| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic Stringmaster d8
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Stringmaster d8
Oliver Althoen

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 18 Jun 2024 11:17 pm    
Reply with quote

I have been a dobro player for years, but I just got a Fender Stringmaster d8. So excited to get into this amazing instrument! I'm wondering if there is a standard way to tune the 2 necks? Right now I have one neck in A6 and the other in C6. Also, I would love recommendations on strings. What do y'all use?
Thanks!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Guy Cundell


From:
More idle ramblings from South Australia
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 12:54 am    
Reply with quote

Oliver, you will probably get a ton of recommendations. Probably the most common would be C6 and E13, but there are different versions of each.

As a dobro player myself, I prefer A6 which has a similar feel to dobro IMO. Low to high:
F# A C# E F# A C# E
gives you the familiar triad on triad of dobro tuning with an intervening 6th. C6 with a high G does the same but the lighter strings give it a different feel.

As for E13, the two most popular tunings are McAuliffe's and Boggs. You can look these up. They are similar but the difference is that Boggs' has the 5th an octave lower. E13 is a whole different world.

I wish you well on the journey! Welcome aboard!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 6:34 am    
Reply with quote

I have been using SIT Silencer semi-flat strings for years. They come in sets pre-gauged for non-pedal tunings. I use the C6 and E7 sets on my D8. The E7 set can be retuned to B11, A6 and E13.

https://aliensandstrangersmusic.com/search?q=lap+steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ricky Davis


From:
Bertram, Texas USA
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 7:36 am    
Reply with quote

Here's some great; you can't go wrong with these tuning choices and gauges, by my longtime Friend John Ely>

https://www.hawaiiansteel.com/tunings/my_tunings.php

See what makes musical sense to you and go for it.
Ricky
_________________
Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 8:22 am    
Reply with quote

You may want to put a Dobro based tuning on one neck, GBDEGBDE (G6).
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)

https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Oliver Althoen

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 11:50 am    
Reply with quote

Thank you for all the info!
Can anybody recommend a good beginning youtube lesson for the E13 tuning?
It is, indeed, a whole different world!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Landon Jarrel

 

From:
Space
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 1:34 pm    
Reply with quote

Hi Oliver, these are good as direct lessons explaining the tuning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAUtqDvwdGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r4bpr4mhxw

Here's the thing, though: there's many 13th tuning variations, meaning that the scale intervals are not always in the same order. 8-string 6th tunings are almost always one of two types: 3rd on top or 5th on top, and makes it so that anything that you learn in C6 can be applied to A6 with a quick transposition. The notes lay out the same.

When I started learning about 13th tunings, I found that the best way for me to understand a particular tuning was to map out the tuning - scales, chords, slants - on paper. Fortunately, forum member, Kyle Jester, made this website which diagrams a plethora of tunings interactively. Give it a go: http://www.slantfinder.pro/ it has several 13th tunings on there.

A game changer was taking a lick or phrase I knew in the 6th tuning, and figuring it out on the 13th neck. This made it much easier to compare and contrast the tunings. Maybe this would be helpful to you, and you already have a doubleneck guitar to do this on.

Take a look at this if you are curious as to how many steel tunings developed - explained by the great Alan Akaka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8qAmotF_c
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Oliver Althoen

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2024 10:24 pm    
Reply with quote

Thank you Landon Jarrel!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 20 Jun 2024 5:54 am    
Reply with quote

Deleted

Last edited by Tim Whitlock on 23 Jun 2024 6:55 am; edited 1 time in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tony Oresteen


From:
Georgia, USA
Post  Posted 21 Jun 2024 8:42 am    
Reply with quote

OLiver,

Congrats of your D8. There is no standard set up. It will depend on what YOU play and like.

A6 & E13 is quite common. I have two necks setup as A6 & C6.

Go through you song list & set lists and that should tell you what tunings make sense for you.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA

Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
D Schubert

 

From:
Columbia, MO, USA
Post  Posted 21 Jun 2024 2:10 pm    
Reply with quote

Many choices, I use C13 (high voicing) and E13 (lower voicing), low to high...

Bb C E G A C E G

E G# D F# G# B C# E
_________________
GFI Expo S-10PE, Sho-Bud 6139, Fender 2x8 Stringmaster, Supro consoles, Dobro. And more.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron