 The open tunings I use on guitar to play bottle neck slide are mostly open D & G. For the picker who already is a slide player,
you might not make any new discoveries with the info on this page, but for someone who is just starting out on slide, you
may want to keep reading.
The popularity of using objects to slide on strings as it applies to the blues genre pretty much came about through the influence
of Hawaiian musical troupes touring the US in the 20's & 30's. Black American musicians began experimenting with slack keys
they picked up from the traveling musicians, particularly open G & D and their variants. It was called slack key because the
string pitch and tension are lower than standard the E-A-D-G-B-E tuning.
G tuning also is referred to as Spanish, Slack Key, Hawaiian or Sabastopol tuning. The strings are tuned as
follows: D-G-D-G-B-D
Another tuning I use is open D tuning, which is known as Vestapol tuning. Those strings are tuned as follows: D-A-D-F#-A-D
If you want to play in the key of A using open G tuning or the key of E using open D tuning, your guitar will better served
by using a capo at the 2nd fret respectively. Open A & E tuning creates a string tension a lot higher than standard tuning,
that being said, some guitars and string gauge combinations could be very unfriendly to the guitar. In some cases it may cause
permanent damage to your guitar!
You'll find that using heavier gauge strings greatly benefit tone and general playability. Heavier strings will add a bit
more stiffness because of the lower string tension and will allow less string chatter against a slide during inspired or heavy
picking.
A slightly higher action set is probably preferred by most players, but a seasoned player with a deft touch can get around
on the fretboard with a lower action without crashing a slide on the frets. It's all about personal preference and common
sense. If you like using a heavy deep socket spark plug socket from Sears, then you'll need a higher action than the bloke
that uses a thin copper tubing like Son House did.
If you must tune to open E or A consider using lighter strings. Remember that a light string at a higher pitch/tension will
have a stiffer feel than at a standard tuning. On electric guitars .010-.048 set will actually work okay with pretty good
results. You'll probably need to raise the action a bit.
I use the following gauges for electric guitar (open D & G): .013-.017-.020p-.036-.046-.056
This is a typical jazz medium gauge set in which I substitute the wound 3rd (.026w) for a .020 plain string. A plain .020
is actually more stiff compared to the heavier factory wound 3rd string... trust me. Wound 3rd strings suck, so switch it
out for a more lively and balanced plain gauge instead.
For acoustic resonator guitar wood or metal, biscuit or spider bridge style, I use a .016-.059 string gauge set. Never use
a gauge that heavy on a solid wood flat top guitar. Though there is an endless stream of alternate tunings to be had, these
are the two tunings I primarily use.
If you want to get crazy with tunings go here to learn more:
Brad's Page of Steel
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