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Topic: The double neck tuning of your dreams |
Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 7:09 am |
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Instead of practicing I'm wondering:
If you had a D8 and could pick two tunings that maximized versatility, what would you pick? Your own experience or ability notwithstanding, it doesn't have to be something you already play? Also you can retune any neck to something that uses similar gauges.
Currently I'm attempting Jules Ah See C13 and I think I'd keep that for the inner neck. I was thinking about C diatonic or Leavitt Tuning for the outer neck.
And maybe E13 if there were a third neck. |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 7:16 am
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| In my experience, it is difficult to blend a chordal tuning with a chromatic tuning. I would go with something like an E13 tuning to balance C13. |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 7:33 am
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| Absolutely Mike. I'm also making some guitars though and have been thinking about making a Bigsby style Joaquin double neck just to see if I could do it nicely so, I'd have to put something on the other neck. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 7:37 am
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Sorry, I deleted my post suggesting to master C13 and then listing whatever shortcomings you discover. That’s how I approach it and others have their own reasons.
I still haven’t come up with a second tuning yet but if I was to do so now, it would be something that I would use for very specific sounds, like maybe whole tone stuff.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 7:38 am
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| Did you respond. To the right post? |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:01 am
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Mike
No problem. You're right, clearly. Still just pondering it. I appreciate your advice and that's why I'm on the C13 to begin with. |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:03 am
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Bill
Why would it be difficulty to blend the two? For me the point wouldn't be blending it would be having two different things. But I like the idea of them both being in C. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:10 am
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"Maximizing versatility" is an important factor of your question there. My selection is C13 and B11, but that doesn't maximize versatility in my book...I guess within a small subset of my targeted musical styles, it could. But both of those tunings are not terribly dissimilar. I think C13 is really versatile (as Mike has certainly proven!), as long as you are willing to try and master slants, and B11 is a split 6th / 9th tuning in my book. Both quite useful. But how many folks use B11 outside of Hawaiian? I dunno. So maybe C13 and E13, or one of the crazy diatonic ones, or something off the wall like a dobro or major triad tuning would give you a broader range of versatility.
But for me, C13 and B11 are the ones I am trying to develop native fluency in...to me it feels like the right balance of versatility within the styles I want to play.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:14 am
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Paul,
I've experimented with this with the Alkire tuning and a C13, E13, A6, etc tuning. Just like you I thought it would give me the best of both worlds.
But what I found instead is that the other neck was just jarring. Perhaps the fact that the overtones are different a lap tuned to a chord.
I would go with Mike's suggestion. I finally decided to focus on one tuning; the Alkire tuning. and I have progressed much more rapidly after making that decision. |
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Miles Lang
From:
Venturaloha
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:43 am
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| My D8 has C6 on the inside neck, and Santo farina’s C#m7 tuning on the outside |
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Fred
From:
Amesbury, MA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 8:46 am
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I’d go with Leon McAuliffe’s E13
Lo to hi E G# D F# G# B C# E I can “dumb†it down to E B D E G# B C# E
That’s my “other tuning. It can also be retuned to A6 or C6 or any other Common E on top tuning. But I never do that any more.
The main one is an extended Leavitt tuning
Lo to hi F# C# E G Bb C D F
There are jazzier ways to extend the Leavitt tuning, but this works for me. |
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 10:33 am
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This question has been on my mind a lot lately, as I'm overhauling/rebuilding a D-8 console I recently acquired. Time will tell if these are the tunings of my dreams, but . . .
One neck will have the G6 that I already know and love, and for the other I'm leaning really hard toward an E13 variant: (l - h) B-D-E-F#-G#-B-C#-E. I like that all of the intervals are either whole tones or minor thirds, which (to me) opens up a ton of potential for melodic playing.
_________________
David K |
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Frank Welsh
From:
Upstate New York, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 12:18 pm
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Being a "Hawaii Calls" fan I use C13th on the inside neck and B11th on the outside of my D8. In addition to the expected Hawaiian tunes on the B11th, I am delighted with the full, chord-rich arrangements I've been able to make with this tuning which, for me, is a great compliment to the C13th. For example:
Prisoner of Love
How Deep Is The Ocean?
Moonlight In Vermont
Inamorata
Al-Di-La
Theme from "Picnic"
Nuages
Unforgettable
Blue Velvet
East of the Sun
Girl From Ipanima
Just One More Chance
Out Of Nowhere
The One Rose
The Wichita Lineman
Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me
Tumblin' Tumbleweeds
So for me way more than Hawaiian on the B11th. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 12:57 pm
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| Frank Welsh wrote: |
| So for me way more than Hawaiian on the B11th. |
That's a good point Frank. And the Hawaiian tunes I tend to play in B11 are not necessarily what you would call "pure Hawaiian" tunes anyway, but hapa-haole tunes from the 30s-40s that could just as easily (if you changed the lyric content) be mistaken for mainland jazz standards. So the same qualities that make it a good tuning for those would allow it to match up nicely with all sorts of jazz tunes from that era.
Actually on the original question, I'll amend my answer...if the question assumes that the tuning would come prepackaged with the skill and mastery over it, then I'm changing my second neck to Basil Henriques Fender 400/1000 A7 copedent. Really, really versatile copedent for jazzy chordal stuff. (yes yes, I know adding the pedals is cheating  )
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 1:27 pm
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I think I would like a D-8/6.
8-string neck in A6 or C6
6-string neck in open D
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 2:45 pm
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To elaborate on the rules, as I made them
1) 2 necks (you can add a third bonus neck for extra credit)
2) NO pedals. But you can have a commercially available string bender (name the bender)
3) as many strings as you want
4) your current skills are not relevant
5) the fantasy is that you're a session player and get called for all kinds of things (not just hawaiian or Jazz or Western swing) |
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Bill McCloskey
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 2:53 pm
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The truth is that it is a journey and as one plays and one is serious about playing, you will journey through many styles of playing, different strings, different tunings. I think any of the most popular tunings are a good jumping off place, no matter what your eventual goals. The trick is to stay with one tuning long enough to really understand it and gain some confidence and then see what else calls. I started on slide, moved to dobro for years, moved to steel guitar, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 strings. Played them all.
But eventually (and it may take a decade or more to get there) you will find one that fits a hand to glove. And then you realize you really have begun the journey, the rest was the warm up act. |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 3:02 pm
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| Don Helms E6 (A, C#, E, G#, B, C#, E, G#) and E9 (E, G#, D, E, F#, G#, B, E.) |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 3:03 pm
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To elaborate on the rules, as I made them
1) 2 necks (you can add a third bonus neck for extra credit)
2) NO pedals. But you can have a commercially available string bender (name the bender)
3) as many strings as you want
4) your current skills are not relevant
5) the fantasy is that you're a session player and get called for all kinds of things (not just hawaiian or Jazz or Western swing) |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 4:16 pm
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| Paul McEvoy wrote: |
| the fantasy is that you're a session player and get called for all kinds of things |
Wait, I play a nonpedal console steel and I'm getting called for a large variety of studio gigs? This is quite a fantasy! 
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Paul McEvoy
From:
Baltimore, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 5:23 pm
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| Union scale! |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 15 Nov 2020 6:45 pm Re: The double neck tuning of your dreams
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| Paul McEvoy wrote: |
If you had a D8 and could pick two tunings that maximized versatility, what would you pick? Your own experience or ability notwithstanding, it doesn't have to be something you already play? Also you can retune any neck to something that uses similar gauges. . |
Why not try 2 tunings that you can't get with the same gauge strings?
Maybe a high E tuning on one neck: C6th, A6th, C#m, B11th.
And a high G or G# on the second neck: C6th with a high G, like Bobby Ingano and Gary Brandin, and then retuned to a a high G# for E6th or E13th |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2020 6:49 am
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Right now a have a D6 setup that I made. It's a console stand that holds two 6 string lap steels.
Inner neck C6: C E G A C E (Low to High)
Outer neck Open E: E B E G# B E (Low to High)
My dream set up would be a T8 console:
Inner Neck C6: A C E G A C E G (Low to High)
Middle Neck E7: E G# B D E G# B E (Low to High)
Outer Neck Eb7: Eb G Bb Db Eb G Bb Eb (Low to High)
Alternatively, the Outer Neck could be tuned to E7m:
E G B D E G B E (Low to High)
My Super Dream set up would be a 4 neck set up:
Inner neck : 10 String with Alkire tuning
Middle 1 Neck: 8 String C6 tuning
Middle 2 Neck: 8 String E7 tuning
Outer Neck: 8 String Eb7 tuning
So why the Eb7 running you might ask? We play a lot of songs in Eb, Ab, & Db so the guitars & bass are tuned down 1/2 step to Eb. I like to hit open strings and let them ring so having a neck tuned down a 1/2 step makes it easy to do so.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster Quad black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Jesse Valdez
From:
Fiddletown, California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2020 11:32 am
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The one big tuning theory suggests a chord tuning that is a 5th away from your home neck’s tuning. If you are pitched to “A†it’s “Eâ€, if you are pitched to “C†it’s “G†etc.. This makes whatever your more colorful tuning is become the V chord at the same fret as the root on your home neck. I didn’t have trouble remembering to transpose but this makes it so you don’t have to transpose an odd amount. I currently run C6/A7 or A6, and Boggs E13. I’ll probably remain in C6 and eventually pitch Boggs tuning to “G†like Vance Terry. I like Boggs because it has a wide palate of notes, I don’t enjoy McAullife or every Vane’s 13ths enlighten because they both have 6th tuning intervals on the top. I’d go with something like Bogg’s or Kayton Robert’s F13 to open up the chord possibilities.
_________________
Steel Guitar Slinger w/ The Malpass Brothers |
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Paul Strojan
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2020 7:43 pm
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| Paul McEvoy wrote: |
To elaborate on the rules, as I made them
1) 2 necks (you can add a third bonus neck for extra credit)
2) NO pedals. But you can have a commercially available string bender (name the bender)
3) as many strings as you want
4) your current skills are not relevant
5) the fantasy is that you're a session player and get called for all kinds of things (not just hawaiian or Jazz or Western swing) |
Since benders are allowed. I would use a Jackson Edge bender and have one neck tuned to a variation of the Isaacs change E9 to A6 (E, G#, D, E, F#, G#, B, E) to E, A, C#, E, F#, A, C#, E).
The EDGE bender can raise and lower so I want to show that off. So I am thinking that a variation of the boo-wah change might be interesting. Maybe a C6 to A11 (C, A, C, E, G, A, C, E) to A, A, C#, E, G, B, D, E. |
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