Dgad tuning, or drop d tuning

[joemando]

sometimes on stage i would love to be able to drop my high e string to d for that irish or celtic sound that sounds so good.

i have used a partial capo to quickly go to drop e. dobro playes have the hip shot tailpiece, banjo players have keith tuners, even upright bass has an extended fretboard that allows them to go lower that e on the bass string.

has anyone ever toyed with a tailpiece, cam, or other device that would allow you to rapidly take the high e to d?

is there a way to change out the gear on the e machine heads to take it from 16/1 to around 4/1 like a banjo tuner?

i have seen guitar players install banjo tuners on certain strings so they could rapidly retune. any ideas?

[John Flynn]

Jeez, how fast would you need to do it? I just did it cold in 38 seconds with 18:1 tuners. I'm sure I could get it down to 20 seconds with some practice. I suppose you could cut off half of your tuning machine plate on the treble side and mount banjo D-tuners on the two E strings. They allow you to "toggle" between tunings. It would look wierd, but it would work and drop D tuning would only take a couple of seconds. When I do a gig and need a mando in a tuning, I just bring a second mando.

[mandroid]

if not another acoustic, maybe a Synth access mandolin?

Roland guitar synthesizers electronically alter tuning, and store the change alternatives