La Bella Strings has teamed up with funk and session ace Ella Feingold for a signature set of guitar strings that brings her favored expansive inverted guitar tuning to the masses.
Feingold, who made her name playing with the likes of Bruno Mars, Kanye West, and Jay Z, has become one of the foremost champions of a tuning that was first explored by Chris Weisman around 2008.
As its name suggests, the tuning flips the electric guitar on its headstock for a whole new world of harmony.
The set has a 46-11 gauge – .046W (low E), .032W (B), .017 (G), .026W (D), .016 (A) , .011 (high E). It is strung to mimic a standard six-string's tuning setup, though flips the pitch and gauge around the D and G string equator. In essence, the low E becomes the high E, while the A and B strings also have their pitch and gauge 'inverted'.
Notably, the D and G strings are not inverted, and keep the same orientation as standard. That also means that the high E is in the place where the low E is usually found – and Feingold has previously discussed how that helps combat strumming issues found with traditional guitar designs.
“What I love about playing upside down is the fact that there's all this real estate for your hand to go anywhere it wants to,” Feingold once told Rhett Shull, having first played a guitar that was quite literally flipped upside down in order to try inverted tuning. “You don't have to worry about hitting the pickup selector.”
The Grammy winner, who once auditioned for Prince, has made quite a name for herself with the tuning. This new signature set empowers others to experiment with it, although La Bella recommends getting a custom nut to aid fitment. Flipping the nut has worked a treat for some and is a lot cheaper.
“Inverted tuning is a treasure trove of undiscovered harmonies and colors waiting to be called upon,” says La Bella, which becomes the first big brand to make an official set for the tuning.
The Ella Feingold signature string set is available to order now and is priced at $9.59 per pack. They are made with American Wire and packaged using MAP Technology (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) to maximize freshness.
Head to La Bella to learn more.
Elsewhere, Feingold has explained why every up-and-coming guitarist should learn from this “gentle genius,” and has also revealed how her Prince and Bruno Mars auditions proved to be worlds apart.
