Who Tunes down their mando?

[MikeEdgerton]

Happens often...

...just not on purpose.

Yeah, kind of like my distressed Gibson F5G. It didn't start out that way, like your tuning down it just happens.

[ShawnLeonhardt]

I tune mine to E B F# C#....as I prefer playing blues mandolin... so instead of the G chord I am playing E... isn't that what Yank used? Either way i like it... I tune my lap steel to B11 (or as close as I can get on the strings available)... I made a homemade capo for my mountain dulcimer to change the key on that... hell I even solder extra knobs on my 80's keyboards to change tuning while playing. No point always playing the same songs and same tunings as everyone else, takes all the fun out of music.

[Jim Garber]

I tune mine to E B F# C#....as I prefer playing blues mandolin... so instead of the G chord I am playing E... isn't that what Yank used?

When I got my vintage National mandolin, I strung it up with std strings and std tuning. I didn't like the sound since the scale is actually pretty long, I think 15". So I strung it with heavier strings and tuned it down to E with the two lower courses strung in octaves. I think that is what Yank did.

[ShawnLeonhardt]

After reading your post I had some ideas so I tuned my mandolin (EB)(BG#)(BE)(DD) octave difference on the last one... now all normal chord shapes go out the window.... but it is great for E7 blues jamming... sounds kind of crazy, but still like a mandolin. Later I want to tune all the strings in fifths... does anyone do that? Just for single string playing?

I love the idea of different tunings. Jim I had planned on using a couple of those extra bowl back necks/fretboards to show some kids how to make little homemade cookie tin/cigar box instruments. I usually tune those mini mando/banjo's to a 7th... in fact if anyone in my area has some old kids lunch boxes... those would work great with the necks. Maybe a dukes of hazzard lunchbox mando that is tuned specifically to play that theme song...

(Another project is a homemade lap steel with a side box that includes potential broken phasers/flangers/... basically any broken pedals that people donate that i will incorporate into this more than 6 string "lap" steel... it will look like a synth board on a lap steel! it will def incorporate odd tunings... I will try anything interesting to get more people into playing music)

[JeffD]

I keep one mandolin is cross tuning AEAE and take it out when I need to.

Seems better for the mandolin and the strings to keep things with one tuning rather than changing back and forth.

[Pasha Alden]

Hi I am just interested in the transposing bit. Do keep us posted. I for one do not tune down my mandolin. Best with the transposing of the chords!

[Pasha Alden]

What an interesting discussion! will need to try some of these tunings. Wondered, are you also tuning the courses differently? That is to say, is it my understanding that the double E can be tuned e b? Somewhat inexperienced here so please forgive the ignorance.

[belbein]

Every time I talk to someone knowledgeable about folk music, they invariably say, "Oh, Robert Johnson [or whoever] tuned his guitar [up/down/sideways] ..." So this idea that there's a right way and a wrong way--an authorized way and an unauthorized, "wrong" way," is just ridiculous. As long as it works, whether your rationale is comfort or "specific musical reason", why does anyone care?

[JeffD]

As long as it works, whether your rationale is comfort or "specific musical reason", why does anyone care?

With a caveat or two:

If you are not tuning in a standard way, and use the standard fingerings for everything, you will be out of tune with most people. No problem playing by yourself however.

If you are not tuned the same way as that other mandolin player at the jam, you will not be able to cheat chords off of him, or see how a particular melody starts by looking at his hands.

If you are way off from a standard tuning, there may be some intonation issues or problems because a mandolin is designed to work with specific string tensions and string gauges.

If you are experimenting with alternate tunings to see what else can be done, fantastic. If you are using alternate tunings because that's how your last instrument was tuned, well you might be significantly delaying learning the mandolin. (There was a fellow a bit ago who tuned his mandolin in fourths, so that his guitar licks could be applied to the mandolin.)

If a beginner asks me how to tune the mandolin, I am going to give him or her the standard tuning. I am not going to say "there is no right way or wrong way to tune, as long as it works who cares?"

Other than those caveats, I am in agreement. There is no rule that says one must do things this way or that. (As a corollary, there is no exemption from the consequences, whatever they are, of doing things that way or this.)

[ShawnLeonhardt]

Yes of course there is the standard way to do things. This will get you farther in life because... well everyone else is joining in. I love my mandolin, I love the high pitch sound of double course strings... I love the tuning in 5ths (above I was talking about tuning each course in a fifth, hopefully people understand what I mean.. chords will be almost impossible unless a musical savant figures them out). I admittedly disappear from this site on occasion. Because bluegrass music is just, well not my thing. I like it, but when I click on the Mandolin Store links and every 'sound link' of everyone mandolin is a bluegrass lick... I find that frustrating. The mandolin had it's day long ago. Back then when entire orchestra's played it... well I think I would have fit in better then. It was an instrument to be played and experimented with. Now it has a set of rules that are generally THE WAY. And that is why we have this mass produced clone culture... even those who do not follow the mainstream, well they join in the proper appropriate side clique. Now for those who enjoy bluegrass, well then cool that's your thing. Own it, love it, and accept that it is not the only way...

If a beginner asks me how to tune a mandolin? Yes this the standard way of how other's do it. Try it, learn it, play it. But as soon as you want tweak it, experiment with it. Get crazy. Because we can all play covers over and over until we have blisters on our fingers. But the good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow isn't as bad as it seems. New music, new ideas, creativity comes from simple ideas of new tunings. And in this world of constant covers, re-plays, rehashed ideas, sharing posts... please keep doing whatever sounds good to you. Whatever the tuning... (that being said, proper setup of any instrument is still great advice )

[belbein]

(As a corollary, there is no exemption from the consequences, whatever they are, of doing things that way or this.)

True dat.

[briankwood]

If you want that feel but still be in standard tuning have a custom mandolin built with about a 13 1/8" scale length, which would be like tuning down and putting a capo on the first fret.