| Author |
Topic: Back Neck Blues |
Cameron Kerby
From:
Rutledge, TN
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 6:31 am |
|
After many months of thought, I'm looking into converting my c6th neck into a more blues friendly beast. I have enjoyed the ease of positions on the C6th for western swing, jazz, and some blues. But as much as I love the sounds and music it produces while playing alone at my house, it does not fit well with the country/blues/rock groups I play with. I intend on leaving my e9th neck alone and using it traditionally for our more country tunes. But would like to know what others have done on their back neck? I'd like to be able to create tones and slides similar to some easier Derek Trucks type music with or without pedals.
I have already started by changing the tuning to D6th and I find it creates more open position notes for blues tunes. What are some other things that might help achieve this tone? Some things I have thought of but have never tried: Glass slides? Not using metal picks? Using less headroom/ less clean amps? Pickup swap? Tunings? String Thicknesses? Pot pedal versus digital?
Would love to hear any feedback if any of you have tried any of this and what the result was. Thanks!
_________________
Sho Bud Steel Guitars
Vintage Peavey Amplification |
|
|
 |
Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 9:54 am
|
|
I like the subtle overdrive of the "Earth Drive" pedal.
Look into Dan Tyack's playing for what you are talking about. He uses a modified E9 tuning. Also try pushing down and leaving in your 7 and 8th pedals on your C neck to get some of the sacred steel tuning vibe.
_________________
Bob |
|
|
|
Dustin Kleingartner
From:
Saint Paul MN, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 2:46 pm
|
|
For getting that distorted amp sound, I've been really liking the Joyo American Sound pedal. It's only $40, but it sounds amazing to my ears. The voice knob goes from a clean and shimmery silver face sound to a dirty tweed sound. There's also a drive knob, so it can get really dirty.
I know that it is meant to be used as a pre-amp, for going straight into a PA, but I use it all the time going right into a clean amp. Best thing I've bought in awhile!
_________________
Proud parent of a good dog. |
|
|
|
Gary Thorsen
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 4:13 pm blues tuning
|
|
Cameron, Great to hear from a young player in search of. Your post is a solid topic for discussion. Personally, after 45 years in the saddle, I think everything anyone needs for the rock or blues sound is on the E9. It's a major scale top to bottom with all the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 4th and dom7 intervals readily available. The major scale contains the Dorian, Mixolydian and Major Pentatonic. The blues scale is nothing more than a Major Pentatonic starting on a different note and adding the flat 5. Start hunting around a fret and a half up from the 7th fret E chord with the A@B pedal position (10th fret in E) and two frets down (5th fret in E) using the B pedal and those Hendrix and Freddie King licks are all right there. Try half pedaling the A pedal at the 7th fret. With those positions and bouncing the bar in the open E you can sound like Johhny Winter or any of the great slide blues hawks...well, maybe not Sonny Landreth!! Derek Trucks is another monster and if you listen to the notes, well, he's just plain tasty as they come and puts it across like no one else, soulful, not to mention he's one heckuva musician. His stuff can be played on the E9 being my point.
The same goes for the C6 - three frets up (minor 7) and two down (13 chord 5th pedal). The more I work at the C6 the more I find and like the jazzier blues style favored by Emmons and I wouldn't consider anything but adding lever and pedal changes to Buddy's tuning on either neck. The C6 tuning absolutely shines for playing the outside sounds and extensions. Listen to Derek playing Bock to Bock at about 17 years of age. All that stuff is readily accessible on the C6th and the E9.
No offense to anybody on any of this stuff - but - I'm not a big stomp box fan either. By far the best sound I ever got for blues was over-driving an old Bassman with an actual rotary guitar extension speaker cabinet. With a little small room verb it's just killer.
With the knowledge I now have, going back in time, I wouldn't go changing the tuning in search of stuff until I fully understood what is already there in the standard Emmons setup. You can bet a great player like Dan Tyack took that approach. So I'd go for great tone and sound coming out of the amp and better delivery. I suggest experiment with technique, amps, bars, speakers, cabinets, picks, pickups, pedals and effects and leave the tuning alone til you develop your own sound. When you find something that sounds cool trust your ears because it IS cool! Build on that and your phone will ring and your fans will be many.
Buddy was absolutely a genius, a great, GREAT!! musician and he got it right. His tunings have stood the test of time. Like Paul Franklin says, "It's ALL there!"
Last edited by Gary Thorsen on 17 Dec 2018 4:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 4:47 pm
|
|
I've been having fun playing blues on E9 with this effects pedal. It's got a "Derek Trucks-ish" tone to it (if you don't over-do the drive on it).
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
|
|
|
Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 5:39 pm
|
|
â€Back Neck Bluesâ€... not a bad name for a tune.
Last edited by Fred Treece on 17 Dec 2018 6:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 6:40 pm
|
|
Nice to see someone else using D6th. 
Set your volume pedal at about halfway and take your foot off of it. This will make you pick harder and put all of your dynamic range in your right hand. Also, it makes it easier to use P8.
A ceramic bar has less sustain. That sounds bluesier.
In D6th tuning you should set up a pedal or lever to raise your middle F# note to G. The notes of the open G tuning (G B D G B D) are very bluesy, used by many bottleneck players. You have to skip the A string for some licks, but it's handy on others.
There's a very useful 7th chord 3 frets below the 'no pedals' position. Use P6 + (raise 3 and 7) + (raise 4 and 8 ). It's F7 on your open strings (Eb7 on C6th). It's handy because the P8 7th chords are on adjacent frets.
BTW, here's where you can get strings: www.steelguitarshopper.com/d6th-pedal-steel/
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
|
|
|
John Goux
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 17 Dec 2018 7:27 pm
|
|
I know a very accomplished pro player who has converted his back neck to 6 string E. “Bonehead E†he calls it. If you are a 10 string E9 player it gives you the low guitar strings that are missing from 10 string E9. And all those Derek Trucks sounds.
John |
|
|
|
