8 String Lap Steel

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8 String Lap Steel | Peterson Strobe Tuners
Tuning 8 String Lap Steel, 6 String Lap Steel, 10 String Lap Steel & 12 String Lap Steel
The lap steel guitar is usually tuned to open tunings, A6 or C6 - or several tunings in the case of a double or triple neck instrument, but there are many other tunings. The most common lap steel guitars have 6 strings, followed by 8 string instruments which is the choice of many professionals, 6 & 8 stringed instruments have been very popular since the 1940s and 1950s, 10, 12, and even 14 stringed instruments are also not uncommon.

The lap steel guitar is very versatile and it is possible to generate many triads and altered chords at the slide or slant of a bar. Many seasoned professional steel players “tweak” the tuning to improve their sound; we call this “Sweetened Tuning”.

Because the steel guitar is a fretless instrument, it does not need to conform to the same compromises as regular fretted guitar is subjected to. The flaws of Equal temperament reveal themselves primarilly when major or minor thirds are played, and the long sustained tones produced by the lap steel guitar show up these flaws more than pretty much any other instrument, many players aim and strive to eliminate these flaws by tuning their steels using special cent offsets for each string to take advantage of the sweetness of these intervals and tune them so that they are totally beat-less and consonant.

No matter what method you use, an accurate tuner is a necessity. Peterson Tuners have been used for many decades to tune the open strings, on lap steel guitars, they are programmable and already feature several preset tuning settings for steel guitars using already established and accepted systems like Just intonation. There is no need to note any settings or use any charts.

Begin with C6 tuning. The first string, if you’re right-handed, is located furthest away from you when sitting with the steel in your lap - the normal playing position, plug your tuner into the steel and select the LC6 preset.

  1. Pluck to sound the 1st string and observe the tuner display, check that the note “E” is displayed. With your left hand, adjust the tuning peg to stop the strobe pattern image from moving contuously in any one direction, continue to adjust until the strobe pattern is motionless.
  2. Repeat the above for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th , 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th strings until all strings are tuned.
= Standard Tuning
G4
= G in the 4th octave

8 String Lap Steel

I Play This

6 String Lap Steel

I Play This

10 String Lap Steel

I Play This

12 String Lap Steel

I Play This

F#2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning (Herb Remington)

C3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C6 Tuning (DeWitt Scott)

F1 A1 C2 E2 G2 A2 C3 E3 G3 D4

C6 Tuning (Billy Robinson)

D1 F1 A1 C2 E2 G2 A2 C3 E3 G3 B3 D4

C6 (Reece Anderson)

B2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4 G#4

E13 Tuning (Don Helms)

E2 A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4

Hawaiian A Tuning

E2 D3 E3 F#3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4 F#4 G#4

E13 Tuning (Tom Morell)

E2 G#2 D3 F#3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4

E13 Tuning (Leon McAuliffe)

A2 C#3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning

C#3 E3 F3 F#3 G3 G#3 A3 B3 C#4 E4

E Harp (Eddie Alkire)

C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4

C Diatonic (Jerry Byrd)

A#2 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C13 Tuning

B1 D2 E2 F#2 G#2 B2 C#3 E3 G#3 F#4

E6 Tuning

B2 A2 C#3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C6/A7 Tuning (Joaquin Murphey)

E2 A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4

Open A Tuning

E2 G#2 B2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 D4 E4 G#4

E7 Tuning

G#2 B2 D3 E3 F#3 G#3 B3 E4

E9 Tuning

D2 A2 D3 F#3 A3 D4

Open D Tuning

A1 D2 F#2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning

G2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A13 Tuning

E2 B2 E3 G#3 B3 E4

Open E Tuning

D2 G2 D3 G3 B3 D4

Open G Tuning

E2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 E4

E7 Tuning

8 String Lap Steel

I Play This

F#2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning (Herb Remington)

B2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4 G#4

E13 Tuning (Don Helms)

E2 G#2 D3 F#3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4

E13 Tuning (Leon McAuliffe)

C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4

C Diatonic (Jerry Byrd)

B2 A2 C#3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C6/A7 Tuning (Joaquin Murphey)

G#2 B2 D3 E3 F#3 G#3 B3 E4

E9 Tuning

G2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A13 Tuning

6 String Lap Steel

I Play This

C3 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C6 Tuning (DeWitt Scott)

E2 A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4

Hawaiian A Tuning

A2 C#3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning

A#2 E3 G3 A3 C4 E4

C13 Tuning

E2 A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4

Open A Tuning

D2 A2 D3 F#3 A3 D4

Open D Tuning

E2 B2 E3 G#3 B3 E4

Open E Tuning

D2 G2 D3 G3 B3 D4

Open G Tuning

E2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 E4

E7 Tuning

10 String Lap Steel

I Play This

F1 A1 C2 E2 G2 A2 C3 E3 G3 D4

C6 Tuning (Billy Robinson)

E2 D3 E3 F#3 G#3 B3 C#4 E4 F#4 G#4

E13 Tuning (Tom Morell)

C#3 E3 F3 F#3 G3 G#3 A3 B3 C#4 E4

E Harp (Eddie Alkire)

B1 D2 E2 F#2 G#2 B2 C#3 E3 G#3 F#4

E6 Tuning

E2 G#2 B2 D3 E3 G#3 B3 D4 E4 G#4

E7 Tuning

A1 D2 F#2 A2 C#3 E3 F#3 A3 C#4 E4

A6 Tuning

12 String Lap Steel

I Play This

D1 F1 A1 C2 E2 G2 A2 C3 E3 G3 B3 D4

C6 (Reece Anderson)

Unlike other tuners which offer no alternative to generic Equal Temperament, Peterson Tuners contain many choices of “Sweetness“, in other words, several degrees of harmony or consonance in a tuning preset. The Sweetener feature is exclusive to Peterson Tuners and there is one for almost any musical instrument.
In the case of the Lap Steel Guitar Sweeteners (the presets are called LA6 & LC6), these additional “tweaks” allow the instrument to sound harmonious and consonant as only an expertly tuned instrument can. Some call it “voicing” or optimizing the quality of tone produced by the instrument. Using a Sweetener is simple – your Peterson tuner does the work for you.

E13
Peterson Lap Steel Sweetener
E13
Peterson Lap Steel Sweetener
C13
Peterson Sweetener for 6-String Lap Steel
LA6
Peterson A6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
LC6
Peterson C6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
LE6
Peterson E6 Sweetened Tuning for Lap Steel Guitar
LE6
Peterson E6 Sweetened Tuning for Lap Steel Guitar
LE7
Peterson E7 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar
LE7
Peterson E7 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar
PA6
Peterson A6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
PA6E
Peterson A6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
PC6
Peterson C6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
PC6E
Peterson C6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar
PE6
Peterson E6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
PE6E
Peterson E6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar
OPB
Open B Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPA
Open A Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPC
Open C Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPD
Open D Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPE
Open E Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPF
Open F Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OPG
Open G Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OAM
Open A Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OBM
Open B Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OCM
Open C Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
ODM
Open D Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OEM
Open E Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OFM
Open F Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
OGM
Open G Minor Tuning - for 6 String Guitar
LA6
Peterson A6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
LC6
Peterson C6 Sweetener for Lap Steel Guitar.
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1. Make sure to keep strings in good condition, wipe them down with a cloth after playing and replace them with new strings when they become old or worn. If you break a string while playing or tuning, it often means the strings are at the end of their useful life. Old strings will never hold a tuning. Replace all strings at the same time.

2. Tune UP - not down – when tuning to the pitch of a note.

Lap steel guitars made by Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, MSA, Weissenborn & Regal and players such as Sol Hoopii, Jerry Byrd, David Lindley, Bob Brozman, Junior Brown, Basil Henriques and Mike Auldridge are some of the most iconic.

6-String Electric Guitar
Bagpipes
Upright Bass
Pedal Steel Guitar
Cello
Buzz Feiten
6-String Acoustic Guitar
Electric Bass Guitar
Mandolin
Lap Steel Guitar
Harp
Banjo
Ukulele
Dobro® & Resonator Guitar
Violin
Viola
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