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Topic: Raising E9 string 2 |
Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2019 8:39 am |
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I raise my E9 string 7 by half steps with the same lever that usually lowers 2 and 9. Because I tune 3rds, 6ths and Maj7ths slightly flat, on an all pull instrument I can make all the changes work with additional compensating rods on 7 and 9 to pull them up or down to tune at their full pulls.
I've found by raising 2 from C# to D and D# I have a lighter lever and can make the 1/2 and full stops accurately without compensators. It was a simple experiment on an all pull EMCI. If I can get used to the new set up I'll try it on my P/P.
Another benefit is that the hysteresis related over return from a lower is eliminated on string 2.
I believe Weldon Myrick and Hal Rugg may have tuned string 2 to C#. Is this correct? |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2019 10:01 am Re: Raising E9 string 2
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| Peter Freiberger wrote: |
| I believe Weldon Myrick and Hal Rugg may have tuned string 2 to C#. Is this correct? |
When I saw them in St Louis, Weldon did and Hal didn't.
Thru the years I have thought a lot about how to make it easier to play any and all of the notes between the 4th string E and 5th string B. IMO this is the range of string at which the steel guitar has the best tone for melody playing. (This is why everybody changed string 1 on C6 from high G to D.) And when you add chord tones underneath a melody note in this range, often you want to ornament or that note, or use neighboring notes without changing the chord tones underneath. In other words, be able get all the notes without moving the bar. Unfortunately there is a wide gap of pitches between 4th string E and 5th string B.
You get C# (and, I hope, C natural) by raising string 5.
You get D# (unless you are Lloyd Green) by lowering string 4.
Most of us use the 2nd string to get D#, D, C#, dedicating a lever (or two levers) for these important notes. Here are some alternatives:
--- Tune string 2 to C# and raise with a lever to D, D# as Peter suggests.
--- Tune string 2 to D natural. (Instead of using string 2, the Sacred Steel guys put the D string in the middle, not re-entrant, but I don't because I like to have the strummable E triad available.)
Here is how I did that for a while:
| Tab: |
LKL LKV LKR 1 2 3 RKL RKR
F#
D -C# +D#
G# +A -G
E +F -D#
B ++C#
G# ++A# +A -G
F#
E +F -D#
D +D# -C#
B ++C#
G# +A -G
E +F ++F#
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This solves the D, D# problem nicely, but at the cost of requiring 2 knee levers. I had this on my GFI for a while, and altho there were plenty of knee levers left over for other stuff, I never could get used to D natural on the 2nd string. I kept expecting D#, especially since I had D# on my other steels. So I abandoned it.
--- Tune string 2 to D#, and use various extra pedals and knee levers to get the D natural. This is what I do now. My rightmost pedal, usually for the right foot, gives D natural on string 5. And next to it a pedal is dedicated to just lowering string 2 to D. Also when I have enough levers, I have an extra lever for just lowering string 2 to D. |
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Peter Freiberger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2019 10:17 am
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| I'm going to see if I can get used to this change, and if I'll lose any habitual things I play. It's not such a big deal to tune 2 to D# and use the extra rods on my EMCI, but if I can make the new way work on my P/P it will open up my fourth knee for B's to Bb, which I have come to value on my EMCI. I find that change much more accessible on a down lever than the VKL many use. And I'd like the same copedant on all pull and P/P, if possible. |
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Robert Parent
From:
Gillette, WY
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Posted 13 Jan 2019 12:43 pm
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I also raise my second string from C# with the half stop. I copied the change from Weldon and Hal doing it in the 70's.
For a short time I tuned it to a D and then raised and lowered on separate knees. Did not like that for the most part so returned to the C# setup.
Robert |
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