Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on January 10, 2018 at 4:13am

You can play all the same chord shapes and the scales will be the same in any 151 tuning I think, Sharon. Obviously the chord names and notes on the frets will be different but I think you should be good to go.

As for the string breakage, check the break angle of the strings over the nut and bridge (make sure the angle of the strings going over the none vibrating side isn't too drastic) and check the tuning pegs for burrs and sharpness that may be cutting the strings.

I'm sure others will be along soon who can help more or correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this info to be right. 

Enjoy the guitar :)

Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on January 10, 2018 at 5:03am

Yes, Dani and Bear are correct that any 151 tuning allows you to use the same chord shapes and tab. EBe just means you'll be in the key of E rather than G which you'd have with GDg. I usually like a low G tuning and I use the A,D,and g strings from a 6 string set. This means that the D and g strings are at their normal pitch and the A string is tuned down a step to G. I suspect you may be trying for an octave higher than you should. You can check that using an online guitar tuner to match the pitch of your g and D strings and then the low G will be one octave lower than the higher g.

https://www.guitarforbeginners.com/onlinetuner.html

Permalink Reply by Chuck Groves on January 10, 2018 at 4:36am

I too have broken strings tuningmy cigar box guitar.  It turns out I was tuning them an octave too high and using light gauge strings didn’t help as they broke easier.  I switched to medium gauge strings, got a tuner I could clip on my head stock, and more importantly, I tuned it using one of my six string guitars to get the correct octave,  a piano or other instrument that is guaranteed to be in tune is also good to use.  Tuning to GDG is preferable so you can learn songs from videos from the cigar box nation, youtube, etc..

Permalink Reply by Sharon A. on January 11, 2018 at 3:07am

Thanks for the quick replies.  Think I will be changing out the bridge and nut but for now I'm satisfied with the lower tuning!  Really pleased with the build as far as sound.  Want to get it to the GDG tuning but was fun to just get to play!

Permalink Reply by Richard Dean on January 11, 2018 at 3:48am

Another member has recently post the exact same dilemma, he too sounds like tuning to the next octave.Like the others said, you can tune to any 151, I too like the EBe sound, plus guess what, capo the 3rd fret and "voila" GDg

Permalink Reply by Sharon A. on January 18, 2018 at 4:00am

Quick update- my husband readdressed my guitar's issues- changed out the nut to a traditional bone one.   Was able to tune up to GDG and get it intonated.  I'm one happy strummer!  Will post a pic as soon as I trim the strings.  Thanks for all your help and advice.

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on January 18, 2018 at 6:28am

Glad that you managed to get it resolved Sharon. Good on hubby for sticking with it through to the solution too. Have a great time on your guitar and looking forward to seeing the pictures.