My Tunings and Tuner Settings
I get a fair amount of questions regarding my tunings and set-up so I thought I'd lay it all out here. I've used this configuration for years on my 1956 Triple-neck Fender Stringmaster.

The basic tunings are pretty straightforward. My C6th is actually a C13th, the one used by many Hawaiians today. I got it from listening to Barney Isaacs, who got it from Jules Ah See. I'm not sure if anyone used it before Jules did. My B11th is a slight variation on the Jules B11th. I moved up some of the low strings to get lusher strums at the expense of that deep bass strum sound Jules got. My E13th is from Leon McAuliffe. I discovered that you can get a lot of big guitar chords by adding a third finger pick and using unusual grips with the right hand. Here are my most common settings:
For more on why I tune some strings flat go to my page on tuning up.
| PITCH | GAUGE | TUNER SETTINGS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| C13th (top) | Cents | 440 Scale | |
| E | .014 | -10.0 | 438 |
| C | .017 | 0.0 | 440 |
| A | .020 | -10.0 | 438 |
| G | .024w | +2.0 | 440 |
| E | .030w | -10.0 | 438 |
| C | .036w | 0.0 | 440 |
| Bb | .042w | -10.0 | 438 |
| C | .060w | 0.0 | 440 |
| A6th (middle) | Cents | 440 Scale | |
| E | .014 | +2.0 | 440 |
| C# | .017 | -10.0 | 438 |
| A | .021 | 0.0 | 440 |
| F# | .026w | -10.0 | 438 |
| E | .030w | +2.0 | 440 |
| C# | .036w | -10.0 | 438 |
| A | .042w | 0.0 | 440 |
| F# | .060w | -10.0 | 438 |
| E13th (bottom) | Cents | 440 Scale | |
| E | .014 | +5.0 | 441 |
| C# | .017 | -10.0 | 438 |
| B | .018 | +5.0 | 441 |
| G# | .024w | -10.0 | 438 |
| F# | .026w | 0.0 | 440 |
| D | .034w | 0.0 | 440 |
| G# | .046w | -10.0 | 438 |
| E | .056w | +5.0 | 441 |
