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Topic: 1 more Weiss / reso question. how many strings? |
Todd Pertll
From:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2005 10:13 am |
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is there a real advantage to having an 8 strings weissenborn or resonator guitar? The next instrument I purchase is going to be purchased for the long haul, and I dont want to regret my choice later.
I'm hoping some of the more experienced members can weigh in on the pluses/minuses of 6 and 8 string guitars.
thanks for all of your help,
Todd |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 1 Mar 2005 10:15 am
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| 8 strings adds a lot of extra tension to the resonator and many people feel that the sound quality suffers. Also you will not be able to do the standard dobro type runs on the 8 string as easily as the 6. |
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Garth Highsmith
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Posted 1 Mar 2005 10:26 am
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| When my Weissenborn is completed, she'll have eight strings. I figured that I was always looking for extra strings when I played six so I might as well have more. My luthier has designed all manner of complex bracing to support the strings, so it should work out well. [This message was edited by Garth Highsmith on 06 January 2006 at 10:56 AM.] |
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Chuck Fisher
From:
Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 1 Mar 2005 11:27 am
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If you decide to go reso over weiss (I did) Check out Benoit at the show. Mr Benoit makes the best IMO and he does 8 strings as well as 6, 7, 10s. I went 8 strings and I use a 13th tuning. For traditional bluegrass stuff it might be a bit jazzy sounding, but for blues and rock its very cool, less bar movement makes for faster-more-accurate stuff. Less tension to compensate for 8 strings can be acheived via lighter string guages or detuning a step.
Mr Benoit's guitars are beautiful, loud, well balanced and you will never meet a finer gentlman.
Of course, you could buy a 6 AND an 8.
Sincerely,
CF |
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Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 1 Mar 2005 1:39 pm
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What is the kind of playing you want to do?
-Travis |
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Todd Pertll
From:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Posted 2 Mar 2005 5:29 am
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Travis,
I'm really not sure. Right now I play with a couple folk type singers that I think the Weiss. would sound great with, but who knows what I'll be playing in the future. I'm just looking for the most versatile instrument. |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 2 Mar 2005 7:02 am
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For folk type stuff I would probably recomend 6 strings and a D tuning on the Weis. That's what I have mine set up with and I do a lot of singer/songwriter stuff and old folk stuff on it. The advantage of the 8 string is the ability to do straight bar minor chord voicings but it can be faked easily enough on the 6 string. I don't think the question here is one of versatility, since they each have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the style of music you want to play.
But if you are like me, you will end up buying both. |
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Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 2 Mar 2005 1:55 pm
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I'd say the six string sounds best for your current needs. The eight string is arguably more versatile, since you can always tune it to a six string tuning and leave the extensions out of the way, but I feel that there are real advantages to playing a six string, the biggest being the wide string spacing. For some great D tuning six string work (in a blues idiom, but the closest thing to my conception of folk that's out there), listen to Kelly Joe Phelps' Shine Eyed Mister Zen and Roll Away the Stone.
-Travis[This message was edited by Travis Bernhardt on 02 March 2005 at 01:56 PM.] |
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