Tunings for Warr Guitars by Jim Wright

TUNINGS FOR WARR GUITARS.

Here are more than 26 tunings readily available on Warr Guitars. Other custom tunings are possible.
The lowest practical open pitch is an A, below the low E of a standard 4-string bass. The highest possible open pitch is a D, one whole step below the open high E on a standard 6-string guitar. With our 24 fret necks, this means that the highest possible fretted note is a D, the same pitch as the 22nd fret on the 1st string of a 6-string guitar.
All tunings are written as though the guitar were in a stand, with the headstock pointing up, and facing you. String #1 is always the farthest string to the right. The letters represent the open string pitch.
Keep in mind that most players will have a mute at the first fret, so the open notes will not sound.
<>indicates where the split is found on stereo models.

8-STRING TUNINGS
Warr 8-string guitars can be mono, or split stereo 4x4.

1.
Bb F C G D A C D
This is a Crafty guitar tuning that covers the entire practical range on a 34-inch scale. String #8 is the lowest, as on all 8-string tunings. The strings ascend in 5ths from a low Bb, with a minor 3rd between strings 2 and 3, and a major 2nd between strings 1 and 2.

2.
B E A D G C F Bb
This is an all 4ths tuning, which is the logical extension of standard 6-string bass. It can be lowered up to one whole step to low A.

3.
E A D G C F A D
This tuning is like standard 6-string guitar on the upper 6 strings (though a whole step below in pitch), and continues down in 4ths to the same low E as standard 4-string bass.

4.
Bb F C G<>B E A D
This is a stereo split with upright 5ths bass, and 4ths guitar.

10-STRING TUNINGS
All 10-strings are stereo, and split 5x5 or 4x6. The low strings must be strings 5 and 6 on 5x5, and 6 and 7 on 4x6.
The 5x5 split is most common.
Usually the player plays the bass strings with the left hand, and the guitar strings with the right, though some players use both hands to play only bass or guitar lines.

1.
E A D G C<>F# B E A D
This is a standard 10-string tuning for touch guitar. It is called a crossed tuning, as the left hand usually reaches over the guitar strings to play bass, and the right hand reaches across the bass strings to play guitar. The bass side is in inverted 5ths, and the guitar side in upright 4ths. String #6 (the C), is the lowest pitched bass string. String #5 (F#) is the lowest pitched guitar string.

2.
E A D G C<> E A D G C
This is the same as the above tuning, but with the guitar side a whole step lower. This makes the note patterns very consistent from one side to the other.

3.
G D A E B<>F# B E A D
This is like the standard tuning above, but with the bass in inverted 4ths. Of course, it's possible to take the guitar side down a whole step as in #2.

4.
E A D G C<> C G D A C
This is a Crafty tuning for both the guitar and bass sides. All strings are in 5ths intervals, except the two highest guitar strings (strings1 and 2), which are a minor 3rd apart.

5.
G D A E<> C# F# B E A D
This is a 4x6 stereo split tuning with inverted 4ths bass. Inverted 5ths bass is also possible, and the guitar can be lowered a whole step.

11-STRING TUNINGS
These tunings usually emulate 10-string tunings, with an added lower guitar string on the guitar side. They are split 5 (inverted bass) x 6 (guitar).

1.
E A D G C<>C# F# B E A D
The 11-string tuning was developed as a way to get more range on the guitar side of the instrument, when compared to 10-string tunings.

2.
E A D G C<>B E A D G C
This is like the standard tuning, but with the guitar down one whole step. Another nicely symmetrical tuning.

3.
G D A E B<>C# F# B E A D
This is an 11-string tuning with inverted 4ths bass.

4.
G D A E B<>B E A D G C
The same tuning as #3, but with the guitar down one whole step. This makes nice symmetrical fingerboard patterns.

12-STRING TUNINGS
12-strings are usually split stereo 6x6, but can also be split 5 (inverted bass) x 7 (guitar). 5x7 splits are not available on Phalanx models. Remember, bass tunings can go as low as A for any of these examples.

1.
B E A D G C<>C# F# B E A D
Standard 12-string tuning. Inverted 5ths bass and upright 4ths guitar. Strings 6 (C#) and 7 (C) are the lowest on the instrument.

2.
B E A D G C<> B E A D G C
The same as above, but with the guitar one whole step lower. This has a nice symmetry to the fingerboard patterns.

3.
C G D A E B<>C# F# B E A D
This is like standard tuning, but with inverted 4ths on the bass side.

4.
C G D A E B<>B E A D G C
Same as #3, but with the guitar side down a whole step. All patterns have a mirror image symmetry between guitar and bass side.

5.
B E A D G C<>C G D A C D
This is a Crafty tuning for 12-string tap-guitar. String 7 is the lowest bass string, and string 6 is the lowest guitar string.

6.
B E A D G C<>B E A D G C
This is an Uncrossed 4ths tuning. String #6 (B) is the lowest bass string, and string #12 (B) is the lowest guitar string. Nothing is inverted. It is called "uncrossed" as hands are not reaching across one set of strings to play the other, as in most standard stereo tap-guitar tunings, such as tuning #1 above. The left hand still plays bass, but now the bass strings are strings 1-6, and not 7-12 as in tuning #1. Strings #1-6 have the same open string pitches as standard 6-string bass. Our Phalanx 12 models were designed with this tuning in mind, but it is available on any 12-string Warr Guitar. This is a very symmetric tuning, as nothing is inverted, and both sides of the guitar are an octave apart.

7.
C# F# B E A D<>B E A D G C
This is the same as #6, but with the guitar up one whole sep, to take advantage of the greatest possible range.

8.
C# F# B E A D<>B E A D G C (DOUBLE GUITAR)
This is a double-guitar tuning for uncrossed players. The right hand plays melody and chords on strings 12-7 (C#-D), and the left plays chords and counter lines on strings 6-1 (B-C).
There are many variations on the open string pitches, and Crafty tunings are also possible in this arrangement.

9.
E A D G C<>G# C# F# B E A D
This is a standard 5x7 split tuning with inverted 5ths bass and upright 4ths guitar. As in other standard tunings, the bass can be in inverted 4ths, and the guitar can be tuned one whole step lower.

14-STRING TUNINGS
All 14-strings are Phalanx models, unless a custom order is made. Phalanx 14-strings use the Uncrossed Upright 4ths tuning, though upright 5ths tunings are possible. They are all split 7x7.

1.
F# B E A D G C<>B E A D G C F
This is similar to the Uncrossed 4ths 12-string tuning (#6), but with a lower guitar string, and higher bass string.

2.
G# C# F# B E A D<> B E A D G C F
This is the same as #1 but with the guitar side up one whole step, to take advantage of the full range.

Comments

[Jersey Ray]

you missed one! - my 8 string tuning goes form a low E flat, up in fourths. I know a few other guys who used this. the top strings are then the same as what is used on a standard or half bari 10 string