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Author
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Topic: Early Western Swing Tunings
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Dana Duplan
Member From: Ramona, CA
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posted 05 February 2003 06:29 PM
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In keeping with my quest for a '30's lap steel sound, I was pondering what tunings were used in the early days by Dunn, Hofner, etc. I'm talking from the advent of the first electric steels, to 1940 or so. I have lots of recordings from that era, and my ears don't hear any 6th voicings. Mostly horn emulation on single strings and some two note chords. Any ideas what tunings these pioneers used? A Major, E7 perhaps?
Thanks,
DD |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 05 February 2003 09:27 PM
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quote:
Mostly horn emulation on single strings and some two note chords
 C#m, E7, F#9, D9 ... I don't know about the western swing players ... but these were pretty popular along with the first major tunin's with the Hawaiians during that period ... My favorite era ... [This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 05 February 2003 at 10:06 PM.] |
nick allen
Member From: France
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posted 05 February 2003 11:36 PM
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I've read that Bob Dunn used a straight G or A tuning (dobro tuning).
Nick |
Charlie Fullerton
Member From: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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posted 06 February 2003 08:34 AM
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Western Swing was/is "fiddle music": most fiddlers love A & D; early swing steelers used A6th, E6th, or E13th -- almost always with a first string "E". Most of them used alot of harmonics (chimes); an "A" tuning was essencial to work with the fiddlers.
These are usually eight-string tunings, for a six, you might be better off to try an E6th.
E-C#-B-G#-E-B(orC#)-- top to bottom. Some guys might also suggest a D for the fifth string.
Good luck, and ENJOY!!!!!
Charlie
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Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 06 February 2003 09:21 AM
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The earliest instruction methods I've seen used open A tuning, usually (from bass to treble)
E A E A C# E.------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
George Rout
Member From: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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posted 06 February 2003 10:09 AM
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I just played Aldolph Hoefner's (latest!!!!) CD, "South Texas Swing", track 3 where Emil plays steel with Jimmie Revard which were the Hoefner's first recordings in 1936, and it sounds like only A Major. I started playing in 1948, and all I ever heard about (and read about) early 30's playing was the low bass A tuning Brad mentioned. It was even quite later before somebody went to the high bass tuning of EC#AEC#A. Then E major came into play......Geo |
Ray Montee
Member From: Portland, OR, USA
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posted 06 February 2003 10:40 AM
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My experience has shown that MANY of those early day greats played A6th; C# min.
Boot Heel Drag was definitely C#min.
Playboy Chimes was A6thBoth were performed by Bob Wills steel men, and too, B.Bowman Hop in A6th, I blieve? |
Erv Niehaus
Member From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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posted 06 February 2003 11:50 AM
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When Jerry Byrd was being recorded, I'm sure his preference was the C6th tuning. Herb Remington liked the A6th tuning. The real old recordings were done with the straight A tuning, either high or low bass.
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Bobby Lee
Sysop From: Cloverdale, North California, USA
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posted 06 February 2003 12:13 PM
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I've seen this E13 listed faily often:G# B D F# G# B C# E
It never really appealed to me, but we see it reflected in P5+K position of the modern C6 tuning, which produces a very similar D13: (D) F# A C E F# A B (E) D The other staple of early western swing was the A6, which is simply:
E A C# E F# A C# E
Most courses taught the A major tunings (low bass and high bass), and A6 was a logical extension of them for advanced players. ------------------
 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6), Roland Handsonic |
Andy Volk
Member From: Boston, MA
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posted 06 February 2003 02:00 PM
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Herb Remington played A6th but also pioneered the F#13th tuning: [High to low:. E,C#,G#, E, Bb, F#, D#, F# The 8th string was tuned to F# above the 1st string and the 7th string was tuned a half tone lower than the first string. He showed it to speedy West who used it a number of hit records. |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
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posted 06 February 2003 02:35 PM
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Getting back to the time span Dana mentions, I think most everything I hear (especially by Bob Dunn, Emil Hofner and the various Hawaiian players) was done using either low bass A or high bass A tuning:
Low bass A: E A E A C# E
High bass A: A C# E A C# E------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
George Rout
Member From: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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posted 06 February 2003 02:45 PM
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You're right on, Brad.
Geo |
Andy Volk
Member From: Boston, MA
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posted 06 February 2003 03:06 PM
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All of the method books I've seen until the mid 1930's were in low bass A tuning. In 1938, Mills Music Published a method that listed these tunings (according to Hawaiian Guitar Music Review 9/89):C major: ECGECG
C7th: ECGECBb
A minor: ECAEAE
E minor: EBGEBE Sol invented C# min: EC#G#EBE. After Bob Dunn, Sol deserves a lot more credit than he's received IMHO for his influence on early Western Swing. |
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