Alternate Tunings

Does anyone in the group use a tuning other than standard? I am looking into the potential of Open C Minor to allow my left hand to play chords, and I'm wondering if any of you have a feeling for when alternate tunings get "too weird." I know such an assessment is subjective and depends on many factors, but I like to understand how far off the beaten path I'm thinking of going before I lose sight of the usual points of reference (i.e. I use Linux and the Dvorak keyboard layout, but I didn't hack together a smartphone and a toaster for my computer). A new PRS SE 245 should be arriving in the next few days, and I'm trying to find a low tuning which will provide me with a lot of barre chords. Thing is, I don't want wet noodles for strings.

What tunings have you used?

How has dropping strings affected tension, especially on a 24.75" (typical Gibson) or 24.5" scale (PRS SE Santana, SE 245, and a few others) guitar?

I will post a thread about the guitar after it arrives, but for now I'll give you an overview as regards dropped tunings:

• 24.5" scale length
• Wraparound bridge with adjustable saddles
• These strings

More research shows that Open C Minor should be possible with the new guitar, so I've done some research into how I might play. It looks like many scales will be fairly easy for me to play, just like dozens of chords should be made easy. My guitar's "voice" will become somewhat baritone, but the low C sounds like it will give me the walking bass line I've always had in mind for blues.

Taking inspiration Skippy found on Reddit, I have fashioned a fret reference for Open C Minor. I have also made a chromatic fretboard chart using an old Windows program called NutChords (it runs pretty well in WINE, but there are some rendering issues). It turns out that using Aeolian as a background and overlaying Lydian will give all but four notes, and you can take them from a Phrygian chart to fill in (there's got to be some cool music theory behind it). If any of you want a chromatic diagram for your guitar's fretboard, up to 24 frets, I can probably make it for you.


http://www.robstafarian.net/images/F...r_SaneSize.png

http://www.robstafarian.net/images/O...tic_Bigger.png

Wow, this really underscores how busy I've been. Pictures will be uploaded tomorrow.

By the way, the preamp in the group's logo is for sale.

Finally got around to things I meant to do, not that anyone's paying attention to this group. First of all, the "Fret Notes" image linked in the previous message has been corrected to show the proper octaves. Here is the corrected version for standard tuning:

http://www.robstafarian.net/images/F...g_SaneSize.png


Now, here are a couple of detail shots of the guitar I got back in March. It is a PRS SE 245, modified by Sweetwater with parts I sent in, and you can see the Pigtail bridge in one of the shots.

http://www.robstafarian.net/images/PRS-BridgeDetail.jpg

http://www.robstafarian.net/images/PRS-BackDetail1.jpg

django?

open G is the key to many old blues tunes

That is true, Ryan, but the chord shapes in Open G don't do me any favors.

I do some of my songwriting in open D, and play some Dylan and Joni Mitchell tunes in open D. I know a few songs in drop D (James Taylor's "Country Road" comes to mind right away), and I know the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" in double drop D (both E strings tuned down to D).