Need info on 4 neck steels.

Eddie Thomas · From: Macon,Ga.,USA

On the 4 neck steel from back in the day, what are the tunings used? Thanks!

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

While we're waiting for people who actually know the answer, I'm going to guess E9 and A6 (which eventually combined into pedal E9), C6 (which still survives) and something else, maybe some baritone tuning.

Now for the experts...
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Eddie Thomas · From: Macon,Ga.,USA

Thanks Ian, I know two of them are A6 and E13, but the other two I don't know. Thanks for your reply.

Daniel McKee · From: Corinth Mississippi

Fenders usually came with a baritone neck. As for others I don't know if they were set up like that or not.

Jim Bates · From: Alvin, Texas, USA

Billy Bowman was playing a 4 neck Fender (sitting down) with Bob Wills in the early 50's when he was with Bob Wills. I met him during dance gig in western Oklahoma and got to sit next to him and watch how he would jump back and forth on two or three necks just to get a special chord. All necks had tunings that I was NOT familiar with then (I was just a kid learning the basic tunings of E, A and C).

Maybe some forumnite has a copy of what he was using then.

Thanx,
Jim
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Jim Bates, Alvin, Texas
Emmons LeGrand,Sho-Bud Super Pro, SB ProII - E13th,C6th on all. Many Resonator guitars

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Jim seems to confirm that E, A and C were basic.
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Butch Pytko · From: Orlando, Florida, USA

I don't think it's "Etched in Stone" regarding what 4 tunings should be used now or were used back in the day. I can only relate to what my steel guitar family has done--meaning my Dad and I.

My Dad bought a new 4 neck Stringmaster with 24.5 inch scale back in 1957. If Fender set a predetermined tuning set-up at that time period, I have no way of knowing. If they included a written record tuning chart with the new guitar, it was long ago lost. However, the outside neck was intended to be set-up with bass strings. The holes in the tuning keys were drilled out larger to accommodate the bigger bass strings. But, from the start, my Dad didn't care for the bass string concept--so, he used that neck for another regular tuning. He was playing in Country bands, so this is what tunings he ended-up with.....

C#mi
E7
A6
E6

This was his preference/taste years ago. Meaning, you can put on whatever tunings strikes your fancy, relating to what type of music you want to play.

My Dad and I both loved Hawaiian music. When I acquired the 4 neck, I had already been playing D-10 pedal steel in Country bands using the E9/C6 pedal/knee set-up. But, I wanted to set up the Stringmaster in a Hawaiian way to explore what the Hawaiian steel players were doing. This is what I came up with......

E13
A13
B11
C13

I had to do some jumping from neck to neck to play the parts I was hearing on my Hawaiian recordings. This led to my idea of the Hawaiian pedal steel set-up. I combined all those tunings so that they can be played on a 2 neck pedal/knee lever steel.

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

It seems that the standard tuning for the bass neck was E C# A F# E C# A F (high to low) as a set of strings for it is listed in the 1954 catalog.

The only 8 string Hawaiian set they listed was "A-7th Major and Minor" which was listed as E C# A G E C A G which also had an optional high G for the 1st string.

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

I had an early 4-neck Stringmaster for a while in the '70s, a long-scale one with the lollipop tuners. I remember wondering how that 4th neck should be tuned. Then, at the convention in St. Louis in '78, I was talking with Harry Guffee about it and he suggested that we go ask Leon directly, and he brought me into the green room where Leon was tuning up! He was getting ready to do a set with Tex Beneke. Leon was as nice as could be, a real gentleman. He told me what his bass tuning was, and he said the bass neck was for playing "the tailgate part" of a song. He explained that in the old days in New Orleans, when a jazz band was playing in the back of a truck, the only place where the trombone player had room enough to play was sitting on the tailgate. He then played a few awesome dixieland trombone "tailgate" licks for me on that neck! He had it down perfect. It's one of my favorite steel guitar memories.

Unfortunately I lost the slip of paper I had that tuning written on. Years later, long after I had sold my 4-neck, I told the story to Cindy Cashdollar and she asked me to send the tuning to her if I ever found it. I never did, but then I got Andy Volk's Lap Steel Guitar Book, and there it was, on page 100: D B G E D C B A (high to low). The 3rd neck was "Diminished" (E C# A F# F Eb Ab D), the 2nd neck was E13 and the inside neck was A6.

In Andy's book there's an interview with Leon from the early '70s. Leon said he got one of the first few 4-necks made, and it was already fitted with the bass strings when he went out to California to pick it up. He said Don Randall (at Fender) didn't have a bass tuning to suggest, and he told Leon to invent one, so he did.

Jim Bates · From: Alvin, Texas, USA

I remember that Billy, showed me one tuning that was in A, I think, lower three strings were D A D low. Also, some guys were putting a high notes on strings 7 or 8. Buddy did this also according to some forum members.

Thanx,
Jim
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Jim Bates, Alvin, Texas
Emmons LeGrand,Sho-Bud Super Pro, SB ProII - E13th,C6th on all. Many Resonator guitars

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

The answer to Eddie's original question seems to be "Anything you like"!
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Bill Ford · From: Graniteville SC Aiken

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