New member; Old man.

[Roy Ayres]

Paul:

Working from the piano keyboard I think I have reconstructed the old E6 or C#m7 tuning. If I haven't goofed, it's as follows -- from high to low:

E (Root)
C# (6th)
G# (3rd)
F# (9th)
E (Root)
B (5th)
G# (3rd)
E (Root)

It's not too great for playing melodies, but good for chord-style rides. On a given fret, stumming all 8 strings gives a 6th with a 9th just above the middle root. For example, all 8 strings on the 5th fret produce an A6. If you drop back two frets to the 6th fret and use the first 5 strings, you get an A9.

Of course, all of this is just in my head, as it's been about 40 to 50 years since I used the tuning -- so don't take any of this as gospel.

I could never understand why someone named it the C#m7 tuning. Of course if you make the open C# the root, most of the open notes constitute a C#m7, but it is clearly a rather simple variation of the plain old Open E tuning, and one tends to think of positions as if it is an E tuning. Someone probably named it that way to make it sound more complicated to their competitors -- sort of like the "secret tunings" we've been talking about.

Let me know if it works out as I think.

Roy

[Roy Ayres]

Oops. I made a bubu. Should be drop back to the 3rd fret -- not 6th fret. (5 - 2 = 3)

I used to be dyslexic, but God cured thank I am.

Roy