Eb tuning

RocknRollDave

stickyfiddle said:

I'm usually in standard on electrics, but my acoustic lives in D standard. Something about the way the tension and resonance changes makes it sound miles better.

Oh I do that too with an acoustic!
Just cos standard feels to tight on an acoustic after playing mostly electric.
I don't actually tune down to D standard, to be fair, i just tune down randomly until it feels good and isn't stupidly low to my ear...as I'm not playing with anyone/ anything else it doesn't have to be in tune with anything else, just itself..so it's probably " a bit below D standard but not quite as far as C#"

GuyBoden

When Tuning in Eb, won't you need to relearn where all the notes are on the fretboard?

Catthan

GuyBoden said:

When Tuning in Eb, won't you need to relearn where all the notes are on the fretboard?

Well, if you are "honest" about it yes!

Don't know how the big Cats like SRV or Scott Henderson think about it but if you tune down in reality you won't be playing, say, an E chord but an Eb chord. So if you do it mainly for tone 'cause you like it and no one else in the band wants to, or likes transposing (keys player playing many black keys) then you'll need to relearn. The good thing is that you obtain any perceived sonic benefit in all the range. So your "real" E or whatever will sound allegedly better. So yeah, unless everyone does smth to accommodate the singer than you need to think of actual chords regardless of the fret which means relearning. 

daveyh

SItting with my Jackson here, tuned to Eb, makes a difference in the tension and there is a noticeable difference in the timbre - just that little bit darker and it works nicely. Lot of people I've known tune to Eb but still play in the 'ordinary' positions

OilCityPickups

My Strats live in Eb. There is something about that tuning that suits a Strat, and when I reach for one I want that particular 'timbre'.
My voice only just about 'gets by' as a lead singer, so any help is useful anyway.

Lukeage

I like playing a little bit flat. It doesn't work for every guitar. But it's nice. I often tune my Cort acoustic and my Les Paul Standard down to Eb. 

It seems to work really well on those two guitars for me anyway. Especially on the acoustic, just whatever that wood on that Cort is it just is a magic wood and it's very responsive and just great sound all-round and just responds beautifully when tuned to that pitch. So I often use it like that just in my own time!