Tuning

" tuning by harmonics "
is'nt that how steelers did before tuners ?


the E9 tuning has 2 open chords : E & B
when you tune, you'll have to refer to both
(as well as A w: pedals A & B engaged)
& eventually F# minor chord
that makes 4 fundamentals that basically get tuned to 440 or 442 : E - B - A - F#

lever E lowers Es a half
lever F raises Es a half
lever G raises F#s a whole
lever D lowers Eb a half
lever V lowers Bs a half

you will be using frets 5 - 7 - 12 - & 4 !
you can get a harmonic on the 4th fret - certainly not as easy as on frets 5,7 & 12
look for it, it's there

here we go :

push pedals A&B down first & tune the Es (strings 4 & 8) to 440 or 442 as your initial ref
release & then you're off

Open/no pedals for starters - pedals & levers will follow
using harmonics on each :
on left reference tone / on right string to tune

E : string 8 fret 5 / string 4 fret 12

B : string 10 fret 5 / string 5 fret 12

F# : string 5 fret 7 / String 1 fret 12 - string
F# : string 1 fret 12 / string 7 fret 5

G# : string 8 fret 4 ( yep 4) / string 6 fret 5
G# : string 4 ( yep 4 ) / string 3 fret 5

Eb : string 5 fret 4 / string 2 fret 5

E : string 8 w: A&B fret 5 / string 6 w: A&B fret 7

A : string 6 w: A&B fret 5 / string 3 w: A&B fret 12
A : string 6 w: A&B fret 12 / string 9 fret 7

C# : string 5 w: A&B fret 12 / string 10 w: A&B fret 5
C# : string 6 w: B&C fret 4 / string 4 w: B&C fret 7
C# : string 6 w: B&C fret 4 / string 5 w: B&C fret 5

Eb : string 2 fret 12 / string 4 w lever E fret 12
Eb : string 2 fret 12 / string 8 w: lever E fret 5

B(G# lever): string 5 fret 5 / string 7 w: lever G fret 4
G# : string 3 fret 12 / string 1 w: lever G fret 12

F : string 5 w: A&B fret 4 / string 4 w: lever F fret 5
F : string 4 w: lever F fret 12 / string 8 w: lever F fret 5

Bb : string 7 fret 4 / string 5 w: lever V fret 5
Bb : string 5 w: lever V fret 12 / string 10 w: lever V fret 5

D : string 9 fret 5 / string 2 w: lever D fret 12

a word to the wise : compromise is inevitable
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when tuning strings 1(F#) - 2(Eb)- 7(F#) note that the root/reference is B ......NOT... E
F# being the fifth & Eb being the third of B :
the fifth of B gets the same treatment/value as the fifth of E
the third of B gets the same treatment/value as the third of E
last but not least (the plot sickens lol)
when tuning F# on string 4 w: pedal C : F# is the root tone since the ref is an F# minor chord
here again it will get it's own treatment/value
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Last edited by James Crowbear on Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:11 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[henry]

wow! cheers James

[SteelieAJK]

Adam

It would have been better to start a new topic IMO as the original question was about tuning pedal up/down and with your question and then James' harmonic tuning method post, the thread seems to be meandering wildly.

As Richard pointed out you seem to be missing the C pedal. I don't think there is much use of the C pedal in Winnie's book so there's probably plenty tab you could work through. When C pedal is used you could try alternative ways to get the notes, C pedal on 5 string is same as A pedal on 5th string, C pedal on 4th is same as 1st string.

I think Winnie's tab is pretty difficult for beginners, after six years much of it still beats me, but I'm not a fan of learning from tab.

Dewitt Scotts' "Pedal Steel Method" goes slower and the C pedal doesn't arrive for some time. But the tunes tabbed are not much fun to be honest. Some nice theory though.

Jeff Newman Up from the Top series is probably a good start point. First one only uses A&B pedals but you can learn a number of useful major and 7th scales and when to play them.