Tuning preference

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Not another tuning debate !!
Out of curiosity I ask, How many times did You change Your E9 tuning before settling on the way You now tune ?
When I got My first pedal steel I used a cheap tuner and tuned every string to dead on centre,It sounded fine since I was struggling with the basics of playing etc.I then found out that there were a great many players who had found the best? tuning settings.I also was given advice by many of My steelie friends.
We all know there is no "one size fits all" and I am not asking which is "right" for You.
I would guess I tuned about eight or nine ways before arriving at My present preferred setting. This was spread over many years.
After having said all that I can now profess to being able to play out of tune with ease no matter which method I use

[Danny Mitchell]

Even though I was a late starter, and, unknown to me, there was a wealth of info available online, I used my Elto chromatic guitar tuner and tuned straight up.
When I eventually attended the meetings at Gartcosh, John Craig kindly gave me a chart with the Emmons altered tunings, and things sounded better.
I then purchased a Peterson tuner, and eventually worked out how to tweak, and save, my own settings. And sometimes it sounded, almost 'no' bad'.
But I must echo Billy's last statement, that I can play out of tune with ease.....regardless!

[Donny Johnston]

Danny, we can all do that without any problem, I don't think I temper tune as much as some other guys but that's just me. LDN.

[Ken Byng]

The most out of tune I've ever been was when I first started playing. I used a tuning fork after setting up steel and amp, and had to get in quick while it was quiet enough for me to get my Es in tune and the rest by ear. If I was too slow the drummer and lead guitarist would go through their whole repertoires at the same time, and I had no chance before the show started.

The advent of the tuner was just incredible. It shut the lead players up for a minute and a half and gave me time to get the Es and Bs tuned straight up and the rest roughly in place. Even then, tuning straight up was a no no for the F lever. Maurice Anderson had the first tuner (a Korg) that any of us Southampton players had seen when I brought him over in 1977. It was Maurice himself who showed me how tempered tuning worked, especially on the E9th's F# strings. I later found how to install compensator pulls on my guitars, which helped mitigate cabinet flex in the long bodied pedal steels of the day.

These days, a Peterson tuner set to SE9 and SC6 does the job for all of my steels, and the GTR setting for 6 string guitars.

[bradsteel]

I’ve changed tuning preference quite a few times now - enough to have now decided that I should tune to ‘as close to equal temperament as my ears will accept’! By that, I do flatten my thirds but they’re still sharper than a JI approach.

[Danny Mitchell]

Brad, now that I've seen a photograph of you (see this month's newsletter) I realise by your youthfulness, that when you say 'JI', you're not referring to John Inman, you are, of course, speaking of justifiably intonated
And, Ken, tuning by ear at a noisy gig Nightmare. Never having to experience that is probably the only good thing about being an old, late starter

[Donny Johnston]

I'm glad you clarified that Danny, I've never heard of justif, whatever you said. LDN

[bradsteel]

Lol! Indeed Danny, John Inman (or at least his prime) was a little before my time!

[Ken Byng]

Billy - I realise that I didn't properly answer your question so here goes.

I firstly used JI (just intonation) once I had a chromatic tuner, and that was okay with just a tweak here and there. From there I moved on to ET (equal temperament) and then much later to using the Peterson sweetened tunings.

Now there is MT (meantone temperament) which is becoming widely used on various instruments. MT is described as a musical temperament, that is a tuning system obtained by slightly compromising the fifths in order to improve the thirds.

It's getting more and more complicated. My advice is for anyone getting lost or frustrated with the complex variations available to us all concerning tuning - don't disappear up your arse with an obsession of being in tune. Just get it close enough not to offend your ears and simply get on with playing.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

You said it Ken Tuning can become an obsession. I did not know about cabinet drop and when I first read the posts on the U.S.Forum it threw Me right off, My hair turned grey overnight. I have settled on virtually a "straight up " tuning with very small tweaks and found that when playing with a keyboard in the line up I am much more in tune.
I have had the good fortune in that I saw and heard some of the world's greatest players when I visited Dallas and I guess they all played using different set ups and I never did hear anyone out of tune.
Hope everyone is keeping well.
Billy