| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic E9 on the C6 neck
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  E9 on the C6 neck
Glenn Austin

 

From:
Montreal, Canada
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 12:45 pm    
Reply with quote

I imagine that a great majority of steel players absolutely stink on C6, myself included. I'm considering turning my C6 into a second E9 neck of sorts, like an insurance policy in case I bust a string on stage, or maybe even have some different changes on there. Am I nuts? I've never heard anybody mention this on here, and it seems, to me anyways, to make a lot of sense. Eager to hear your replies. Thanks
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 12:59 pm    
Reply with quote

I wrote a letter to the editor in Steel Guitar World Magazine many years ago, about this very subject.

Here is a link to a discussion that took place here on the Forum.

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/000625.html

------------------
Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Frank Parish

 

From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 4:13 pm    
Reply with quote

Why not just learn to not stink on C6? It's a great neck to play for swing and jazz tunes, fatter chords and lots more inversions for chords you can't play on E9. That's the reason you're carrying around a D-10 so why not put the time in on it?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jim Smith


From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 4:45 pm    
Reply with quote

I agree with Frank. If I break a string, I just finish the song on the other neck. In fact when I get bored with a tune, I switch necks to get in some practice.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Al Marcus


From:
Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 6:56 pm    
Reply with quote

Right! Learn that C6 neck. But change the strings to E6.

top to bottom-
F#-G#-E-C#-B-G#-E-C#-A-E
1--1--1----1--1--1------

You will learn a lot quicker as it is the same bar positions and a lot of the notes are same as E9....al

[This message was edited by Al Marcus on 21 October 2002 at 07:58 PM.]

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Glenn Austin

 

From:
Montreal, Canada
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 8:02 pm    
Reply with quote

Thanks for the link Lee! You made some very valid points there. I was thinking along the same lines as you. E6 sounds interesting, but it would present the same problems. I don't understand the pedal changes and the tuning with C6. E9 just seems so much more intuitive to me, and with the number of single neck guitars out there, I'm sure many would agree. The double E9 still appeals to me, but I'll give E6 a go. I'd still like to hear some more opinions if anybody wants to offer theirs.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Danny Bates

 

From:
Fresno, CA. USA
Post  Posted 21 Oct 2002 11:33 pm    
Reply with quote

Listen to Al Marcus
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2002 6:03 am    
Reply with quote

If you take the time to figure out how to play your E9 licks on the C6 neck it can really help your overall playing.

check this out:

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum8/HTML/001052.html
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
richard burton


From:
Britain
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2002 10:58 am    
Reply with quote

I could be way off beam here, but several years ago I think Sarah Jory had both necks strung E9, in case of string breakage.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gene Jones

 

From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2002 11:50 am    
Reply with quote

I must admit that I have thought of stringing both necks for C6 just in case I broke a 2nd string while playing.... www.genejones.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jeff Lampert

 

From:
queens, new york city
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2002 1:10 pm    
Reply with quote

Quote:
I must admit that I have thought of stringing both necks for C6 just in case I broke a 2nd string while playing.


View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Glenn Austin

 

From:
Montreal, Canada
Post  Posted 22 Oct 2002 1:34 pm    
Reply with quote

Gene, your just jerking my chain ! Nobody's said I'm nuts yet.

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
clive swindell

 

From:
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 2:01 am    
Reply with quote

Al

Will the same string gauges for C6 retune to E6 or do you have to change them?. Seems a long way to take them up.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Gene Jones

 

From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 2:39 am    
Reply with quote

Glenn....please don't think I was dissing your post. I REALLY did have the opposite situation than you when I started playing again after being away from music for several years.

I began playing during the era of C6, and after quitting music and not playing for nearly 15 years, the first thing I had to do after beginning again was to learn the E9.

I was so frustrated at first that I actually did temporarily change the E9 on my first D-10 to a modified C6 with pedals...but I finally "bit the bullet" and changed it back to E9 after admitting that I had to do that to survive in the contemporary music scene!

90-95% of my playing today is on E9 and I am completely comfortable with it....but, I still find it difficult not to think of the C6 as my "primary neck". www.genejones.com

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Frank Parish

 

From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 5:10 am    
Reply with quote

If it's strings breaking you're worried about why not keep the extra ones you'll need close by or just put those new ones on before you start each night? I used to have an old Sho-Bud that was just about wore out and it would always break the 3rd, 5th, 6th and sometimes even the 10th strings. If it was a serious gig we were playing instead of just the ordinary bar gig I'd put new strings on before we started to be sure to get through the night. Right now if I keep strings close by I can usually change the broken string before the tune is over depending how far into the song it breaks.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Glenn Austin

 

From:
Montreal, Canada
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 7:08 am    
Reply with quote

Gene, I didn't think you were dissing my post, I thought you were pulling my leg! In hindsight though, it makes sense. Sort of a steel guitar generation gap

It's not just string breakage I'm worried about. I just want to find a better use for the C6 neck. I've never been a jazz guy, seems to be way over my head, plus I've always been more or less an ear player. When I hear E9 on the radio, I can pretty much visualize what pedals and knees are being used. C6 is like learning a whole new instrument. Just looking for something that's a little easier to fathom. BTW I did receive confirmation from a highlander that Sarah Jory does indeed string both necks E9, so go figure!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
J Fletcher

 

From:
London,Ont,Canada
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 7:38 am    
Reply with quote

Why not just take that neck off, and put on a pad and have an SD10? That's what I did. I figured I'd never get around to the C6 neck, and was tired of accidently hitting the pedals that didn't do anything.
After doing this, the instrument became less intimidating to look at, and to play. Not to mention lighter and faster to set up....Jerry
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
David Mason


From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 7:47 am    
Reply with quote

I find it a good ear-training exercise to learn how to play the same licks on my steel as on my standard guitar. I could see the same argument for learning to play the same licks on both necks of a steel. Personally, I play a single neck C6 because I like the choices better and couldn't bear to learn two new tunings as well as keep up my standard guitar practice schedule.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Al Marcus


From:
Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
Post  Posted 23 Oct 2002 8:41 pm    
Reply with quote

Clive- In answer to your question. You can use the C6 strings if , you take them off and move them one string lower. The 10th string then will be the F note tuned down to E. then add a 1st string F# E9 to the 1st string E6.

I would use instead a set of E9 strings, they all will mostly work. Put the D# 2nd string on E9 on the 4th string E6 and tune it down to C#, then you pull that up to D# with the 7th c6 pedal. You take out the F# 7th string, so the only string you add to the E9 set is the 10th string low E guitar gauge.

Send me an Email and I will Email you some charts with gauges, pedal pulls , etc. Be glad to do it.....al

[This message was edited by Al Marcus on 23 October 2002 at 09:45 PM.]

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Earl Yarbro

 

From:
Bowie, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 24 Oct 2002 6:41 am    
Reply with quote

Glen, When I started about 4 years ago, the C6 made no sense. now I find that in my practice sessions, most of my time is on C6.
I still have a long way to go but those chords and sounds just get under my skin. The song that got me hooked was "steel Guitar Rag". First playing it without pedals, then adding pedals as I found out how they could expand the song. Then I found I could use the experience from it to other songs. Lately at our little jamboree I find myself slipping in the C6 on a few songs, as I get my nerve built up.
Still loving E9 but getting fonder of C6.

Earl

ZUM & ZB D10's
View user's profile Send private message
Glenn Austin

 

From:
Montreal, Canada
Post  Posted 24 Oct 2002 9:14 am    
Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies everybody. I'm going to string up E6 this weekend, and really get down to understanding this a bit better. Thanks Al Marcus for your help.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Keith Murrow


From:
Wichita, KS
Post  Posted 24 Oct 2002 9:39 am    
Reply with quote

..

[This message was edited by Keith Murrow on 26 October 2004 at 04:02 PM.]

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
gary darr

 

From:
Somewhere out in Texas
Post  Posted 26 Oct 2002 6:13 pm    
Reply with quote

Glen I allso thought of the same thing and posted and was met with replys about why not learn C 6. Since then I have tried tuning my e9 neck a whole step down to D9,it uses the same pedals and knee levers just lower tuning.I am now considering changing my C6 neck to E9 so I can interchange much easer.The only problem I see is that if i use pedals 4,5,6 for the E9 on the back neck, my L knee lever will be too far out of reach....I may have to install secondary knee lever to make this work. You might do a topic search on D-9 tuning if you are interested,there was a thread regarding this

------------------
Sho-Bud proII custom,Session 500,American standard Strat,Shecter tele,Peavy Classic 50


View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron