6 or 8? That is the question!

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Hi experts! Simple question from a soon-to-be lap steel owner. I'm a seasoned banjo picker and guitar player, but new to lap steel. Question? Should I go for 6 string or 8 string? Short or long answers welcome! Thanks, Tony

Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

I started out on 6 string, but soon hit the harder stuff.
Plenty of great players use 6 stringers, so there's nothing wrong with sticking to 6. To me, it seemed less intimidating at first. It took a while before I got up the nerve to try 8, but I was soon hooked. It opened up a whole new world.
I prefer 8, but a lot depends on what kind of music you want to make. Research what your favorite steelers use. That can help.
I have a pretty good music theory background, and I like the extended chords and harmonies that are possible with more strings, but I also think it was good for me to have laid down a foundation of learning on 6 string first.
I don't think either one would be a bad choice for a first steel, and, if you start with 6, chances are, if you go to 8 later, it will be to an extended version of what you've already learned. Nothing you learn on a 6 string will be wasted in case you decide you want to move to 8 later.
Good luck.

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Thanks Don....that's a really informative reply. I'll digest at leisure! Anyone else?

Tom Pettingill · From: California, USA (deceased)

Great writeup by Don and that pretty much covers my thoughts on the 6 or 8 subject.

The only thing I'd add / recommend is to get a decent instrument that you like and enjoy. Nothing worse than fighting with an un inspiriting instrument that does not play well when you are first starting out.

Good luck on the journey, steel guitar is a lot of fun!
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John Dahms · From: Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA

Not to complicate things but one difference between 6 and 8 string guitars is often string spacing. Many 8 string guitars are closer spaced than 6's are and picking and slants are affected.
There is no better or worse and you can certainly learn to adapt but you may be more comfortable with one or the other.
I have both and sometines feel the pinch on 8 string models. I solved it nicely for myself though by using a 7 string as my everyday steel. They pretty much went out of fashion by the 40's and can be hard to find, but I think the spacing and the range works best for me.
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John Allison · From: Austin, Texas, USA

I agree that spacing is going to be a factor. There's a very different feel between 6 and 8 strings. And, yes, the 7-string is a great compromise.
The other consideration is the type of material you'll be drawn to and what sort of tuning you choose to explore. If you ever intend to realy delve into Western Swing or Jazz, the extended tunings will make a huge difference. If most of what you do will involve only major tuning, 6 is great. If you want to learn C6 or A6, the 6-string versions of those tunings will give you a lot to work with, but if you'll eventually want to figure out one of the E13 variants, you'll definitely want 8.

Your best bet is to try out both before you commit to one or the other.
Good luck and have fun!
J A
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Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

John,
I haven't noticed narrow spacing on 8 stringers, though I have certainly not had the chance to try all of them out there.
I have a 50's Carvin D8, a 60's National D8, two 6 string Guyatone laps, and several steels 8 and 10 stingers I am in the slow process of building. These brand names are all 3/8" at the bridge end, and still fairly wide at the nut. I prefer to build mine with a consistent 3/8" string spacing all the way.
You are right to bring up the question of string spacing for Tony. This is very important.
Finding the right combination of the right bar the right string configuration that works best for you makes all the difference in the world for learning.
Many of us believe that 3/8" string spacing is best for slants. There are also many, like myself, who prefer a 22-1/2" scale length. This makes it easier to produce accurate slants on the frets nearer to the nut.
There are those also, who prefer a longer, such as around 24" or longer scale length, the thinking being that one can get a fuller tone from this longer string set up. Also, this makes for frets that aren't so tightly spaced above the octave.
I have noticed that a lot of the very inexpensive, "starter" lap steels these days have a shorter scale length than is practical. My Guyatones are both too short scale for my liking now that I've played something better.

Tom Franke · From: Arizona, USA

I've only been playing for a few months, but when I bought my lap steel I wanted to push myself out of a 6-string mindset. (I've played acoustic guitar for over 40 years and Dobro for about one year.) One reason for this was just for a new challenge. The other is that I may someday want to try pedal, and to be honest about it, 10 strings sounds like a lot to handle. So I got an 8 string lap figuring it got me half way there, and I'd find out if I could handle that many strings before forking out a couple thousand on a PSG. Whether I eventually end up in the pedal world or not, I've already learned that lap is musically wonderful in its own right.

Unless you're going for private lessons, you'll probably want to pick up some book and cd/dvd programs. One thing I discovered is that the beginning instructional materials for 6 string lap work just fine on an 8 string, assuming you tune your first 6 strings to match the book's tuning. Lap steelers seem to be incredibly involved in different tunings, whereas both acoustic and Dobro have clearly dominant main tunings. Deciding which tuning to use may be your biggest decision yet. I asked on this forum, and decided to go GACEGACE (low to high).

So for now, I'm playing the 8 as if a 6. After I get the basics down, I will still have some new experiences moving into using the full 8. Others know a whole lot more about the guitars than I do (string spacing, etc.) but I thought this might be another perspective to consider.

Dom Franco · From: Beaverton, OR, 97007

I vote for 8 strings, but with 3/8" spacing.
It really doesn't matter what you start out on, if you get hooked, you will end up buying several steel guitars and trying several different tunings.
It is a lifelong obsession for many of us.
Dom
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Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Well, thanks to all. I think I'll head down Tom's route....buy an 8 and play it as a 6 initially. Kinda like buying a Corvette but sticking a piece of timber under the gas pedal for a while? I really appreciate the advice and opinions given, thanks again.
Regards, Tony.
P.S: Do most steel players have 3-letter first names? Take a look above!(LOL)

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

Eight is great.

To me, it's equivalent to a 3/4 set of uilleann pipes. Just the right amount of madness for me!

T - O - M : )
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Pastor Bruce Kiser · From: South Carolina, USA

Hey guys!New to the non-pedal forum . I build 6 - string pedal steels because Ireally like the
6 - string format . Also have a Fender 400
8 - string and the spacing on the strings seems
like about 3/8 . Thats where I'll keep mine un-
less there is a special order from a client .
Examples of my guitars may be seen in the
PEDAL STEEL section -page 6 - under the title
" SIX - STRINGERS ONCE MORE ! "
Pastor Bruce Kiser

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

Steve Branscom · From: Pacific NW

Not to hijack the thread but Gold Tone in concert with Paul Beard have a new 8 string dobro for $750 available at least at Elderly. Gregg McKenna will do one for about $1750 or so. Then there's the Auldridge Beard for $3700. They can get pricey pretty quick but the Gold Tone Beard is a pretty good deal.
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Mark Lavelle · From: San Mateo, CA

Steve Ahola · From: Concord, California

George Piburn recommends his "D on top" tuning for an 8 stringer. He starts with the "high" C6 tuning but then lowers the high G string to the D between the 2nd and 3rd string for a chromatic-like effect similar to the E9th pedal steel tuning.

At first I thought it was weird but I eventually warmed to the idea. In "low" C6 tuning, I don't really like the low G on the bottom and in "high" C6 tuning I don't like the high G on the top. Not that I have anything against G strings... Whoa!

So here is George's "D On Top" tuning:
A-C-E-G-A-C-E-D

With the A on the bottom you get a solid Am7 chord and the D on top adds all sorts of possibilities for chords, double stops and single note solo work. Thanks, George, for encouraging me to try it out!

Steve Ahola

P.S. I'm also using a "weird" variation on some of my 6 stringers tuned to open E: I have the bottom E note raised a major 6th to C#. You can use the top 5 strings to play almost everything you know in open E, or get "jazzy" by adding the 6th string to the mix. I had originally tried raising the 6th string to B and the 5th string to A but I found the "out of order" tuning to work much better for me.
And besides- you only have to replace one string not two. (The 5th string can usually be moved down to the 6th position on a lap steel because the critical distances at the nut and bridge are usually identical. And sometimes you can move the 6th string up to the 5th position if you have enough turns. I would never try any of that on an arm-pit guitar!)
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Steve Ahola · From: Concord, California

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

Tony, if you are coming from a 5-string banjo tuned to a G chord, then one of the six-string tunings in G might be a comfy place to start. Hi-bass tuning is GBDGBD from bottom to top, as many Dobro players use.

But after a while, you will probably want spice up that tuning with a 6th -- by raising the low D to E. At the same time, you'll miss that D note. And that's when you'll really start to crave the 7th and 8th strings....

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