Rolling stones

[Robbyk]

Ok so I hope this is where to post this.
When playing stones who tunes their guitars to an open G?
Most of Richards stuff is an open G with lower string not even being used. I have a mission from my bass player to figure out start me up, But Idon't know if I want to have many instruments on stage tuned differently.
I play honky tonk woman in a G but I don't know about some of the other stuff. Do you tune each guitar differently or just say screw it and figure out the tune in a normal 440 tuning?

 

[Stringer]

Re: Rolling stones

My bro-in-law is in a band that plays lots of Stones covers. He has one tele tuned to open G for -- they cover "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" and at least a couple of other well-known ones every night.

Normally I think people sweat things like this too much. BUT, if you are playing a song that EVERYBODY knows and that has a riff that people can conjure up instantly in their head, you might want to sweat the details. The intro to "Start Me Up" definitely qualifies. It is butt simple to play in standard or open tuning, but it somehow sounds a million times better if it's actually on a tele in open G. I'm sure pretty much everybody has heard a band covering the Stones and they just don't have something quite down. It's not that people don't have their parts down. It's that those songs are so familiar that you can't just submit a reasonable facsimile and have the crowd fill in the rest -- people know how that tune sounds, down to every fill.

 

[Robbyk]

Re: Rolling stones

My bro-in-law is in a band that plays lots of Stones covers. He has one tele tuned to open G for -- they cover "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" and at least a couple of other well-known ones every night.

Normally I think people sweat things like this too much. BUT, if you are playing a song that EVERYBODY knows and that has a riff that people can conjure up instantly in their head, you might want to sweat the details. The intro to "Start Me Up" definitely qualifies. It is butt simple to play in standard or open tuning, but it somehow sounds a million times better if it's actually on a tele in open G. I'm sure pretty much everybody has heard a band covering the Stones and they just don't have something quite down. It's not that people don't have their parts down. It's that those songs are so familiar that you can't just submit a reasonable facsimile and have the crowd fill in the rest -- people know how that tune sounds, down to every fill.

Thats what I figured as well, I really don't like to play stones for this reason. Same with honky tonk woman, Too many know it and if you mess up they know it.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Rolling stones

Keep a Tele tuned to open G, and leave it on the sidelines. Pull it out for the songs you need -- even if it's just one tune. It's worth it. That's why you need lots of guitars!

- Keith

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Rolling stones

Funny this is coming up...I was asked recently to learn a few Stones tunes and in doing so started to notice how many stones tunes could be done in the Keef open G/5 string tuning.

I have one of my Tele's set up now with only 5 strings and tuned to open G...do that and you'll find LOTS of Stones materal!

 

[Robbyk]

Re: Rolling stones

Funny this is coming up...I was asked recently to learn a few Stones tunes and in doing so started to notice how many stones tunes could be done in the Keef open G/5 string tuning.

I have one of my Tele's set up now with only 5 strings and tuned to open G...do that and you'll find LOTS of Stones materal!

Really did not want to get a tele, too bad a strat would not do...Got two of them.
I could always wait until everyone is drunk and then play the tunes, that way they will never know what I was playing any ways.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Rolling stones

Really did not want to get a tele, too bad a strat would not do...Got two of them.
I could always wait until everyone is drunk and then play the tunes, that way they will never know what I was playing any ways.

A Strat will do just fine...if it were me i'd block the trem to make it easier to remove strings fron and/or run non standard tunings on but thats me.

Keef uses and has used all kinds of gutars for his 5 string open G over the years...Tele's, Travis Beans, L5S's, 335's, Dan Armstrongs, LP's, etc...

I only use a Tele because I have 2 of them!