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Topic: Need help deciphering tuning, licks |
John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 21 Jun 2010 9:12 am |
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There are several barriers I just haven't broken down yet, and here's a great example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHGpPr2xXG4&feature=related
About 49 seconds into this clip (a great Buddy Merrill performance that's made the rounds here in other threads)he switches necks and plays a nice little swinging passage before jumping back to where he started. I just want to sound like that when I play! 
I've listened time and time again and I just can't figure out exactly what's going on. First off, what tuning is that? The tuning on Neck #3 where he starts off seems to be a straight B6 (4th fret key of Eb)with a 5 on top. Neck #2 seems to be a C tuning because he's jumping to the 15th fret playing a 6-1-3 on the top 3 strings. This where I get a little lost. My C6/13(Junior)tuning just doesn't seem to get me to the notes he's playing. I don't think I'm missing any slants. His hand position looks a little odd, but I think it's the camera angle. I don't detect anything but straight bar. I've tried a couple of different 13 tunings to get a 2 in the bottom, but I'm still not really getting it...
I figure somebody here either knows everything there is to know about Buddy and his tunings or can recognize the tuning from the passages being played.
Any comments appreciated and if there's some tab out there that focuses on this style and sound, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks!
J A
_________________
John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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Neil Cameron
From:
England, United Kingdom
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Posted 21 Jun 2010 3:35 pm
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http://www.gragroup.com/buddy.html
Link to a website selling CD's of Buddy Merrill's music apparently on his behalf, have seen links to this on ebay.com also, seller ID karl5
Steel guitar titles are :
Steel Guitar Country
Buddy Merrill And His Hawaiian Guitars |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 21 Jun 2010 8:35 pm Re: Need help deciphering tuning, licks
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| John Allison wrote: |
| About 49 seconds into this clip (... Neck #2 seems to be a C tuning because he's jumping to the 15th fret playing a 6-1-3 on the top 3 strings. |
It looks like
E
C
A
F#
E
C
A?
F#? (not used in this clip)
0:52 Fret 15 Eb6 (and wiggle 1 fret lower)
0:54 Fret 13 Eb9
0:55 Fret 4 Ab9 (pickup from fret 5)
0:58 Fret 6 Bb9 (pickup from fret 5)
0:59 Fret 8 Bb6 |
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John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2010 5:13 am
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Excellent, Earnest!
Thanks for the insight. I don't think I'd have ever tried the b5, even though, come to think of it, I was having some success playing around with an E13 which gives the same triad in a slightly different position.
It seems like it's the 9th chord side of these tunings that I need to learn more about.
I really appreciate you taking a minute to help.
J A
_________________
John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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Billy Tonnesen
From:
R.I.P., Buena Park, California
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Posted 22 Jun 2010 1:37 pm
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| "Steeling Home" was written by Noel Boggs and first recorded with Hank Penny back in the mid 40's. My ear tells me that Buddy is using A6th tuning, then dropping back a neck to a E13th with a G# top string, then going to the outside neck which is also a A6th tuning in the lower bass octave. I have no idea what he had on the inside first neck. The tunings he played on were very relative to each other, just differen't voiceings of the chords. Intead of using slants on the A6th neck you could drop back to the E13th neck and get a full chord. Back in this era, jumping necks was very common with a lot of us players. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 23 Jun 2010 11:29 am Just like NOEL BOGGS.....................
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Buddie's playing on that clip was so much like what NOEL BOGGs used to do.....
Any chance you could check out Noel's tunings and perhaps Buddies would be right there in front of you.
Just a tho't......... |
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