Phil Ochs' guitar tuning

Subject: Phil Ochs Guitar tuning
From: GUEST,Bill
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 03:48 AM

Having spent a great deal of time listening to Phil Ochs' music and taken up the guitar several years back, I have discovered (as I'm sure) many other guitar players and even some who don't play, that on at least his first three albums (the ones for elektra) his guitar was tuned quite flat. It might seem at first that as long as his strings were in tune, relative to each other he was happy and didn't care to tune them "correctly" when one keeps in mind though, that on all three albums it was tuned the same way, it seems a bit too much to be a coincidence. I bring all this up for two reasons: Do any of you have any idea, why Ochs' had his guitar tuned that way, and to your knowledge, did anyone else from that school do it as well. Thanks Bill

Subject: RE: BS: Phil Ochs
From: Amos
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 03:24 PM

Depends on how flat. There was a school of thought at one time (ca 1960-67) that actually went around tuned one or two half notes low, and would then use a capo to come up to concert tuning to match other players.The rationalization for this was that it would preserve the guitar longer, by putting less strain on the neck. I always thought of it as mildly obsessive, myself, but since Ochs recorded around the same time-frame it may have been the belief behind the flat tuning.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Phil Ochs
From: DonMeixner
Date: 30 Jan 00 - 03:26 PM

Bill,

Did you compare his voice or guitar in the first three Electra Albums to any others? I am just shooting at guesses here but perhaps it was Electra and not Phil. I have heard recordings where Phil's voice seemed a little more tenor than others. Coul;d it be that Electra slowed the recording a little to give Phil's voice a lower tone and there by flatting the guitar a mite. I'd compare his Electra stuff to any thing that Broadside mayhave released at that time. Or perhaps some of the folkfest recordings Like The Newport Festival recordings he may, or may not have been on. I'm not offering a reason here, I'm just suggesting a direction for your research to follow.

Don