Open E,

robgilmo · June 2018

Ive tuned to open E, is it a good idea to leave it like this? I have read about people being afraid of the tension. Its a Yamaha APX500, about ten years old now. Would it be prudent to tune down to D and use a capo?

stickyfiddle · June 2018

What strings? If you're on 12s or less it's probably fine considering most acoustics can take 13s at standard tuning

robgilmo · June 2018

I think I have 12's on there, Daddario bronze lights I think they are.

AliGorie · June 2018

U can suss all'a this stuff with string gauge / tension calculators now - takes the guess work outa it.

http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

do u HAVE to be in E ?.

it's the same intervals as open D read fingering, only a tone up.

I use 13-56 and tune down to D pitch for those intervals.

Oh, it's not just string gauge - it's gauge over s/length that has to be considered.

happy picking

bwets · June 2018

AliGorie said:

U can suss all'a this stuff with string gauge / tension calculators now - takes the guess work outa it.
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

do u HAVE to be in E ?.
it's the same intervals as open D read fingering, only a tone up.
I use 13-56 and tune down to D pitch for those intervals.
Oh, it's not just string gauge - it's gauge over s/length that has to be considered.
happy picking

Yeah, open D and a capo on 2 = open E.

AliGorie · June 2018

mm - ok, I was actually asking if u NEEDED to be in the pitch of 'E' for singing along with or playing with others etc.

If u'r just playing by u'r self - as I said, Open 'E' and Open 'D' are the same 'fingering' / chords it's just the pitch that's different - one tone apart or two steps as they say in the states.

here's a piece of mine played in D/E tuning intervals but it's actually pitched in 'C' - two tones down.

To get u'r head round what u'r doing it's good to approach it from the interval relationship between the notes of the 'tuning system' you choose instead of the 'Pitch' - like Joni Mitchell did

http://jonimitchell.com/music/tuningpatterns.cfm

robgilmo · June 2018

I guess I dont need to be in E, I am learning some songs in open E and could use a capo, I was just wondering if the strain of open E will be bad for the guitar if left like that.

AliGorie · June 2018

AliGorie said:

U can suss all'a this stuff with string gauge / tension calculators now - takes the guess work outa it.
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

do u HAVE to be in E ?.
it's the same intervals as open D read fingering, only a tone up.
I use 13-56 and tune down to D pitch for those intervals.
Oh, it's not just string gauge - it's gauge over s/length that has to be considered.
happy picking

right - lets back track - u'r guitar will come with a recommended string gauge so if ya use the calculator above inputting scale length AND the gauge u want to try at whatever 'pitches' you want to tune it in - it'll give the resultant tension(s).

As long as they are close to the recommended tension for u'r guitar they're should be no issues.

I'm not being awkward in suggesting u do / learn some basic ground work here - it will be helpful as u progress as a guitarist.

I learned all this stuff 50 yrs ago by trial and error - now u can do it without breaking to many strings (or guitars).

happy pickin.

ICBM · June 2018

robgilmo said:

I guess I dont need to be in E, I am learning some songs in open E and could use a capo, I was just wondering if the strain of open E will be bad for the guitar if left like that.

No, as already said it's no worse than a set of 13s at standard pitch, and any normally-built guitar will be ok with that.

If you're worried, use either 10s or a custom set with lighter A, D and G. Don't use a standard set of 11s because the normal sets of those have the A and D the same gauges as 12s.

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