Six-string or seven-string dobro?

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

I am looking for a dobro, and need some advice. I would like to play bluegrass and country, and maybe a bit of swing/jazz.

What would you do?

1. Get a six-string dobro, tune it to G, and see about getting an eight-string later.

2. Get a seven-string, tune it to high G tuning and a low E (or something else), and practice until I am ready for a new tuning.

Either way, it will possibly be a Melobro, so the availability of the seven-string will not be a major problem.

I am already familiar with the high G tuning, so that is kind of my starting point.

Sincerely, Lincoln Goertzen

Del Rangel · From: Clayton, NC

I'm sure Ted can set you straight on all this, but last time I spoke with him he was building melobros that you could set up as a 7 string or an 8 string. Puts 8 tuners up top and then its a matter of switching the nut and saddle out--and doing up your strings. All in all a real slick option to go either way.

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks, Del.

One more question: Might a seventh string in a bluegrass tuning get in my way sometimes?

Lincoln

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Lincoln, you've got me thinkin', and here's my take on this;
Bluegrass and swing can be played equally well on 6 strings using the G tuning, G B D G B D. Twenty years a go I took Dobro lessons (in NYC) from a fellow whose main instrument was the trumpet. He also played guitar and Dobro. He was in an accoustic/electric swing group "The Central Park Sheiks." He played the most amazing swing Dobro that I've heard to this day. Standards like "Honey Suckle Rose", "Stomping at the Savoy", Cherokee", Rose Room", you get the idea. There was nothing bluegrass or country in his playing, yet he could play those styles also. Certainly his trumpet expertise translated right into the Dobro. He didn't need 7 or 8 strings to swing.

Mike Auldridge is the consumate Dobroist IMO. He has more feeling and can say more in three notes than most can say in 30. In the 70's & 80's he was THE bluegrass player. When he came out with the "Eight String Swing", it was an innovative and great album. This was before he took up pedal steel and his playing was a bluegrass style and feel even though he did swing tunes on an 8 string Dobro.

This is an individual thing and there are variables. In a recent thread it was suggested to tune to a G6. E B D G B D, where the E was a lighter gauge "out of order" string. It would be out of the way, yet be there by your thumb when needed.

A 7 string Dobro would be nice to have in case you want to go into other directions at some point. You can also remove the 7th string if it gets in your way.

These decissions are never easy because there is no "one right" answer. I hope that I did more to help you than confuse you.

Ric Nelson · From: Silver Spring, Maryland

I've been playing an E-tuned 7-string for longer than I wish to admit. For Bluegrass, a 6-string in G tuning seems to be the standard. But different tunings on a 6-string can open a whole new world to you, escpecially if you wish to develop your own sytle. Mike A. plays with a C6th once in a while. Try it, you'll like it.

With a 7-string tuned in G, the "extra string" will be the first string (G). It won't be long before you learn just how to use it.

It seems some G-tuned Bluegrass dobro players like to play "open" and since so many of those songs at jams seem to be played in G, I guess that's why. To me, it sounds like the person is playing a b*njo.

With an E tuning, it will be the 6th string (G#). I feel E tuning is better for what I do (Country plus some Bluegrass, Blues and Pop)

Shot Jackson played an E-tuned, 6 or 7 string, when backing Donna Darlene, Johnnie & Jack, Melba Montgomery, Louven Brothers, Osborne Brothers, Roy Clark, Roy Acuff, Stonewall Jackson, and on his own sessons as well.

(The early Johnnie & Jack, pre 1952 or so, was with Ray Atkins and a G-tuned 6-string. Shot played the dobro for Roy on only one session and otherwise played the steel for him on stage)

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I'm not a bluegrass player but I play an 8 string dobro and really love it. I use a 6th tuning on it (presently A6th).

Don McClellan · From: California/Thailand

Erv, what is the 8 string tuning you use?

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Don, as you're waiting to hear from Erv, I also like the A6 tunung for 8 string. From low to high;
F# A C# E F# A C# E.

You can do hammer - ons and pull - offs on strings 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, & 7. Recently I've been tuning the low F# up to G for a dom 7 on the bottom four strings. It's a versatile tuning that I like very much.

Marc Weller · From: Upland, Ca. 91784

I purchased a mid eighties OMI 8 string a few months ago. A pretty mediocre instrument until I had Paul Beard do his upgrade service. Now it sounds wonderful and is a joy to play. I've got it tuned to G6 low to high EGBDEGBD. Since I'm already using C6 with a high G on my eight string steels it is very easy to adjust to this tuning. The nice thing about 8 strings is that the root of your minor chord is on your bass string and if you are also a spanish guitar player, it is very convenient having that string be an "E".

MW

Tom Keller · From: Greeneville, TN, USA

In my humble opinion the extended string models with 6th tunings just dont cut it in bluegrass. The 6th tuning seems to ring out sympathetically and this is just to happy a sound for bluegrass. The ideal situation is to have two istruments a 6 banger for the grass and an extended string model for those swinging, hawaiian kind of moments. As someone pointed out..... people like Stacy Phillips can play anything they want on a 6 string anyway. Maybe practice is the answer?

mikey · From: New Jersey

I'd get a 7 and tune E7...Shot Jackson played Bluegrass on his...and having that root on top + the 7th note...as long as you can forward slant well you've got it all covered...just an opinion...
Mike

Del Rangel · From: Clayton, NC

IMVHO Lincoln, go for the melobro--as mikey is saying, 7 can be nice for bluegrass and is great for hawaiian style but if you should go through a music fit of Western Swing and jazz improv you'll want to have that extra string. My deflated .02 anyway.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Dear Don:
I presently have an A6th tuning on my Dobro. It's like Herb Remington used. I have an E on the first string as I was having a lot of string breakage with anything higher.
I've also used a C6th tuning on it. Also, with an E for the 1st string.

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

IMNSVHO, I agree with Mikey on 7 strings, I agree with Del on the Melobro, and Erv's Remington A6 is the same one that I spelled out above. Have fun deciding now

Lincoln Goertzen · From: Taylor, British Columbia, Canada

Oh, yes, I'm having a fantastic time deciding. I think I am going to go for the 7/8 string melobro.

I had a strange and wonderful idea for an 8-string tuning-

1.G (same as high G on a b@njo)
2.D
3.B
4.G
5.D
6.B
7.G
8.E or F (This note would be between strings 5 and 6. That way I could have a sixth or minor seventh tuning.)

What do you all think? I think it's worth a try. If I don't like it, I will just remove one or two strings.

Lincoln
PS. Thank you all for your ideas.

nick allen · From: France

That's basically the tuning I use (on an 8-string lap steel) except that I put the E in sequence, as the 5th string, and the lower 3 are moved down one. So you have the same interval layout as Herb R's A6 on the bottom 7 strings, plus the tonic on top so you can play the top 4 strings just like an open E.
Nick

John Kavanagh · From: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.

Speaking as another comparative newcomer to steel, I think it's good to start with a tuning that has points in common with ones you're really comfortable with. If you like open E, the high G tuning will feel like home.

I'm most at home in open G and standard guitar tuning, so - after trying a stack of others - I keep my acoustic 8-string and one neck of my D8 in this G6: GBdegbd'e'. The top 4 combine open G and standard tuning, so I always know where I am, and the 5-6 on top seems to work nicely for a lot of melodic things. It's not too bad to avoid the e strings for dobro-type playing, though if I did a lot of that I might move the middle e to the outside, as you suggest.

Sometimes I tune the low G to an E, making it more of an E tuning, and when I do that sometimes I tune the g string up to g# for an E7. You could also then retune the higher d to c# for a nice E13 (EBdeg#bc#e').

Ziggie · From: Freeland, Mi. USA

I like E13. DEG#BC#E It's very versatile. Try it.

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