Hi, I've recently been trying to learn 'Lullaby' by Shawn Mullins. Its in open G (tuned GGDGBD) and I was just wondering if tuning that thick E string all the way up to a G was safe? I know at the very least its likely to shorten the life of the string but I'm wondering if that amount of tension might also affect the bridge,tuners and possibly even the guitar neck.
The guitar is an LAG Autumn acoustic strung with 11's.
Many thanks for any advice.
Simon
There are too many songs that have an 'F' chord in them.
Tuning to Open G involves only tuning DOWN from standard tuning.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Geez Ric, the headstock could always jump back and smack ya in the kisser under all that low tension. Maybe a helmet with faceguard is in order.
-=tension & release=-
I realise that the version of open G that Shawn uses is 'not standard' but surely the actual notes contained in an open strum are are the same? GGDGBD as opposed to DGDGBD... Both open G?? Tuning both string 5 and 6 to a G lets you play some really nice, rich sounding chords by fretting them both at the same place.
Anyway, my guitar doesnt seem to have collapsed on me yet :shock:
Simon
There are too many songs that have an 'F' chord in them.
That's not "Open G." I didn't notice the spelling of the tuning in the first message. I guess the 6th string G is a "high bass G," then.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I wouldn't leave the guitar in that tuning for days, but it shouldn't cause any problems tuning the 6th string from an E to a G while practicing the tune,- that string usually has a pretty low tension and is quite 'flobby' when tuned to E (at least with a 011 set). Plus, strings 1 and 5 are tuned down a whole step each so that should make up for the added tension from the 6th string in regard to the general tension on the neck/bridge/top.
