Lee Jeffriess triple neck tunings?

[Ryan Forster]

Hey hoping someone knows what the three tunings Lee Jeffriess is using on his Fender custom? Love his playin and just curious, thanks

[Joe A. Roberts]

(Correct tunings posted by Lee himself below)

[Alex Cattaneo]

Hey Ryan, did you try looking him up on Facebook? Probably the easiest way to reach him. I can pass the question along if you’re not able to.

[Ryan Forster]

I can look him up, didn’t want to bother him but he might not mind. As for the tunings I know about those two posted above but he plays a triple neck and was wondering what was the 3rd tuning.

Thanks

[Ryan Forster]

Can’t seem to message on Facebook for some reason, might have to be friends with him for it to work

[Bill Ladd]

Lee is a great guy and was super approachable the few times I conversed with him.

[Mike Neer]

On my Lapsteelin' blog, years ago I did a 4-part interview/conversation with Lee and I can't recall if he gives his tunings, but it's worth a read anyway. There's also a few other interviews there, like Jeremy Wakefield and Don Rooke, for the newbies (man, these are from like 10+ years ago).

http://www.lapsteelin.com/?p=724

[Ryan Forster]

Great interview thanks! Yah Lee Jeffriess really does shine on those early big sandy recordings and the Handful of stuff I can find of the west coast ramblers is even more my bag.

[Ryan Forster]

Is there any other way to reach out to him? No luck through Facebook it won’t let me

[Alex Cattaneo]

Hey Mike, I read the Wakefield interview again recently, love going back to it from time to time. Great stuff! I’ll try sending a message to Lee.

[Tim Whitlock]

I sent Lee a message to let him know about this thread. Hopefully he'll pop in.

[Lee Jeffriess]

Ok, here's what I have on my T8 (Hi to Lo)
front neck D13 F# D B A F# E C A
Middle neck A6 E C# A F#E C# A F#
Rear neck E9 E B G# F#D B G# E
Recently I have also been experimenting with Ray Noren's B#11? G# E C# A F# Eb B f (last string is a half step above the 2nd string) It is a goldmine as is his 13!(32165397b)
I also have a Clinesmith D8/9 on its way. The front neck is the 8 string and it will be tuned E9 with split Isaacs changes. The rear neck is G# E C# A F# E C# A F#.
Lee

[Ryan Forster]

This is great thank you! I have been experimenting with D13 too with the 3rd on top as I had it in E13 for awhile but the G# is just way to thin sounding for my ears. I have messed with the E9 tuning you posted but I might have to give it another try, just haven’t been able to settle on the 3rd tuning for my fender custom but I’m getting closer. Big fan of your playing and appreciate you taking the time to fill us in on your tunings.

Cheers

[K Maul]

I no longer have a Custom but I tuned my front neck down to D13 when I did gigs with Wanda Jackson because she had dropped keys on some songs from E to D. I grew to like it even though I dig that hi G# Don Helms bite. I had G6(like A6 down a step) in the middle and E9 with low E on the back.

[Mike Neer]

If I could exert any kind of influence on anyone, it would be to explore C6 tuning, just plain old symmetrical E C A G E C A G (high to low). A6 would be a very close relative, though with the 5th on top--I just don't like the range as much and you can get some different chords on the bottom of C6. It is incredible for improvising because of its symmetrical nature and the fact that you have the two octaves essentially side-by-side with no guessing games. But the number of really cool dominant chords available with simple slants makes it a blast to play and very good for comping chords. I'm going to post a few examples soon. I never would have guessed this is what I would be recommending now, but here we are. Not a tritone in sight!

[Joe A. Roberts]

That said, if anyone wants to see what tuning string 6 to C# is all about and what that tritone can do, check out Mike's tab of Sunny Side of the Street!
The arrangement is full of great tricks and is absolutely worth picking up, I use stuff from it all the time ever since I got it.
https://steelinstruction.com/product/al ... a7-tuning/

BTW you mention in the product description that you did the verse before too, but I could not find it.
I would be interested to hear it, I don't think I know the verse to that tune. If you have a link to that recording I'd love to hear it.

[Tim Toberer]

If I could exert any kind of influence on anyone, it would be to explore C6 tuning, just plain old symmetrical E C A G E C A G (high to low). A6 would be a very close relative, though with the 5th on top--I just don't like the range as much and you can get some different chords on the bottom of C6. It is incredible for improvising because of its symmetrical nature and the fact that you have the two octaves essentially side-by-side with no guessing games.

There is s something really cool and quirky about the E13 tuning, but I have to agree with Mike. Symmetrical tunings make life a lot easier. I love playing around with the old C# minor tuning, but the big holes in it feel kind of limiting. The great thing about non pedal steel is it is very easy to change the tuning!

[Tim Toberer]

Recently I have also been experimenting with Ray Noren's B#11? G# E C# A F# Eb B f (last string is a half step above the 2nd string) It is a goldmine as is his 13!(32165397b)

I believe Cody Farwell uses the Noren 13 tuning on this tune. I have to say this is some of the loveliest sounding steel guitar I have ever heard. When I heard this I immediately thought of Johnny Smith. https://soundcloud.com/goodnightcody/tenderly

[Mike Neer]

Lee and myself were on a quest to find as much about Ray Noren as we could, trying to do some detective sleuthing into possible recordings, etc. I spoke with Ray on the phone several times over the course of a few months trying to interview him (I still have the untranscribed tapes), but he had stopped playing steel probably in the ‘60s and didn’t remember much of anything except for the people he worked with.

It was Mike Black who had the original connection with Ray via his Bigsby. Mike also had the Rickenbacker D8 that was modified by Zane Beck and appeared with Ray on the Ozark Jubilee episodes, which eventually ended up in the hands of Walter Becker. I had a chance to buy it for a very reasonable price at one time but passed on it, regrettably. Mike had sent me what appeared to be the tuning from his estimation (and since it was modded with knee levers, I guess copedent). I’m not sure who, but maybe Lee and Cody reverse engineered it somehow.

[Joe A. Roberts]

That Zane Beck connection is interesting, when considering his universal E13th tuning is basically a 12 string version of the “Noren 13th”…

And retuning the higher G# to A in Boggs E13th gets you close intervallicly as that Noren B11th, only without the reentrant string but in E.
Vance Terry had that change on his bigsby as part of an Isaacs pedal-ish split.
Very pretty…



From there you can tune the high E down a tritone to a floppy Bb and have the Noren 11th tuning with the reentrant string on top

When I was messing with the Leavitt tuning, I made a B11th combination spelled:
F E C# B A F# D# C
-the bottom 6 is the Leavitt tuning down a half step
-the middle 6 is B11th with an added root
-plus the first string is the high F, that same interesting interval from the Noren 11th
chromatic string…

A lot of great sounds on tunings like that, but a little mind boggling with all 8 strings being different tones with no duplications for inversions, etc.

[Mike Neer]

This is exactly why I stick pretty much one tuning. Too much thinking. If the tuning is playing me, I am in trouble.