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Topic: Benders in gbdgbd tuning |
Brent Jones
From:
Montana, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 11:03 am |
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| Since I've played dobro many years, just started playing lap steel in last several months. I like to tune my lap steel gbdgbd like dobro. I put Certano benders on my lap steel but suggested method of tuning doesn't work. I reversed tuning and tuned b string up a half step (c) and g string up a whole step (a). This seems to work reasonably well - any other recommendations? Thanks. |
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Gil James
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 11:56 am
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| When I had benders on a 6 string, I tuned GBDF#AD. You can get a lot of music there once you realize the D/G connection. Levers down ,you're back to GBDGBD. And there's your A B pedal steel licks. Fun! |
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Brent Jones
From:
Montana, USA
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Posted 6 Dec 2023 2:14 pm
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| Thanks a bunch Gil - really appreciate the info. |
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Joe Kaufman
From:
Lewiston, Idaho
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Posted 12 Dec 2023 9:10 pm
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| I second what Gill said! |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 13 Dec 2023 7:15 am
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I have tried benders on dobros, 6 and 8 strings in various tunings, for many years. It’s mostly been not worth the effort. It’s why I also play pedal steel. Having said that…I recently put Duesenberg benders on my old Beard. It’s in standard GBDGBD(Sometimes DGDGBD) with the high B lowered to A(this bender can do that using a counter spring) and high G up to G#(like E-F lever on E9. Good for Diminished and Dom 7s).
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KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2023 11:43 am
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I tried Certano bender on lap steel for a while, liked the sound but they were physically awkward. I tried the GBDF#AD tuning that Luke Cyrus Goetze uses, and that B0B championed, but it felt like the "home row" G position required you to keep the pedals engaged most of the time.
Then I tried D7 tuning with different bass strings, ACDF#AD and it made more musical sense to me. With pedals engaged, ACDGBD. Which led me to.....
E7th tuning, BDEG#BE with lighter strings gages that took less effort to bend. With the pedals pushed down, this changed the E chord to A, the classic pedal steel change.
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GFI Expo S-10PE, Sho-Bud 6139, Fender 2x8 Stringmaster, Supro consoles, Dobro. And more. |
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Madeline Dietrich
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2024 2:58 pm
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| K, that is one funky axe! |
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BJ Burbach
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2024 3:51 pm
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I mostly use short scale guitars for lap or bottleneck and I have one in Dobro G, GBDGBD with a bender. Duesenbergs have the lightest touch and levers placed in a good spot to use. I raise the G to G# and lower the B to get that minor. Love it. (20" scale, 12-54) I also use one for C6, 23" scale, GHS C6 set.
Certanos are OK, not as easy to push if using heavier strings. Better with a roller bridge, Glide is OK, I use it for D on the lap, 23" scale, GHS ELAP set.
That said, I am working harder on slants. I thought that I might put a doozy on a dobro, but I am using G6 lately and that, with better slants, won't need it. plenty to explore here, although Kevin's dobro looks great.
By the way, using a bender on an E6 (C#m7) guitar to get E7 is an great thing, too.
This probably should be over in the Almost a Steel Guitar bin, sorry.
BJ |
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