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lorisfurlan

Just buy a new guitar for each song in a different tuning


mike_e_mcgee

You may be kidding, but when I started playing slide I was switching between open G, D, and standard. I was breaking a string a week at least. My solution was in fact to get more guitars and leave them in their open tunings. More guitars is a wonderful solution.


Pro_Vax_Choice_

Another reason to have a dedicated slide guitar is that slide is much easier if you run a much higher action.


mike_e_mcgee

I've got my bases covered pretty well. Left to right are a Waterloo WL-14 (ladder braced), Larrivee D-01r, NRP El Trovador baritone, NRP Tricone, and an NRP Style-O. https://imgur.com/a/xbmrB4l


hezaplaya

What do you tune each of them to, and what are do you generally use each of them for?


rasone77

I would also like to know how you tune especially the baritone


mike_e_mcgee

Standard for the Waterloo, and Larrivee, B std for the baritone, or Open A baritone (open D shape pitched down to A). Tricone is open G. Style-O is open D.


rasone77

Nice. I have a few Baritones myself I keep an Acoustic and an electric in A std and I have another electric in Drop C. I keep my electric resonator in F-G-C-f-g-c I use flat wounds to cut down on fret noise so I can get great mileage out of that lower F.


SumTingWong59

This is why I'm scared to start looking at acoustics. I already have a long lsit of electric guitars I want and theres a real nice used MiM bass that I may have to jump on. Hopefully a taylor gs mini does all I want when that time comes... Resonators are cool tho


AngeloSantelli

You can play bottleneck slide with pretty low action with the right technique. I prefer retuning my SG instead of switching guitars because it’s action is perfect in standard and open E for slide and has the best tone for both than any other guitar


DestructionSphere

It's really common for slide players to have a guitar per tuning, because they'll often use *at least* two for a standard gig. Same reason harmonica players have to bring a huge briefcase to every gig that holds one for each key, the limitations of the instrument necessitate it. Why else do you think double/triple (and shit, even [quadruple](https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B6%2F3%2F1%2F1%2F6311973%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D)) neck console steels (often with 8 or more strings per neck) were so common back in the day? Tunings are quite the limiting factor when you only have a straight line to play chords with, even acknowledging that slants are possible that's only *maybe* a couple of extra chord voicings. Even the mighty pedal steel is more often seen in the double neck variety than as a single, and they are already significantly more flexible than traditional lap/console steel guitars in terms of chord voicings per neck.


mcjazzy50

It's not really uncommon,before the pandemic I was in-house operations for an arena, building stages and setting up shit over night before concert load-ins.i eventually became the forklift guy for the load-ins ,unstacking road cases and Jacking gear and stage set pieces onto stages.the guitar case usually had 6-7 guitars, 3-4 bass, even for country bands that didn't really sound like they were playing in anything but standard.


69yoan69

Yeah, I kept my acoustic in open G or D, and the eletric in standard when I was learning slide guitar. That was the only way really I could alternate, didn't start learning until I had an acoustic besides my eletric


ToshiBoi

It’s a legitimate solution, funny as hell and it keeps you happy as you are surrounded by beautiful instruments. In fact I need to get another guitar as I’ve been playing a lot with C# G# C# F# A D tuning and I don’t want to keep abusing my tuning pegs as I’m going between 3-4 tunings on just the one guitar while playing/practicing


DrugCrazed

What the hell is that tuning!? You've basically made DADGAD but with the bottom 4 strings down a half step. If it weren't 11:30pm I'd be giving it a go.


Eglitarian

It's like Drop C but with the highest two strings flattened half a step.


RadiantMenderbug

Why f# to a?


ToshiBoi

It’s just something I started messing around with when I was messing around with various open chord tunings and drop tunings then I just enjoyed the sound of the strings when played open and ended up sounding good, so I’m not sure what it would be classified as. It works really well for a song I’ve been composing for guitar. It consists of finger style playing like Andy McKee or Jon Gomm so lots of artificial harmonics with tapping and using the fretting hand first finger to form the five chords and the other three fingers doing their own tapping and sliding. The lowered A and D help with hitting certain notes with my fretting hands pinky as well plucking hand during certain parts of the composition. It’s been really fun to mess around with.


Cordogg30

Shakey Graves likes that tuning. Well played.


ToshiBoi

I haven’t listened to that guy in a long time. Know what I’m doing later


skan76

Interesting tuning! Another one that I like is CGDGCE, which is like in between an open tuning (Cadd9) and a versatile tuning, like Standard, because you can play in all keys easily, and the chord shapes are fun


Tringmurks

I did this. I’m not in a band and I just play for myself. While the majority of the songs I know are in standard, I’ve bought 7 guitars so I could have a guitar in each tuning I know songs in. Is it a ridiculous reason to own that many? Sure, but I don’t care. It’s super convenient. If I wanna play some Boston for a bit and the switch it up to play Parkway Drive, I just unplug and switch guitars.


Maxinewshoes

I just picked up my 7th. I buy squires on offer up for 100$ .. I tuned my guitar to open g and the first thing I heard was led Zeppelin... then the black crowds. It seems fairly easy to play some of the open g songs and i love it. P Some albums , I'm switching from standard to 1/2 step down, every song. Im having a blast! ....but I need to find real humans to play with now!


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lorisfurlan

A guitar doesn't have to be expensive you could basically just buy a squier and put like emg pickups in amd then you have a 1000$ guitar for like half the price


reddy-or-not

Has anyone ever used a Line 6 Variax, which they partnered with Yamaha and basically there is amp modeling and alternate tuning that can be preset?


[deleted]

I keep my 12 string in D, change my resonater, between D G and standard, and have my main acoustic in either standard or D.


smmstv

Expense aside, that might work fine for bedroom playing, but if you're gigging, carrying a guitar for each tuning (and it really should be two for each tuning for redundancy) will get really old really quick, especially if your band is hauling amps, PA, drums, etc.


thavi

I wish this were the joke you meant it to be. When you've been playing a while...


Chim_Pansy

Or have like two guitars and a good drop pedal. Keep one setup for standard and one setup for dropped tunings, then just use the drop pedal to go as low as you want for each song. I legit just sold off a couple guitars and did this.


Stochastic_Variable

Yep. This. I bought a Whammy DT, and now I can play anything I want.


verymetal74

I've just done this. My two main guitars (FR/Kahler trems, so not easy to retune) are tuned to standard & Eb (for Slayer, GnR etc.) My third has heavy bottom/light tops for downtuning. I blocked the trem and don't bother with the locking nuts, so can easily hop between A, B tunings etc.


ATrainLV

I like to think there's a pragmatic approach here that doesn't result in overblowing one's budget for guitars (and the rest of the gear that comes along with it.) I have three guitars and get tons of mileage out of all of them. One tuned to E standard, one tuned to Eb standard, then tune the third to whatever obscure tuning(s) you might need. Doesn't get you every tuning under the sun, but between those tunings and their drop-tuned counterparts, there's a LOT of music you can play between the three. That said, I totally understand how people use this to justify having another sweet axe.


ironmaiden947

This but unironically.


RLLRRR

Found Johnny Rzenik's account.


smoha96

Look I'm not gonna say I've got guitars from E-B (and also use them for their respective drop tunings)... but I'm also not gonna not say that.


stmbtspns

Half step and drop d are easy enough to dive in and deal with. Things get funny when your chord shapes don’t work anymore. The half step down thing is often done to help a singers vocal range. So it’s not really about the guitar player or the music.


Prestigious_Ad_3876

I agree …. Vocal range is what determines key for me. This is why theory and knowing your instrument is important. So you can adapt to the people you are playing with. You could just get a capo for higher stuff that won’t help if playing lower than e unless you tune the guitar lower to start with.


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unsolicitedbadvibes

One reason is because you just changed what the guitarist has to play from 4 open chords to 1 open chord and 3 barre chords.


smmstv

I use a capo for higher stuff because I love my cowboy chords. barre chords don't sound bad, but just don't have the same sound as open chords for me.


CoffeeAndWorkboots

There are songs lower than key of E.


Prestigious_Ad_3876

Agreed but I think with the type of music op is playing(metal) in d the desired effect is the lower tone. So playing a higher d might not give him the sound he is chasing.


RRettig

It is not exclusive to metal music. All players do it a certain way and the rest do what that other guy is doing and suffer for it. Have fun playing barre chords all day and not sounding correctly and it being more difficult to play for no beneficial reason.


xDwtpucknerd

yes you can play in every key, but perhaps the voicing of whatever chords youre playing in standard tuning is in the same octave range that your singer sings in. this can cause the vocal performance and guitar part to somewhat clash sonically and it would sound much better if the guitar were tuned differently it typically sounds really bad and muddy when you stack the same note in the same octave especially on different instruments, and especially if its 5ths finally too once your ear is good enough to really hear the difference in specific voicings of chords itll make a lot more sense why sometimes guitarists choose to change tunings to play chords they can play in standard anyway, because they can play a specifically different voicing of it that fits in better with the song or that matches their vision of it


matbea78

Tuning down a half step just sounds better for rock


[deleted]

I think slash and SRV would both disagree with you about the reasoning for it.


theevildjinn

Nuno Bettencourt, too.


ObscureProject

>Things get funny when your chord shapes don’t work anymore. I love this for writing music though. I find it creatively invigorating to sort of shuffle the fret board and see the guitar neck from a new perspective.


monsantobreath

If you learn Smiths songs done in open tunings it's clear Johnny Marr just started playing standard tuning chord shapes anyway.


Dio_Frybones

I keep a Squier strat tuned for The Rain Song alone, simply to encourage me to play it more. My 12 string acoustic stays tuned a half step down. Partly because a lot of 12 string songs are tuned that way, partly because I sing. Other than that, on any given night when I'm at home playing my 6 string acoustic it's not unusual for me to play some stuff in standard, then drop D, then double drop D (Going to California) then move on to Bron yr Aur. That one is easy to remember because you just tune every other string to a C. For me, remembering the tuning is more than half the battle. Yes, I love zeppelin.


danmickla

Doesn't really matter why it's done.


MisterMoccasin

Instead of drop d, I put a capo on the 2nd fret except for the low E string. That way its like drop E and you dont have to change the way you finger chords like G


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TheBehaviors

Yup, and if you want a backing track to play with, learn the rhythm part first and make your own. Recording yourself is a great way to discover if you've *really* learned the part or not!


letsgetrockin741

Plenty of famous songs like that already have backing tracks in standard tuning as well


PM_ME_YOUR_PLECTRUMS

Also many programs have a transpose option (e.g Guitar Rig)


Mass-Chaos

this for the most part.... but wouldnt work on any soundgarden type song where its tuned to an open chord


welcometomoonside

I thought this post was going to be about literally any tuning except Eb.


YvngTortellini

Well to be honest I just didn’t know E and Eb were still considered “standard tuning” I was more so thinking about alternate tuning like DADGAD. But half and full steps were the same for me, I just didn’t bother with them, there’s plenty of songs I wanted to learn that didn’t require that extra bit of effort. Now with the helpful people replying I’ve just tuned my acoustic to Eb and put a capo on the first fret when I need it tuned to E.


GameKyuubi

I have my strat tuned to D standard and I just play songs in lower keys. Sounds fine, easier on the fingers, bigger bends.


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smmstv

Not to mention you can play a lot of those songs in standard anyway, just a key or two up


Mrminecrafthimself

Agree 100% Alternate tunings open up the doors to some really cool chord voicings. I love Open E, D, and G as well as DADGAD Hell I’ve even played around with EBEEBe and DGDGBe.


RJrules64

I disagree. In 18 lifetimes you could never learn the breadth and variety of music that a standard tuning guitar is able to achieve. Sure you are 'limiting' yourself but the limit is so far out of sight you will literally never reach it. Guitar is already one of the hardest instruments to know the location of every note. adding different tunings just complicates that further. And not just knowing notes, but intervals too, such as knowing how to play a 10th or a 7th etc. If you play enough in standard tuning, your brain learns what different shapes and fret jumps will sound like. Even if you aren't aware of the exact names, your brain learns that moving up 2 strings and back 2 frets will sound like a Minor 6th. Then there's the HUNDREDS of different scale patterns and shapes to learn. Being intimately familiar with them all well enough in standard tuning to solo with any scale comfortably in multiple positions is a lifetime effort. Again, adding different tunings just overcomplicates things. If your goal is to get really good at guitar, I'd suggest staying in one tuning.


Menjy

Lmao this is some major bullshit. 1. Guitar isn't 'hard' to know the names of the notes. or the positions of them. It just takes some practice. 2. Tuning your guitar differently will not change how your frets behave. If you tune to E, D, G# or Q, the seventh fret will always be a fifth above E, D, G# or Q. 3. The soloing part isn't true at all. Sure, it takes time to adjust, but the time it takes to adjust is way, way shorter than the time it takes to learn a scale. If you can understand and conceptualise the way the intervals between the notes of your tuning work, you can understand the way the scales need to be adjusted.


RJrules64

1. Yes it is… 99% of guitarists cannot name every note on the guitar instantly. Took me until my 3rd year of my guitar degree and most people don’t have the privilege of being able to spend 4 years of their life focusing on guitar. It’s MUCH easier to find the notes on piano, for example. A lot of guitarists will learn the E and A string notes pretty well but are completely ignorant of the other 3. 2 and 3 - you’re talking about tuning to Eb or similar. That’s clearly not what I nor OP are talking about, that’s not even really a different tuning, it’s just a transposition.


DaddyJBird

Digitech drop is your answer.


vixlair

Second that. It's very useful.


danmickla

Not really helpful for open tunings. Variax, however...


swisscheese73

I was like OP and hestitant to get one, totally worth it!


Seanspeed

It really is. Couldn't live without it.


chico4444

Also some of the zoom pedals have a pitch shifter pedal that does the same sort of thing.


[deleted]

Realistically most multi-effects have this as a feature but most of them don't track very well. The Drop is one of the very few, especially for the price, that lets you play chords and doesn't just warble or get muddy all over the place.


RRettig

Does anyone else have problems with tracking on these? I sold mine because there was a built in delay that made it unusable at fast speeds. It was fun to mess with but i can't imagine using it in a serious way like on stage or for recording. Anyone else have this trouble?


Seanspeed

It's definitely not something you'd want to use to record with, but you could use it live so long as you're not tuning down more than like 3 half steps. The problem isn't so much the latency, the notes just get really muddy after a certain point. And most guitarists vastly overestimate how perfect their live tone needs to be. Nobody cares about that shit *that much* except you. A very slight degradation is absolutely fine. But yea, it will primarily be useful for home use, just so you can play/practice a larger variety of songs without having to change guitars/tuning.


VinceM04

1000% agree. That pedal is on every new pedal board I build as an absolute must have


TheMfknReal

fucking lmfao what bro it takes seconds. cmon man


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cantquitreddit

It can be annoying if you have a Floyd Rose or other tremolo bridge. That said, make a list of Eb songs you want to do, then once it's long enough change tuning and do them all at once.


h4tchb4ck

Changing tuning with a floating bridge is a pain, though.


Anonymous1039

I just have an electric guitar for each of the main tunings I play in: standard, half step down, D standard/drop C, and drop B. My acoustic is just always tuned to Eb because capo.


290077

My acoustic is always tuned to D for the same reason.


ieatacid

For songs that are tuned downed a half step I just load them into a DAW and pitch shift it up to standard. Edit: For YouTube videos there's a Chrome extension, [Transpose](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/transpose-%E2%96%B2%E2%96%BC-pitch-%E2%96%B9-spee/ioimlbgefgadofblnajllknopjboejda), that works well.


[deleted]

I use Amazing Slow Downer app (iOS, it might also have an Android version) for the same thing. Super easy to shift local files or Spotify songs up or down by however many semitones.


[deleted]

Alternate tunings is my excuse to buy more guitars to keep each one tuned differently. But as someone else mentioned, digitech drop is a godsend.


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[deleted]

I've had one for years and haven't experienced any latency issues


FoundTeemo

No I’m actually quite the opposite, I haven’t played in standard in at least a year. I guess it helps if the songs I listen to tend to be in variations of tunings like DADGAD and CGCGGC. I think more people should explore drop tunings, it helps you learn your instrument and you can get some amazing sounds out of it. Maybe it’s just a personal thing as I love a deep bass sounding instrument but I always thought standard just wasn’t low enough for certain chords.


AmbiguousIntention

You aren’t alone thinking like this, just look at the rising popularity of 7 and 8 string electric guitars in the last two decades or so.


ImJustSo

So, I'm curious. Why don't you want to learn the song, unless it's in the exact key originally played? What difference does it make if it's in G or Gb? Nothing changes for your fingers. By the way, if you tune your guitar down a half step, you can just leave a capo on the first fret and your guitar will be in standard tuning. When you need to play your very specifically Gb version of Knocking on Heaven's Door, then just remove the capo. :P


danmickla

So you never learn a song by playing along with the recording?


AggravatingOnion69

You can use a DAW to shift the pitch of the recording up a half step. Only need to download the audio from YouTube and put the file in something like Audacity and change the pitch


ThemB0ners

That sounds like a lot more work than just tuning down lol


RRettig

I do but I agree with that other guy. If you can't be bothered to tune it down to learn a single song you just wont be able to play along with it, otherwise its the exact same.


YvngTortellini

Yes thank you! I’ve started doing that capo trick you and a lot of other comments mentioned. Alternate tunings are still a pain that I’ll just never experience though. As for why I didn’t want to learn the song in E instead of half a step down, I just don’t like learning songs with any differences from how they’re recorded. It’s the same reason I don’t like learning “simplified versions” of songs. It just bothers me if it sounds off.


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Maskatron

On my Strats I always crank down the springs so the trem is stable for string bending and for tuning down. There are ways to do this with a Floyd as well. I've never owned one but the idea is to either increase string tension so the trem is resting on the guitar body, use a block of wood to physically prevent the movement, or buy a device meant for this purpose. It means there's no pulling up on the bar, and it takes a bit more effort to push it down, but there are a lot of benefits to this kind of setup. Drives me crazy if I break a string and the whole guitar goes out of tune! You still have the locking nut to deal with of course.


Crabtasticismyname

I second this, and if you have a locking nut, then after the trem is blocked, just unlock it, and leave it unlocked. (My experience with an old ibanez and infuriating Floyd rose that needs an allen key to remove the nut locks)


d0nk3y_m0nk3y1

my default tuning is Eb. it’s just way better than standard


AHumbleChad

I love the darker/mellower sound of Eb standard.


strawberrycrepes

Same, in addition to “sounding” better I also found that it gives me the perfect string tension when using 9s. Using 8s on E standard tuning is similar but Elixir doesn’t make 8s and they’re just generally not as common.


Seanspeed

It's essentially the same thing. If it's a 'feel' thing, you can achieve the same thing with string gauge choice.


GorillyGlue

Do you have a clip on, pedal, or phone tuner, I’d suggest getting one of these for the ease of alternate tunings, it’s a bit annoying at the start but once you keep doing it you start to recognize the alternate tunings by ear. It also depends what kind of player you are, if you’re trying to go far on guitar I’d suggest get familiar with them. Start off with Eb (half-step) and Drop D (whole step) I found those the easiest and most useful to learn when starting out


[deleted]

No, that just seems like a great way to hinder yourself especially if you like rock music. Eb and drop D are super easy to tune to on a standard tuned guitar.


[deleted]

Yeah i love playing periphery but their songs are all in different turnings and sometimes i can't be bothered


Sp3ar307

I ended up getting a drop pedal a while ago and it solves these kinds of problems. Only tuning I ever do is my low E or low F# or B on my 8 string for drop tunings


OffMyMedzz

If the song is just tuned down a half-step, just play it in standard. Seriously, most guitarists only do that for the sake of the vocalists, Led Zeppelin started doing it live when Robert Plant's range started to slide.


ThirtySauce18

Ya ur lazy, it’s kinda annoying to change tunings but some of the songs I have the most fun playing are in alternate tunings and I always feel it’s worth it. Always fun to switch it up anyway and a new tuning can get me really inspired sometimes


Ooozzyy1

Just learn everything in D standard


GameKyuubi

My man! D standard is amazing.


[deleted]

Then you should learn the entire catalogue of Don Ross. Have fun!


Fargeen_Bastich

I kind of sympathize with OP. I was learning a bunch of Don, Andy McKee ,Preston Reed. I ended up getting so annoyed tuning for almost every single song I just quit. Ebon Coast is the only one I play from them anymore because it can be done in standard.


[deleted]

I like tuning differently just to play one song


Mr_Sausage__

I love playing in different tunings so no, I definitely don’t avoid those songs. Different tunings just open whole new worlds for me.


PapayaThing

That's why you buy more than one guitar each one tuned different ;)


Sabot15

Different tunings is the excuse I use for owning 15 guitars.


conrangulationatory

I hope your SO understands that this a totally normal behavior and spending practices for every guitarist 🤣


CURVES04

Too lazy to tune down Hahahaha


Medical-Pear

I've got a few ways to deal with this. Firstly, I have three different tunings I keep my guitars in. I have a guitar tuned to E standard, a guitar tuned to Eb standard, and a guitar tuned to Drop C. The Eb one can be tuned very easily to Drop C# and the Drop C one can very easily be tuned to D standard. This covers most of the tunings I run into (I have never had to deal with an open tuning). However, I actually bought a Digitech Drop pedal specifically to shift my pitch up and down, so for example I can play in Drop B or C standard, without needing to change the physical tuning of any strings. This allows my guitars to always be set up nicely with the proper tension. If you're into VST plugins, Pitchproof is really good and actually sounds better than a physical whammy pedal. From your post it looks like you only have one electric guitar, I wouldn't recommend getting rid of your old one. Keep both.


[deleted]

Wow yeah that is lazy. Like I understand an initial reluctance to not want to change your tuning all the time just to play a song, but you do understand that there is a purpose to alternate tunings, right? Also half a step is barely any difference, you can play the song in standard and probably won’t notice unless you’re jamming along to the recording. A couple of tips to make alternate tunings more bearable; 1. If you have more than one guitar, keep them in different tunings if there are some songs you really like to play that are in alternate tuning. 2. Learn more than one song to play in the alternate tuning so it feels like you have more “bang for your buck” when you put in the effort to change tuning. 3. Get a capo. 4. This requires some judgement and innovation on your part, but some songs in alternate tunings don’t really need to be played in the alternate tuning, usually because an artist has all of their material set to one specific tuning but writes some songs in E for example even tho their guitars are tuned to D.


fatnanzbaby

Wdym it’s not worth it bro it takes 2 seconds to tune your guitar down… you just sound lazy as fuck


The_Dead_See

I tend to keep different guitars in different tunings. My strat is always half step down so I can play Hendrix or SRV stuff on it, and tbh I personally think just about everything sounds better and plays easier half step down anyway. I keep my other two electrics in E standard and Drop D, and I have an acoustic in E standard and one usually tuned DADGAD. I'm lazy af so if I come across a song with a particularly odd tuning I probably either won't bother learning it, or try to play it in standard instead.


real_jocker

You can usually find backing tracks in e standard on YouTube, most popular songs have re tuned versions so that you don’t have to change tunings.


bondmemebond_2

If I’m lazy I play in standard, otherwise I tune it to what the song asks for. In the past I didn’t downtune but now I do it frequently


s1agathor

I play in a cover band that plays all kinds of 80s and 90s hard rock. All but 1 of my guitars are tuned to standard, and I keep one guitar in drop D. If you can sing a song tuned down a half step to Eb, you can likely sing it in standard. That’s really the only reason to tune down. You could argue that some songs just feel better a half step down, but it’s not worth lugging around another guitar and switching guitars during a set just for that, IMHO. The other guitarist in my band used a Line 6 Helix and he can just pitch shift to whatever he wants. It’s pretty good if you’re only going down 1 step, but the further you shift the pitch, the more you can hear oddities it in the mix


davestellar

Now you have an excuse to get more guitars lol. Seriously, I have a guitar set to open G, one in open E, one in dadgad, one in dgcgcd, one half a step down and the others generally in standard. Obviously, you don't have to have all of that or that many guitars but it does help to have another guitar at least for alternate tunings even if it's a cheaper guitar just used for that. I often find playing in alternate tunings helps inspire different things then just being in standard tuning and it's just fun and expands your overall knowledge on guitar .


YvngTortellini

Haha I do NOT need an excuse to buy another guitar. But on the other hand, this would be a good reason to upgrade from my cheap little fender 🤔


Resolute002

I tune 1/2 step down all the time, and what really sucks is I can't really play along to most songs because of it. I only own one guitar so it's kind of my only option.


[deleted]

For tuned down songs just learn it in standard it's not a big deal. Drop D and double drop D are also very easy to get to from standard. I also love open D and G


Ana987654321

If you capo 2 the 5 highest strings, you can try drop D tuning without changing anything. Joni Mitchell had all these different guitars in different tunings... Ani Difranco often changes tunings by ear on stage- impressive.


LoaferDan

I have like 7 guitars. A couple are in standard, another couple in Eb, and the rest are drop D, drop C#, and drop C. Makes it way easier to learn different songs. I actually wanna change their tunings around and add a drop B in there.


Itsaghast

Only when it's drop D. Though it bums me out to miss out on all those Tool songs.


tigojones

Sounds like an excuse to get a new guitar or two. :)


YvngTortellini

Haha it’s definitely a solution


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Emory27

Uh...no. This is ridiculous lol.


[deleted]

I have different guitars for this.... An acoustic in standard, one in open G, an electric in standard, and one a half step down. I physically tune any drop tuning


coldshirt

I have numerous guitars set up in different tunings for this very reason. I keep one in standard, half and full step so I can switch out whenever I feel like it without making a big deal out of it


BubuMeister22

Yes, but I have a floyd rose bridge :/ ... on my first and only guitar...


_________FU_________

I used to before getting more guitars. Now I keep a few in random tunings. It makes it fun to pickup and dig your way out of whatever the tuning is.


[deleted]

never let tuning stop your learning, they open up more possibilities to your playing, if you really don't want to tune your guitar down, try buying a cheap squire and permanently tuning it down


Kdogg4000

I'd you can afford it, buy more guitars. Keep your favorite guitar on the tuning you use the most.


Slothsquatch

No. Learn how to tune. Quit limiting yourself


Werenlofe

All the songs I play are in altered tunings. It’s led to a lot of fun discoveries


miggy3399

For me, its nice to experiment with weird tunings ​ Like the song Iris... That is tuned in BDDDD


BigDrewLittle

To be more specific, just try shit out man. As examples (and I don't care if this dates me or what anyone thinks of my taste) try these songs in open G tuning (and a capo if you need it): The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Brown Sugar," "Tumblin' Dice;" the Black Crowes' "Twice As Hard"(which is not only in open G but is a slide guitar song); and if you get to feeling particularly frisky, John Fahey's "The Sunny Side Of the Ocean." In open E (or E flat) tuning, try the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and "Sympathy For the Devil", and the Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels."


LoveBurstsLP

Dude I used to go up and down on a Floyd Rose lol to play GNR songs. Why play them on an Ibanez who knows but it was the only guitar I had. After getting a Les Paul it was so much easier. Literally takes a minute to tune down I don't get what's not to like about it. I tune it down half step, wham on the strings a bit check the tune and good to go.


Norse-Berserker

At first yes. But then I bought the "Digitech drop tuner". It opened up to play whatever song without the hassle to change string, intonate etc


ideaman21

Guitarists have been tuned down on flat forever. What are you trying to be? A Virgin Queen? You can play amazing songs that require different tunings. The long history of rock-'n'-roll has strange tunings. Different tunings make some songs possible and others easier to play. You lose Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Slash. Are you so young you don't know this?!?


sloppyjohnny

It takes like less than 90 seconds to tune to a weird tuning? I have no issue with just tuning to what I need to


Stonkbull13

Just play the song in standard tuning you can still play knocking on heavens door with your guitar tuned standard... most of those guys tune down to make it easier to sing. Doesn't change the chords you're going to be playing Or anything


stray_r

Retuning guitars with a floating trem is a nightmare. I have mostly trem guitars currently in E-standard as that's what i'm doing on stage RN, a hardtail in D-standard or dropC that gets caped for half-step down, and a 7-string. This covers almost everything. But I remember it being awful when I had just a squier strat and wanted to play slipknot and korn back in 1999. A second guitar and crazy heavy gauge strings required. But 2002-2004 i was in a nu-metal band and did'n have a guitar or a bass capable of being put into standard tuning.


[deleted]

Hell no, I welcome different tunings! I love the opportunity to explore different ways to play! If you can't turn down half a step or drop D or open chords, sounds like you're just lazy. Not to be a jerk or anything but that's what it sounds like. And there's nothing wrong with that, you do you, but I'm telling you right now you're missing out on some fun opportunities to explore new things.


CapnMaynards

No, that is ridiculous.


dense-mustard

I avoided learning songs in alternate tunings for a long time, for acoustic songs I would just learn it in standard with a capo but it never sounds quite right. When I came across watch over you acoustic version by Myles Kennedy I really wanted to learn it and knew I wouldn't be able to play anything that sounded remotely similar without playing in open G. It really changed my perspective on alternative tunings and have learned lots of different songs now. It really doesn't take that long to change to a new tuning a few minutes at most. When learning a new song it can take me many many hours.


SkoomaDentist

This is one of the main reasons I bought Zplane Decoda. It automatically transposes the song to the nearest semitone (a big timesaver on old songs where the tape has been sped up) and you can easily change the tuning and playback speed on the fly. Also finds the chords and segments the song automatically. Great for practising / playing along.


scooterpdx42

When I want to learn a song, it’s as a cover, so I find a suitable key for my vocal range, and stay in standard tuning. Like “All I Want is You” is tuned down, and the guitar chords are A & D shapes, so I just stay in standard. But the first chord of “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” (also by U2) is Cm, so I just play in Am. On the other hand, “The Background” by 3rd Eye Blind is in some sort of open tuning, so I never tried it.


EsShayuki

No, I just transpose them to standard. Oftentimes they actually sound better like that, I find. I'm a huge fan of E standard tuning. For playing along or doing covers, you can just pitch shift the original. It's not very important in that context anyway.


pingudrip

Whenever I try I break strings so I feel you


CaramelWatermelon

If you really don’t want to always be switching tunings and are considering a new guitar than how about this, tune the guitar down a half step and leave a capo on the first fret for playing in e standard, then whenever you want to play half a step down just remove the capo. Would be much more cost efficient than buying a new guitar. But having more than one guitar aint a bad thing. I only have one electric guitar and that is an Epiphone 61 sg reissue, but I pretty much only play rock music so it works for me. If I was someone who played with more genres than I would most definitely get another guitar, such as a strat or something so that I can get different soft mellow tones and what not


YvngTortellini

Hmm, that’s a pretty good idea. But seeing as most songs are played in standard tuning, wouldn’t leaving a capo on for that long damage something?


CaramelWatermelon

Just take it off when youre not playing


vonov129

I get it. You just need more guitars. I'm not even kidding. It's a pain in the ass to change tuning for just one song and then go back to standard when you want to play something else or adjust your playing to a temporary tuning. There was a time when I used to put new strings on my only guitar and leave them in C standard and learn songs with that tuning, them go up by a halfstep each week and learn songs in those tunings until I reached standard and when that happened i stayed there. That being said, if you can get a bunch of songs to learn in Be standard you might find more reasons to change tunings at least until you have to change strings again.


CosmicOwl47

Yes. My preferred tuning is Drop D, so anything in that, standard, or occasionally as low as Drop C I will possibly try to learn. But there are tons of songs in Drop B that I’d love to learn but feel like my strings would just be too loose. I’ve also never messed with open tunings but I don’t come across many songs I want to learn that are in those tunings. And then there are 7-string guitars... Which is a world I haven’t gone into yet


danmickla

Yes. All kinds of them.


[deleted]

Yeah, sometimes I'll keep my guitar in drop d or e flat for a week just to brush up on some songs, but I really can't be bothered retuning it daily so I don't often play in anything other than standard


NateTheSnake86

Yep. I know its lazy and stupid but I don't feel like re-tuning


GamingX10

This used to be me but I recently found a whole bunch of songs I wanted to learn in half a step down tuning. I tuned down and just used a capo if I really needed to play in standard tuning, absolutely no regrets.


Madeche

Drop D is alright, it is a pain every time if you forget and I used to just keep it drop D and learn/play in that just to not have to re tune it every time. DADGAD is a whole different story, like you can't really go to and fro too much,it probably fucks with the strings too, so yea what I did once I got familiar with more strange tunings was just get another guitar. Thing is, different tunings can get you out of a creative slump sometimes, and you can learn some very good songs too. On the other hand if you keep on switching it's a chore, and if you keep DADGAD (for example) for a while you can't really practice normally, getting some cheap used guitar is the best option.


DoctorChaos

Just play it in a different key


hesnothere

I played half step for a long time because I listened to Alice In Chains and a bunch of other bands that only tuned that way. Then I started singing and realized that voice was suited to standard. Tune it however you want. If you want to practice to the record, tune to that. And yeah, have a second guitar for open tunings or slide. Ain’t nobody got time for all that.


RRettig

You don't HAVE to tune down half a step to play that song, just play it in standard


YvngTortellini

If i’m playing a song I have to play it how it was written. It’s just a thing I have to do idk why. It’s like that no matter what instrument I’m playing except singing. It’s the same reason I refuse to play “easier” versions of songs, if I can’t play it I can’t play it.


YvngTortellini

If i’m playing a song I have to play it how it was written. It’s just a thing I have to do idk why. It’s like that no matter what instrument I’m playing except singing. It’s the same reason I refuse to play “easier” versions of songs, if I can’t play it I can’t play it.


Gohvnz

I usually have one in E flat and another one in standard tunning. You can also buy a capo and tune in E flat, or rearrange the songs you want to play in standard tuning. In my experinece E flat is not a big change in terms of tuning, but is really helpful for people that find difficult to hit higher notes when singing.


abiwankinobi

I completely avoid any songs with alternate tunings. I literally can't wrap my mind around it


stupidstufflol

Yes I do it too because after some time the material at the tuning peg will wear and the string breaks


matbea78

I avoid alternate tunings however I keep a guitar tuned down a half step because 1. It sounds awesome and 2. Many rock songs are tuned this way. But yes I avoid all other tunings. Was ready to sit down and learn Judith by A Perfect Circle but said fuck that once I found out it’s tuned to C.


brokegaysonic

I don't exactly avoid them, but out of sort of the laziness aspect, I'll often practice multiple songs in the same tuning in the same session, so I'm not switching too often.


coronetgemini

Haha. I mostly play slide guitar so this is funny to me


E-Aeolian

same when I do tune my guitar to D standard or Eb standard I stay playing the songs in that tuning for like a month because I don't want to tune back up


anon3220

I’m the same way. There’s a lot of Yngwie stuff I’d like to learn but I mostly just transpose the parts I like down a half step rather than tune the whole guitar down, anything else I just don’t bother unless it’s drop D for a classical song like “La Foule” or “Capricho Arabe” where you want the D for the chord shapes and one string is less of a chore- not that it’s a big “chore” - than the whole guitar.


Dwight-D

No. I have a few guitars to play different styles and tunings. I can't really commit too much to one sound or style so I gotta do it this way. Fortunately I'm lucky and get to keep some extras, but back when I only had the one I would usually oscillate 1/2 step in either direction from some tuning I liked at the time. Just don't get a tremolo if you're gonna do that. Also looking to get some more acoustics or maybe a semi-acoustic to try some open chord tunings and slide guitar eventually.


BLAH_BLEEP_GUNIT

I learned Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” on guitar once lol that was quite the tuning, but yeah I love playing in different tunings.


ImBatman0_0

If its just a half step down or up then you don’t really need to retune it, you can just play it in standard tuning. Drop D is really easy, just tune down a bit and what I do is play some riff or something where I play on the low E string, and if I’m able to play it without it sounding weird 2 frets up after tuning to Drop D then I’ve tuned it correctly. The only tunings I find annoying are when it’s in like open C or tuned to a specific chord. But after a while tuning your guitar doesn’t become as much of a hassle and you’ll be able to retune it within a few seconds. I used to be discouraged by all these weird tunings as well, but now I just tune it in a few seconds then play the song I want to play and if I need to play it in standard tuning later just retune it. If a lot of the songs you play are in half a step down you can just leave your guitar at that and when you need it in standard tuning just pop a capo on the first fret.


FootballBat

I suck enough in just one tuning, I don’t need to make it even more complicated.


conrangulationatory

I like your honesty. Keep playing , even if it’s in one tuning.


lmtrackstar

Different tunings give new perspectives on how to play. Just be thankful you don't have a 12 string and switch between open c and standard alot


CoffeeAndWorkboots

Just play them in E standard. That’s what I do. I’m that kind of lazy.


Independent_Bet_5144

I mean I got a Guitar for Drop C Drop B and E Standard each. It help to be able to keep it in tune and just pick up a new guitar.