What is the best way, or most common way to tune a lap steel guitar?

Posted byShannonGuitarsPosted inNews

Lets talk tuning! We get a lot of questions on the subject of tuning a lap steel and how it affects what you can play and how you can play it. Here, we’re going to break it down so it is easily digestible and can easily be referenced in the future.

Here is a small sample of common lap steel tuning:

  • (C6) – C.E.G.A.C.E. – C6 tuning is also known as Nashville tuning. There is a wide variety of country songs written in this tuning and will by far have the most sources to learn how to play lap steel. This is a perfect baseline tuning for any beginner and why we build most of our lap steels with this tuning.
  • (Open G) – G B D G B D – This Open G has a “high bass” that is the most common tuning for Dobro style lap steels. This tuning is perfect if you plan on playing acoustic bluegrass.
  • (Open G) – D G D G B D – This “low bass” version of Open G is popular with musicians who play standard guitar as well as lap steel guitar. This tuning provides less string tension than the Dobro tuning when using standard guitar string sets.
  • (Open D) – D A D F♯ A D – Open D is a popular blues tuning, and has a nice deep tone that can be very appealing. It is another tuning that works equally well on lap steel and standard guitars.
  • (Open E) – E B E G♯ B E – Almost the same as Open D, but tuned a whole tone higher. This tuning is popular with guitar players.

String gauge (string thickness) and guitar scale (length between nut and bridge) are a key to determining what tuning the instrument is capable of being tuned to. With longer scales, thinner strings are needed to achieve higher notes. Below is a helpful chart to determine what strings are perfect for each tuning in a standard 22.5-inch scale. (numbers are in thousandths and should be easily readable on string packaging.)

Hopefully this guide can help you determine what tuning right for you and your lap steel guitar. If you have any questions send an email, or a message on any of our social media platforms. If more information is needed, this post will be updated with it.