| Author |
Topic: New 8 string hybrid tuning |
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
|
Posted 8 Jan 2013 7:14 pm |
|
I've been working on a new tuning that really isn't all that new, but I'd like to give it a name: C6/A6.
It's actually a hybrid tuning that incorporates both C6 and A6, using the top 4 strings of C6 (beginning with high E) and using the lowest 4 strings of A6. Essentially what this does is gives us C6/A7, but with the F# on the bottom we have more symmetry. This is very good for improvising and really opens up the fretboard.
This tuning is very suitable for minor sounds, in particular Latin, Jazz and Blues, and there is a strong presence of dominant chords as well as a half-diminished chord, which is excellent for ii-V7s in a minor key.
E
C
A
G
E
C#
A
F#
I have been at this tuning for a few weeks and I am really satisfied with it. As time allows, I hope to share some ideas using the tuning.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
|
|
 |
Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
|
Posted 8 Jan 2013 8:15 pm
|
|
Cool. Lots of chords there. Do you use the low string much? I added F# recently too, trying a 10 string, but my F# is an octave higher. Evolution:
The old C6 is still there in the middle. |
|
|
|
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
|
Posted 8 Jan 2013 8:20 pm
|
|
That's almost exactly how mine evolved, except I also used a low F for a long time (still do). The F# is a more recent addition and over the last few months the realization of the two tunings together has really opened things up for me. I do use the low strings about as much as the higher strings. I always have, even as a guitarist.
I have definitely thought of the reentrant F#, because what is really missing from my tuning is a minor 2nd--I'd love to be able to have that interval somewhere without having to slant to get it.
When I get my D-10, I will have 2 tunings based on C6, but with completely different bottom ends--and yes, I will expand the bottom end further. 
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
|
|
|
Nate Hofer
From:
Overland Park, Kansas
|
Posted 9 Jan 2013 5:36 am
|
|
| Ah, super-interesting. I'm gonna try this out. |
|
|
|
Mat Rhodes
From:
Lexington, KY, USA
|
Posted 9 Jan 2013 8:57 am
|
|
| Mike, I take it, like Jerry Byrd, you're not really missing the thin, high G string here. Without having to move into the upper fretboard area, do you have to do a string pull to to get a root position major triad (1, 3, 5 - A, C#, E) or are you using a different grip/partial elsewhere? |
|
|
|
Chris Gabriel
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 9 Jan 2013 9:01 am Awesome
|
|
Please do!
(I like alt tunings)
Can't wait to hear it Mike!
_________________
MSA Classic 1973
BMI D-10
chrisgabriel.com
chrisgabrielpdx |
|
|
|
David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
|
Posted 9 Jan 2013 10:00 am
|
|
And perhaps best of all - you don't need to re-string the dang thing, just twist yer F 'n' C out of C6th normal!  Banging my head against Bobby Lee's string chart and pouring through my string archive, wondering if it's worth it to cannibalize three sets of guitar strings just to try something bizarre... welcome to the jungle, huh? |
|
|
|
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
|
Posted 9 Jan 2013 10:16 am
|
|
| Matt Rhodes wrote: |
| Mike, I take it, like Jerry Byrd, you're not really missing the thin, high G string here. Without having to move into the upper fretboard area, do you have to do a string pull to to get a root position major triad (1, 3, 5 - A, C#, E) or are you using a different grip/partial elsewhere? |
Matt, if I need that inversion, it's available on strings 5, 6 and 7. It's also available as forward slant on 3, 4 and 5.
I'm not a big fan of the high G. The sound is not conducive to what I want to hear in my own playing. I have no problem hearing others use it, though.
This tuning will not work for everyone, as we all have different harmonic sensibilities and needs, but this comes pretty close to getting me what I need for now.
If I was to take a quick look at the chords I see available, besides the usual major and minor triads, diminished, min7, etc., I see:
DMaj9
F#7b9
F#m7b5
F#Maj7#11
D9
C#miMaj7
A7#9
C#Maj7b5
Eb13
Bbmi6/9
and that is just for starters. Not all of the voices are there (eg, F#Maj7#11 is missing the the 3rd and 7th), but they can be implied. This is where the Freeze pedal comes in.... 
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
|
|
|
