the normal E pitch, not the one above, etc etc

This isn't so. The stuff I use from Stefan Grossman's Workshop is typically listed as Intermediate, with much of it being Advanced. People don't typically learn four-part classic ragtime tunes after playing for six months! And yet the instructors still go through the routine of 'We're going to tune our first string down to D, our second ...' etc.

Timcito

drofluf said:

As @Stuckfast says it depends on your range of tunings. I can go from CGCGCD via DADGAD and drop D to standard comfortably on the same set of strings

I'm currently doing this on one guitar with a minor variation - from standard to DADGAD to CGDGCD. I wince a little as I tighten up that second string - it travels up two whole tones to get to that C!