E and Eb live

[+SAM+]

Didn't know where to put this so here's the question (feel free to move it)

My main guitars are an Ibanez Iceman (Hardtail) and a Jackson RR3 (FR)

For the Van Halen stuff alot of it is tuned down to Eb and using the Floyd. But then there's songs in standard tuning that need the FR guitar too and tuning between songs is ridiculous anyway, but with a Floyd Rose bridge

So, if I jsut played everything in standard (even the VH stuff) do you think anyone would notice/give a ****?

Cheers

[Homebake]

no, of course not. why don't you just do everything in E? i hate Eb, it's so goddamn annoying to play along to.

[Vim Fuego]

If your singer can cope, and the difference is slight, like Eb to E then tune to E.
You could do everything in Eb, we did for a while, but we ended up dropping the songs our singer couldn't do tuned to E and went back to normal.
Jim

[+SAM+]

Originally Posted by Homebake

no, of course not. why don't you just do everything in E? i hate Eb, it's so goddamn annoying to play along to.

Yeah, Eb is annoying to me too, I'll do it all in E.

Originally Posted by Vim Fuego

If your singer can cope, and the difference is slight, like Eb to E then tune to E.
You could do everything in Eb, we did for a while, but we ended up dropping the songs our singer couldn't do tuned to E and went back to normal.
Jim

Yeah vocal range is no issue, saves me having to mess around with tunings and adjust the action on my guitars etc. (My action is so low that if I do tune down that semitone the strings will be buzzing like crazy.

[eviltwin]

Some people prefer the lower stress (floppy strings) when downtuning with the same string gauge as well.

[+SAM+]

Yeah, there's another thing with me too, I use 9s and if I detune to Eb although a small difference I have to use 10s, it's just something about the feel that I can't get used to if that makes sense. No reason for it really, just preference.

[eviltwin]

Perfectly understandable, but there are people who prefer the floppiness to make wide bends just a bit easier.

[Mr. Killer]

I have a short story to tell: I was teaching my cousin how to play "Stream of Conciousness" by Dream Theater. In order to play that song, your guitar must be in Eb, but I hate to change between E and Eb in my ibanez since it has a floating bridge. Well the thing is he loves that song, so I taught him some of the riffs in standard E tuning, and he didn't notice the difference!! Even I did'nt notice it. We only noticed it when I played it the right way (Eb), only then we could tell the difference.

So my point is: as long as you don't play it the "right" way, no one's gonna notice the different tuning. After all, most people don't play an instrument and don't have a "trained" ear.

[560licious]

I keep different guitars tuned differently..one is E one is Eb, one is drop C...etc.

[jim777]

If you're married, tell your wife you need another guitar because of the tuning issue and get another guitar if not, then do whatever you like. The audience won't notice, guaranteed. Of course, you could always take the third option, the fun option, and get a smoke machine. Play all your stuff in E, and if you think the audience might notice, turn on the smoke machine as a distraction. turn it up real high, so people can't find their drinks and such. they'll stop wondering if you're in the right key when they start tripping all over each other.
One of the bands I was in actually used to do that fairly often in the 3 AM last set; give the control panel of the smoke machine to someone in the audience. It always ended in mass confusion and chaos. And they're so cheap

[Magical Muffin]

Eb is heavier, tune everything to Eb, lol!

[+SAM+]

Originally Posted by Mr. Killer

I have a short story to tell: I was teaching my cousin how to play "Stream of Conciousness" by Dream Theater. In order to play that song, your guitar must be in Eb, but I hate to change between E and Eb in my ibanez since it has a floating bridge. Well the thing is he loves that song, so I taught him some of the riffs in standard E tuning, and he didn't notice the difference!! Even I did'nt notice it. We only noticed it when I played it the right way (Eb), only then we could tell the difference.

So my point is: as long as you don't play it the "right" way, no one's gonna notice the different tuning. After all, most people don't play an instrument and don't have a "trained" ear.

That pretty much confirms it, and yeah the audience probably wouldn't have tuned ears so I'll just go ahead.

Originally Posted by jim777

If you're married, tell your wife you need another guitar because of the tuning issue and get another guitar if not, then do whatever you like. The audience won't notice, guaranteed. Of course, you could always take the third option, the fun option, and get a smoke machine. Play all your stuff in E, and if you think the audience might notice, turn on the smoke machine as a distraction. turn it up real high, so people can't find their drinks and such. they'll stop wondering if you're in the right key when they start tripping all over each other.
One of the bands I was in actually used to do that fairly often in the 3 AM last set; give the control panel of the smoke machine to someone in the audience. It always ended in mass confusion and chaos. And they're so cheap

Believe me, my girlfriend is annoyed with all the money I spend on guitar stuff already, Evo pups and strat parts are everywhere, I have about 5 guitars I've never played

The smoke machine idea is actually really good. Plus at every show I'm completely legless atleast an hour before we start so I'm bouncing around and making a fool of myself, that'll help distract them a bit