Who started using custom tuning?

[briefer]

Hi!

 

I see that in old songs, all of them user E Standard tuning. And in some point in history the songs started to use different tuning (drod D, etc).

 

Who started this custom tuning practice and when? Or it came out from nowhere?

 

cheers!

[raynebc]

The original Rocksmith supported 4 tunings (E standard, Eb standard, Drop D and open G). I think E standard is likely the most common, but there have been many Eb and Drop D customs so far. I never really remember seeing any open G customs.

[briefer]

thank you for your answer but I am talking about guitarists and the history of electric guitar, not about Rocksmith.

[dazedandbemused]

Alternate tunings probably predate electric guitar - for example, the 7 string is generally considered to have been 'invented' in the 18th century by a Russian called Andrei Sychra.

[cstewart]

Alternate tunings probably pre-date standard tuning for that matter.

[MVega]

Most of the early blues dudes had no access to tuners, so it was all pretty much hit or miss. Open tunings probably developed because it was just easier. You really have to admire some of these guys, considering how poor they were and how difficult it was for them to find a playable guitar.

[dazedandbemused]

Well, tuning to concert pitch was hit-or-miss; getting the guitar in tune with itself(and the singer's voice) is much simpler.

Even Bach played organs tuned to A 480 or higher.

 

Also, as far as a 'playable' guitar goes, that may be why use of a slide, and open tunings, was so widespread - a crappy fret job matters less if you're hardly using the frets.

[MVega]

And I imagine the action on some of their guitars was ridiculous. Another reason to play slide!

[RevT2]

Most of the early blues dudes had no access to tuners, so it was all pretty much hit or miss. Open tunings probably developed because it was just easier. You really have to admire some of these guys, considering how poor they were and how difficult it was for them to find a playable guitar.

 

This is my understanding also. Before the modern tuner bands would tune into tuning forks, a horn, piano or the vocalist then to one another. You do see a lot of tuning inconsistencies. Another way of tuning that has been around for a long time is harmonics tuning 5th & 7th fret stuff. This will leave you # so if someone is using that they will be out. Scott Grove has a video on Ytube showing how this leaves your guitar out of tune. So these practices inadvertently create the need for custom tuning when using the original tracks as backing tracks.

 

Here is Scott Groves Video, it's pretty informative.

 

[noahfence]

Funny guy!