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Topic: Why no 8 string E6? |
Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2017 9:30 pm |
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OK, Please, one of you 8 string lap tuning-and-theory masters explain to me why there is no 8 string E6 tuning used out there (at least on all the charts that I've looked at) that is (low to high):
C#--E--G#--B--C#--E--G#--B
Is it a string gauge thing? Or am I having a brain fart?
Like the popular Western swing A6 & C6
6-1-3-5-6-1-3-5 ??
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A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 9 Jan 2017 10:31 pm
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| All the E13 variants contain the 6, but with more harmonic potential. On Don Helms E13, he played almost exclusively the E6 "piece." |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2017 11:21 pm
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You can't tune a string to high B without it breaking.
Having the 1st string as a middle B would turn the instrument into a baritone, which isn't very popular.
_________________
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David M Brown
From:
California, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 4:06 am Re: Why no 8 string E6?
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| Brooks Montgomery wrote: |
Is it a string gauge thing? ? |
b0b has it right, the strings cannot tune high enough. That's why most E tunings have E or G# as the high pitch.
As for being too low when tuned to the low octave B, some players use a G6 tuning on Dobro thais is low to high:
G B D E G B
with the same middle-register B on top, so it works for them.
I would prefer my 6 string G6 to be BDEGBD, though.
It's a matter of taste. |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 5:17 am
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Absolutely right.
b0b Answered.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 5:56 am
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| b0b wrote: |
You can't tune a string to high B without it breaking.
Having the 1st string as a middle B would turn the instrument into a baritone, which isn't very popular. |
Thanks b0b, that's exactly the answer I was looking for , and you kept me from bending up some good strings to find that out. I forget sometimes that string gauge can only compensate so much to keep something in the register. Which qualifies as brain fart.
Had a feeling that's why there was no E6 in Slide Rules.
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 9:17 am
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If someone wanted a baritone E6th, perhaps as a novelty on a triple or quad neck, the low string should probably be B instead of C#. The C#-E interval would turn to mud in the low register.
B E G# B C# E G# B
The classic E6th is just six strings with a high G# - the Don Helms "Hank Williams" sound. Don never used his bottom 2 strings on a Hank record. He tuned them to A and C#, so it wasn't a true E6th. It's a Real Good Idea, though!
A C# E G# B C# E G#
The only bar slant I ever saw him do was a forward slant on the bottom 3 strings for the 2nd inversion of a major chord (5 1 3).
_________________
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David M Brown
From:
California, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 12:43 pm
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| b0b wrote: |
The only bar slant I ever saw him do was a forward slant on the bottom 3 strings for the 2nd inversion of a major chord (5 1 3). |
Well, that's saying something. He sure got a lot of music out of straight bars. |
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Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 1:23 pm
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Do you guys know anybody that's messed with this:
E7 >>>>>> E6
1 - E
2 - B
3 - G#
4 - E
5 - D >>>>>>>rolling back to C#
6 - B
7 - G#
8 - E
It seems like it would be versatile E7 or E6 with a little tuning tweak.
Is it limiting in ways that I can't see? I think I will mess with it, as I don't have to restring to try it.
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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Stephen Abruzzo
From:
Philly, PA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 1:34 pm
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Brooks.....if you take string #4 and make that an F#, you can have a whole lot of fun.
That is Mike Neer's version of E9 and the B-D-F# in the middle makes a nice Bm chord.
Your bottom 4 strings still gives you a straight E7.
So, the way this tuning plays out it gives you lots of option for all kinds of music. |
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Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 1:56 pm
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Thanks Stephen. I'll mess with that. My brain (what's left of it) seems to gravitate to the tunings that have the 1-3-5's laid out in there. My dobro playing comfort zone.
I appreciate the feedback.
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 3:27 pm
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| b0b wrote: |
You can't tune a string to high B without it breaking.
Having the 1st string as a middle B would turn the instrument into a baritone, which isn't very popular. |
Trying to wrap my head around this. Are you saying the high B 1st string we're talking about here is (in theory) an octave higher than the 2nd string B on both standard guitar and G tuned dobro?
And in Brooks' original question the 5th string B is the same pitch as the the aforementioned 2nd string B on standard guitar or G tuned dobro, and it is not an octave lower than 2nd string standard guitar/dobro B, or the same pitch on the 5th string B of a G tuned dobro?
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Mark |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 4:03 pm
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| Mark Eaton wrote: |
Trying to wrap my head around this. Are you saying the high B 1st string we're talking about here is (in theory) an octave higher than the 2nd string B on both standard guitar and G tuned dobro?
And in Brooks' original question the 5th string B is the same pitch as the the aforementioned 2nd string B on standard guitar or G tuned dobro, and it is not an octave lower than 2nd string standard guitar/dobro B, or the same pitch on the 5th string B of a G tuned dobro? |
The original question was asking about (low to high)
C#--E--G#--B--C#--E--G#--B
This would effectively be the same as A6 moved up 7 frets or down 5 frets.
If the former, you would be talking about the B on the top string being an octave higher than a standard guitar string and the 5th string being the same pitch as a standard guitar B string.
If lowered, of course, toy would have a standard guitar B as the highest string and the low B would be the note you find on fret 2 of a standard guitar's A string.
b0b was absolutely right - the high tuning would be physically impossible and the low one considered a baritone tuning.
The more common E6 tuning has either G# on top (4 semitones higher than regular guitar high E string) or E (same as guitar top E string. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 4:03 pm
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I didn't know which he meant, so I gave the reasons for both. If the first string would be the high B (above pedal steel G#), it would break. If it was a middle B (like dobro string 2), the 7th and 8th strings would be in baritone range.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 10 Jan 2017 4:23 pm
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Okay guys, I think I got it.
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Mark |
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