Tuning question about G and high B String.

[cassanova]

I asked JT a question in the double neck guitar thread over in basses a question about how he tunes both necks. His reply made me think of something that I never really stopped to think of before until now.

He tunes b-e-a-d-g-b-e, which I know is an alternate tuning and guitars tune e-a-d-g-b-e. But in both cases the G to B string are only tuned a 3rd. Perhaps someone can explain to me why the one string is tuned a 3rd rather the 4th like the rest.

[Asher S]

Since, as you wrote, G-to-B-to-E is conventional tuning for a 6-string guitar, many people know chords in that tuning.

[HaVIC5]

If you want to get into the nitty gritty of "why", there's a book out there called Fretboard Logic that explains it pretty well. It basically comes down to the ease of creating chord shapes. If you've ever played a lot of chords on bass you'd know that there are some pretty awkward shapes with straight-fourths tuning. Chord shapes are a LOT more malleable and easy to work with if you have that major third interval.