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Topic: Hello to all ... new member here with a couple of questions. |
Craig Bartock
From:
California, USA
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Posted 28 Feb 2011 8:07 pm |
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First off, I just want to say how informative and amazing this forum is. Everyone here really seems to want to help out with info, tips and advice.
That being said, I'm a long time guitar player with a long history of utilizing various styles, both live and in the studio. About a month ago, the lap steel bug bit me big time and now I'm addicted. I purchased a Goldtone 8 string and a vintage Harmony Roy Smeck 6 string just because it looked so cool. I'm fairly adept at slide guitar, so this isn't really totally new to me. I do have a couple of quick questions that perhaps someone would be kind enough to answer. First off, the Goldtone arrived with a pretty heavy gauge of strings on it and it was already set up fairly close to a C6 tuning out of the box but the 6th string is D and I wouldn't want to push it much further than that. I was watching a video describing the C6 tuning, but it is suggesting the 6th string being A. Obviously the lower tuning gives more options for deeper chords, but is there any "standard" C6 setup for the lap steel? Also, any suggestions as to who makes sets of strings just for an 8 string lap steel?
Thanks in advance for this (and probably a lot more future) advice! |
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Roger Kelly
From:
Bristol,Tennessee
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G Strout
From:
Carabelle, Florida
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Posted 28 Feb 2011 8:51 pm
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Welcome to the forum Craig!! The gauges that I usually use are:
6 string C6(high to low)
E .015,
C. 017,
A .020p,
G .024w,
E .030,
C .036
8 string (high) tuning (high to low)
G .011
E .014
C .018
A .022w
G .024
E .030
C .036
A .042
8 string (low) tuning (high to low)
E .014 E
C .017 C#
A .022w A
G .024 F#
E .030 E
C .034 C#
A .042 A
G .046 F#
These gauges are available through the forum. Use the link that Roger gave you above.
If you want to experiment John Ely has a gauge chart available here:
http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/learning/gauges.php
gary |
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Craig Bartock
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 9:15 am
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G Strout, I guess my real question is with the gauge of strings that came with the guitar, what would be the correct A6 tuning? I see from your gauges that 8 string high has the low string tuned to A and 8 string low has the low note tuned to G. It feels like I really can't go much higher than D on that low string on there now .... definitely no where near G! I'm really trying to figure out if I need to restring it or if I'm missing something here with the tuning in general.
This is all pretty new to me! |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 9:54 am
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An A6 tuning has F# as its 8th string. That F# is a whole step above the low E on standard guitar. If you can't get it that high, you can try tuning it down to low A. Other than that, you'll need to change the string to something like an .058 or .056.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 10:12 am
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It may have been an E6 tuning or E7 (that would have the D) that you could drop to C# for the 6th. Just a guess
_________________
www.deluxe34.com lap steel stands, Clinesmith, Gibson Console Grande, Northwesterns, The Best Westerns
https://www.facebook.com/TheBestWesterns |
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Craig Bartock
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 10:22 am
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| I just ordered a few new sets of strings from the link given here on this post. In the meantime, I've pushed these up a step and now the lowest string is E. I'll play with that until I can get the new strings. |
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Craig Bartock
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 12:16 pm
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| I just ordered a few new sets of strings from the link given here on this post. In the meantime, I've pushed these up a step and now the lowest string is E. I'll play with that until I can get the new strings. |
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rodger_mcbride
From:
Minnesota
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 3:19 pm
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I think the Goldtone 8 stringer uses G6 gauges as the default tuning when shipped.
rodger |
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Craig Bartock
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2011 3:43 pm
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Rodger, that sounds about right. G6 is where I have it now. It's frustrating because the 2 steel guitars arrived before I got a tone bar or a volume control. It feels a little bit like having a car parked outside without a license! They are on their way though .... as well as new strings.
I'm finding it interesting that vintage lap steel guitars are so affordable. Coming from the guitar world where a 50's Gibson would cost you about as much as a VERY nice car, I was surprised at seeing just what the same vintage lap steel goes for. Not only is it a fun instrument to play, but a very cool thing to collect. |
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