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Fifths vs fourths

A question for anyone who might know; I have a 3-stringer with a 22.5" scale. After doing a LOT of research on the subject, I've narrowed the two tuning options down to Ae'b' (all fifths tuning) or Ad'f#. I'm attracted to the logic of all fifths tuning, but everything I can find on the subject is for four strings or more. Would three strings in fifths be a flexible and facile tuning for someone who focused on solo chord melody playing, or would I be better off going with Ad'f#?

(For the record, I'm not too terribly interested in slide. The ability to do so is a bonus of open tuning, but it's a very minor one from my perspective.)

Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on May 11, 2015 at 10:32am

I usually play rhythm country style with a bass note on the beat and a strum on the back beat.

When I play 6-string in D or capo up to Eb, E, or F, I'm practically playing 5 strings and giving the bass string a rest. It might be nice to be able to put a low tonic note under the D chord and a nice low D under the G chord, since otherwise I'm not likely to hit that string on purpose. I could see tuning the bass string down to D. You'd still chord like a "regular" 6-string, but your bass line would be different--and maybe easier.

I can see it, but I don't actually DO it!!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 11, 2015 at 3:53pm

Hence one of the attractions of NST: you're all the way down to C on your 6th string.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 11, 2015 at 10:53am

DropD is a no-brainer, it's half an open tuning at the expense of only a single string from your standard tuning. If you're recommending gdg to people then you perhaps can see what a dad down the bottom might offer you.

If you want to put a little more thought into it then you might view dropD as a G9 tuning.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on May 11, 2015 at 9:06am

consider slide. 1-string diddley bow is a good start. blues licks are an obvious choice, but I've been trying to adapt it to bluegrass, folk, & gospel. Takes a while to get used to not having frets, but fiddle players have been doing it for centuries.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M18A7xLQZsY and the links associated with it.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 11, 2015 at 9:58am

A perfect fifth is a big stretch (7 frets) so it is best suited for shorter necks. At 22" you're right on the cusp (similar length to a cello) of the longest neck anybody regularly tunes to 5ths. This means that at the open position it can be difficult to reach every note without some lateral movement, where in 4ths you will be able to run a scale quite comfortably without any shift. So that is an argument for 4ths. On the other hand tuning to 5ths will give you a greater range. A 5ths tuning certainly will give you bigger, wider voicings to chords, which can sound tight and 'boxy' when you tune only three strings to 4ths. So each has its upside, it's really swings and roundabouts. Most guys tune a 3 string gdg, which is one of each.

A perfect fifth and a perfect fourth are inversions of each other incidentally, so any chord or scale diagram for one can be used on the other by reading it upside down ;)

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on May 11, 2015 at 10:59am

If you push your fifths tuning down a couple frets and have them converge at the middle string rather than the bass one ie GDA then you should be able to have both with the same strings. Guys have been retuning their guitars even mid-set forever. You don't have to marry the tuning to try it out :)

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Permalink Reply by harley on May 11, 2015 at 1:15pm

I'm afraid I don't get your point with this one. Sorry.

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Permalink Reply by turtlehead on May 11, 2015 at 1:48pm

I think what the Kid is saying is if you were tuned to ADF#, it's easy to tune the A down to G and the F# up to A and you have a fifths tuning of GDA. You've also got GDG right there too, so that gives you three tunings to play around with on the same guitar without changing strings.

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Permalink Reply by harley on May 11, 2015 at 1:51pm

Ah. Okay, I get it now. Thanks.

Words to consider, actually.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 11, 2015 at 3:57pm

And yes, the upshot of this, for all you 6-string standard tuners, is that you will have to learn some new fingering patterns. Keeps the brain sharp. Freaks out the other musicians in your band.

And if you do use ADF#, not only can you tune it to GDA, you can also invert it very quickly to ADG. And do the same if you're tuned to GDg: just tune that G down to A.

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Permalink Reply by harley on May 12, 2015 at 5:41am

Heh. Since I have no experience, I have to learn new patterns no matter what. So, not a concern. I think I'll give this a try and see where it takes me. Thank you all for your advice. It's been helpful in making me (finally) come to a decision.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on May 12, 2015 at 9:25am

Yep, that's the beauty of alternant tunings. You will find one you like. Then try another. Then another.....another one..... and still more.... Best to keep a video library of all the songs you come up with. And before you start to play remember to say what tuning and what key your guitar is in.