Jon Gomm's Signature Sound

This unique tuning, famously adopted by the acclaimed UK fingerstyle guitarist Jon Gomm, forms the sonic backbone of many of his most intricate and percussive compositions. It's designed to provide a vast harmonic landscape with deep, resonant bass notes and shimmering trebles, perfectly suited for his complex playing style that often incorporates percussive hits, slap harmonics, and advanced fingerpicking.

Verbal Analysis

The overall feel of this tuning is one of immense depth and harmonic richness. With the lowest string plunging to A1, it provides a powerful, almost piano-like bass foundation. The open strings, when strummed or arpeggiated, reveal a beautiful A minor 7th chord (A-C-E-G), which is a highly versatile and expressive sonority. This inherent chord allows for a natural consonance and provides a melancholic yet soulful character, making it ideal for emotive ballads, blues, jazz, and contemporary fingerstyle pieces. The significant drop in pitch across multiple strings creates a looser string tension, which Gomm expertly exploits for dynamics, bends, and percussive attack.

Technical Analysis

The tuning configuration is A1 E2 C3 E3 G3 C4. This creates a complex array of intervals between adjacent strings:

• 6th (A1) to 5th (E2): A perfect 5th (7 semitones)
• 5th (E2) to 4th (C3): A minor 6th (8 semitones)
• 4th (C3) to 3rd (E3): A major 3rd (4 semitones)
• 3rd (E3) to 2nd (G3): A minor 3rd (3 semitones)
• 2nd (G3) to 1st (C4): A perfect 4th (5 semitones)

This diverse set of intervals avoids the common parallelisms of standard tuning, forcing new fingerings and opening up fresh melodic and harmonic pathways. The open A minor 7th chord (A-C-E-G) means that many common chord shapes can be re-interpreted with a rich, open-string drone. For example, simple two-finger shapes can often yield complex major or minor 7th, 9th, or 11th chords due to the resonant open strings. Chords directly accessible or easily formed include A minor, C major, F major, G major, and D minor, all with an inherent depth provided by the tuning. The repeated C and E notes across the middle strings (C3, E3, G3, C4) also facilitate interesting harmonic clusters and arpeggiated figures.

How to Tune

To achieve Jon Gomm's signature tuning, you will need to significantly detune most strings from standard EADGBe tuning. Please proceed with care and use a reliable tuner:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 7 semitones to A1. This is a very substantial drop; a heavier gauge string is strongly advised to maintain optimal tension and tone.
• 5th String (A): Tune down 5 semitones to E2. This is a significant drop; a heavier gauge string is advised for best results.
• 4th String (D): Tune down 2 semitones to C3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 3 semitones to E3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 4 semitones to G3. This is a significant drop; a heavier gauge string is advised for best results.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 4 semitones to C4. This is a significant drop; a heavier gauge string is advised for best results.

Note on String Gauge: For any string tuned down 4 or more semitones (in this case, strings 6, 5, 2, and 1), using a heavier gauge string than standard will greatly improve playability, intonation, and tone by compensating for the reduced tension.

String 6: A1

String 5: E2

String 4: C3

String 3: E3

String 2: G3

String 1: C4