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Topic: tuning & how many strings |
Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 16 Jul 2007 9:04 pm |
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| i'm very new to this lap steel world so i would love some advice. i going to be building a lap steel & was wondering where would be a good place to start with concerns of the amount of strings & tuning. all thoughts welcome! |
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John Kavanagh
From:
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Posted 17 Jul 2007 2:13 pm
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Everybody has an opinion on this. I've had only 6 or 8 string lap guitars, and so I think 7 is the perfect compromise!
Most people would probably say 6 strings is a good first choice, both for playing and building. 6 string parts are really easy to get; you can use a lot of standard guitar parts. A lot of great music has been made on 6 strings. If you're playing with a band, you'll find you mostly use the upper strings anyway. The 6 seems faster, to me, and the (usually) wider string spacing more comfortable. If you want to plays mostly blues, you don't need a fancy tuning, though some use them.
ON THE OTHER HAND, 7 or 8 strings means either more range or a more flexible tuning, or both. Once you're used to 6th or 9th tunings, it's hard to go back, and you do sometimes miss the low notes if you use those tunings on a 6-string, especially solo.
And it's a lot easier to convert an 8-string to 6 than the other way around.
I know a guy who played an 8string with only six strings on it for years, then finally took the plunge and put the other two on.
If someone offered to make me a custom guitar, I'd still want a 7-string, and probably tune it GBdegbd' most of the time, or the same a whole step higher. |
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Danny James
From:
Summerfield Florida USA
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Posted 18 Jul 2007 6:48 am
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I built an 8 string lapsteel, but because I am used to playing a 6 string 6 pedal Multi-Kord I am only using 6 strings on this lapsteel for now.
I like the option of being able to go to 8 strings if I want to.
I also designed and built a tuning changer for it that can be changed to four different tunings with the flip of a single lever. This changer is adjustable and the tunings can easily be changed to something else. 
The four tunings I am presently using are---
A maj,--E,--C6th,--A6th.
Good luck with your lapsteel project.  |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 18 Jul 2007 7:24 pm
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I started out on a 6 string in C6 tuning with the E on top. I have recently gone to 8 strings. I think I am finally settling on either a high C6 or an A6. Those two are the same intervals a minor third apart.
It is going to depend on what kind of music you want to play and how you want to sound. |
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