6 or 8 for the Winter?

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Well, another Banjer-pickin' season is coming to a close.....and this coming Winter I've resolved to lock the door, settle down and get to grips (excuse the pun) with my 6-string Lap Steel. Enough dabbling and noodling, it's time to start learning how to play it properly, and make good use of my recently fitted Deusenberg Multibender.
But before I lock that door and put the kettle on, a quick question. Should I start with a 6 and step up to an 8 in time to come, or should I just bite the bullet and trade the 6 for an 8 (before I get too comfortable
picking 6)? BTW I'm a big fan of Western Swing and Country, when I'm not in the Bluegrass Zone.
I respectfully await your advice and comments as always!

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

my opinion is since you already have the 6 string with multibender, stick with that. plenty of stuff can be played on that. some people would even prefer that to an 8 string...especially starting out.

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Ok, maybe I should come at this a different way.....could someone tell me, in as simplistic a way possible (remember, I'm a banjer picker).....what main benefits 8 strings would give a beginner over 6?

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Without knowing the tunings, or your specific desires, it's hard to give specifics besides the obvious 'more strings!'. You can tune it for more close harmonies, or more span, or both.

I advise you to stick with 6 for awhile... you'll figure out pretty quick which way you want to take it from there. Try several tunings, and don't worry about using the benders at first, they can be a 'gimmick' that gets in the way of learning steel guitar.
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Kevin Brown · From: England

OK fwiw, if you like swing n country start with an 8 string instrument but only string it with the top 6 strings. Get to grips with C6th/A7 theres absolutely LOADS of help and instruction on that tuning. You can do all the Don Helms and Leon Mcauliffe stuff plus the zillions of Jerry Byrd arrangements. Would advise cindy Cashdollars western Swing dvd as a great starting point. Later you can add strings to lower or upper 6 string tuning as you become familiar with the nuts and bolts, the foundation of C 6th. Learn C6th first on 6 strings then slowly make additions, hope that helps.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Another vote for 6 strings at first. There's a lot more learning material out there for 6-string. Later expand to 8 strings, but be aware that there are many variations of 8 sting tunings, several C6 variations and E13 variations. That's another reason to start with the core 6 strings and then explore how you want to expand on that, which strings to add either on top or at the bottom of the basic 6, or sometimes in the middle of the basic 6 strings.
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John D. Carter · From: Canton, Ohio, USA

I have been playing about 8 years now (including a period of two years where I barely touched it) so really about 6 years. I feel like I am just now ready to take on an 8 string. I know for me, starting out with 6 was the right decision. With 6 strings, you will sacrifice some chords for single notes or two note harmonies but this sacrifice can actually enhance the music in my opinion. This is what makes the lap steel, in some ways more beautiful than pedal steel, in my opinion.

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Thanks all for the advice and suggestions. All taken on board!

Jean-Sebastien Gauthier · From: Quebec, Canada

I think you can play anything with 6 strings C6 or A6, I use my low 2 strings only for comping and steel is not really design for comping so I use the top 6 strings 99% of the time.

+1 for 6 strings, plus you can easily find a cheap vintage 6 string that sound good. I miss my 50's Gibson BR6 with a nice P-90 pickup!

Karl Fehrenbach · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Yet another vote for staying with 6 strings. Whatever tuning you settle in with, you will find more than a lifetime of exploration and satisfaction with what you can find on those 144 notes on the neck. I had a nice 8 string, that I thought would be the ultimate, but found that I hardly used it, especially in a band setting. The 6 string always made it to the gig and the 8 string ended up getting traded for a nice hollow body conventional guitar.

Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Thanks for all the responses. I've found a compromise!
I'll be keeping the 6-string, the more I've been playing it, the more I'm enjoying it. And it's true, the levers are fun...but the more I pick, the less I've been using them. I'm checking out various 'how to simulate PSG on a lap-steel' videos, amazing stuff!
Now, having said all that, I've made a start on a self-build 8-string project. I picked up a nice slab of mahogany yesterday, and ordered some bits and pieces from George Boards. Hopefully, I'll be proficient enough with the basics on the 6 to switch to the 8 when it's built......

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

In a recent post of my own, I have talked about how there can be both advantages and disadvantages to having those extra two strings. I am going back to 6 from 8. My advise is to not bother with any more than 6 strings unless you know what you are hoping to accomplish by having them. When all was said and done, I found that I couldn't do anything on the 8 string that I couldn't find a way to do just as well on 6. And I found the 6 string much more playable. Additionally, on acoustic instruments (that's what I play), you lose volume and tone quality with the additional strings.
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Tony Boadle · From: Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland

Thanks for the input, Edward. I'm busy working on the 8 string project,but enjoying playing the 6 string in between. I'll probably end up keeping both and seeing which one I gravitate to more. I'm looking forward to finding out.....[/i]

Asa Brosius · Posted 28 Aug 2014 9:05 am

I hold the unpopular view- I'd say 8 absolutely. Especially given the style of music you prefer- those players historically chose and choose at least a single neck of 8 almost universally. Of course you can do a lot with 6- you can do a lot with 1 or 2 as well. I'd recommend a C6 8 string tuning- you'll only have to deal with octaves of 1-3-5-6, nothing wild or different from a 6 stringer. Should you feel overwhelmed by the additional two strings, just take them off. Good luck!

Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I have both 6 and 8 string resonators. I keep the 6-strings in G tuning for bluegrass and folk, and the 8-string in C6 tuning for western swing and Hawaiian.

The answer to your question as to whether to trade your 6-string for an 8-string is no, keep your 6-string and buy an 8-string, so that you have both.

I guarantee that if you sell your 6-string you will regret it, especially if your have it set up with a MultiBender.

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