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Topic: Two more strings...but where to put 'em? |
Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 10:12 am |
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I'm currently playing a six string lap steel tuned to E7th (lo-hi B D E G# B E) I love this tuning and I'd like to keep it if possible.
I plan to switch to eight strings soon, and research seems to recommend E and G# (8 and 7) at the bottom end or F# and G# (1 and 2) at the top.
I'm playing old-time Country, maybe a little Western Swing ( as well as I can!
😕) so which way should I go...more at the bottom or more at the top? Or one each end? Advice needed...thanks in advance. |
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Jamie Mitchell
From:
Nashville, TN
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 10:53 am
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yo! i play E7, too. between that and high-bass A.
if i had two more strings to play with (wish i did!), i'd start with:
A B C# D E G# B E
or, maybe
A C# B D E G# B E
haven't had a change to try either of those, so can't say for sure, but i'm curious...
j |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 11:03 am
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I think your it may be more useful to add notes within the range of your tuning, rather than to expand its range higher or lower.
Strings higher than your high E will sound thinner and not as nice as what you have. And strings lower than your low B may be less useful than you imagine.
Since you know & love your 6 string tuning, I would say keep what you have as the middle 6 of your new 8 string, and go re-entrant. I would use C# as first string. For the 8th string, you could fool around re-tuning to F#, D#, low G#, etc.
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Stephen Abruzzo
From:
Philly, PA
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 11:09 am
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Personally, I don't like anything over a high E....too shrill for my tastes.
So, that leaves you with a G# and E for strings 7 & 8 respectively.
OR.....lo-to-hi...E-G#-B-D-F#-G#-B-E? Yes, it does whack what you play on a 6 string but not by much.
The top 5 strings are an E9. The bottom 4 strings are an E7. Strings 4-5-6 makes a Bm. I really like this tuning. Great for a lot of music. |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 11:25 am
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Have you considered going to one of the E13 tunings?
Hi to lo:
E
C#
B
G#
E
D
B
G#
This one retains your E7, with the added C# giving you a 6th. It also contains C#m7 (leaving out the D)and a full strum E13.
If you go with a high G# above the E instead, you have the same intervals as the popular C6 tuning, (well, C13 with the D if you retain it) and something very close to the Don Helms tuning:
G#
E
C#
B
G#
E
C#
B
See how he tunes that 7th string D to C# to get E6. One half turn gets you to E13. Perfect for Western Swing and old time Country.
Last edited by Scott Thomas on 10 Mar 2016 11:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 11:39 am
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I really like and have turned a lot of people on to the E9 tuning that was on the guitars of Buddy Emmons and Speedy West and Bud Isaacs, except they had pedals. To achieve that tuning, you'd need to add a low G# (string 7) and a low E (string 8 ) and then raise string 4 (E) to F#:
E
B
G#
F#
D
B
G#
E
I have many examples of tunes recorded with this tuning, my favorite is Buddy's Boogie.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 1:40 pm
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| Mike Neer wrote: |
E
B
G#
F#
D
B
G#
E
I have many examples of tunes recorded with this tuning, my favorite is Buddy's Boogie. |
Yeah, great recording. When I heard it, I put that tuning on my old Fender. But it didn't sound anything like Buddy's record when I played it. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 3:38 pm
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| Earnest Bovine wrote: |
Yeah, great recording. When I heard it, I put that tuning on my old Fender. But it didn't sound anything like Buddy's record when I played it. |
This is all I've got, a little sloppy, first time playing it out a few years ago:
http://youtu.be/-kyH-VSsFuw
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Bill Sinclair
From:
Waynesboro, PA, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 7:30 pm
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Comes up as "private video", Mike. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 10 Mar 2016 8:02 pm
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Maybe better that way! Anyway, I made it unprivate temporarily.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Gary Rue
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2016 5:06 am tuning
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doesn't matter where you start. I like B. If you don't mind jumping a string or two this tuning offers a lot. I'll put it in C.
e
c
a
g move bar up 3
e and get dom. 7th
c# and minor.
c
a |
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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