Hi Martijn & thanks. Yes, this tuning gives a wider sound. I also enhanced this by cloning the guitar track and panning 60% Left & Right. I added chorus+tape echo to one track and mild fuzz to the other. Was trying to get a “bigger” sound …

Well, you certainly managed. In that tuning, do you alter your chords, or play regular ones?

I use altered tunings quite a lot. Most of my acoustic guitar technique is influenced by John Martyn. When I re-tune the strings I can no longer play “standard” chord shapes — they just won’t work. In effect the guitar fretboard is rendered “unfamiliar”. And so I have to experiment and find chords/scales that will work. I like this because it forces me to abandon “safe” or “familiar” territory and explore completely new stuff. I record the results of these experiments to preserve them, in case they are useful in the future …

Pfft… sounds pretty complicated. Not to say that would drive me crazy ;)

My respect for your guitar playing keeps rising!

Thanks! I’ve never been a guitar “student” of, say, the Blues or Rock’n’Roll, or whatever. Altered tunings offer a quick route to creativity and musical terra incognita. The thing that fascinates me about guitar playing is “the attack” — how you hit the string/note — what Jan Akkerman refers to as “hunter’s mentality”. And what Santana refers to as “making every note count”. And what Steve Howe refers to as creating tone “in the fingers”.

Yes, that’s true for every instrument. The attack and the timing. And also how long a note is. And vibrato.

I never tried alternate tuning, I guess bass isn’t really suited for that, since the tension of the strings are stricter. They either wobble too much or break. I know bass players that use alternate tuning also change their string sets.

Hmm, I never heard of a bass player changing tuning, precisely for the reason you give. Even on 6-string guitar some tunings are a bit of a nightmare!

Stanley Clarke did some great things with that - in cello tuning, if I’m not mistaken :)

Hi & thanks. Hmm, I spent a long time (way back) in a duo with a sax-player and I had to get used to playing in awkward keys — sometimes using a capo and sometimes retuning. I also like to explore altered tunings and my guitar seems to cope with C#-tuning OK (i.e. keeps the tuning).

Hi & many thanks. Yes, altered tunings are the way …

Hi & many thanks indeed for this — very much appreciated. Peace & best wishes.

Thnx Jeris — really appreciate your comments. Peace & best wishes.