This unique guitar tuning, also known as "the real say to," transforms your instrument into a resonant soundscape. It's particularly well-suited for styles benefiting from open, ringing chords and drone-like foundations, such as folk, blues, or ambient music, offering a strong, yet slightly suspended sonic character. The arrangement of notes encourages new melodic and harmonic approaches, making it easier to discover intricate voicings and inspiring riffs not typically found in standard tunings. Its richness and open quality make it excellent for strumming, providing a full sound with minimal fretting.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to F2-C3-F3-C4-G3-C4. This specific configuration creates a full and resonant Fsus2 chord (comprising the notes F, G, and C), heavily emphasizing the root (F) and the perfect fifth (C), with the G providing a prominent suspended second (or ninth). The intervals between adjacent strings are:

• Low F2 (6th string) to C3 (5th string): Perfect Fifth (7 semitones)
• C3 (5th string) to F3 (4th string): Perfect Fourth (5 semitones)
• F3 (4th string) to C4 (3rd string): Perfect Fifth (7 semitones)
• C4 (3rd string) to G3 (2nd string): Inverted Perfect Fourth (G3 is 5 semitones below C4), effectively a Major Sixth up
• G3 (2nd string) to C4 (1st string): Perfect Fourth (5 semitones)

This creates a highly resonant open chord with multiple Fs and Cs, providing a solid sonic base, while the G adds a pleasing tension. Easily accessible chords in this tuning include the open Fsus2, C5 power chords, and various voicings built around the F, C, and G notes, allowing for expansive, ringing strumming patterns.

Open String Notes:

6th String (Low E string equivalent): F2
5th String (A string equivalent): C3
4th String (D string equivalent): F3
3rd String (G string equivalent): C4
2nd String (B string equivalent): G3
1st String (High E string equivalent): C4

How to Tune:

Follow the instructions below for each string. Please note that significant tension changes are involved for some strings, and care should be exercised to prevent breakage or intonation issues. For movements exceeding 4 semitones up or down, considering a different gauge string is strongly advised.

• 6th String (F2): Tune up 1 semitone.
• 5th String (C3): Tune up 3 semitones. (Exercise care as this is a significant tension increase.)
• 4th String (F3): Tune up 3 semitones. (Exercise care as this is a significant tension increase.)
• 3rd String (C4): Tune up 5 semitones. WARNING: This is a very large tension increase. A heavier gauge string is strongly advised.
• 2nd String (G3): Tune down 4 semitones. (Exercise care as this is a significant tension decrease.)
• 1st String (C4): Tune down 4 semitones. (Exercise care as this is a significant tension decrease.)