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Topic: Weissenborn tuning for Hawaiian Music |
Alan Hamley
From:
Queensland, Australia
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 1:34 am |
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Hi there to you all,
I was wondering what tunings you weissenborn players out there use to get the Hawaiian sound. I am looking for someting that is not going to pull the bridge off the instrument. A tuning that will accomidate say the song Jamacian Farewell.
Thank you in advance
Cheers
Alan |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 4:23 am
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Hi Alan, I don't play a Weiss, but I do have a National Tricone for that music. Either way, I think the low bass G tuning is probably the "kindest" tuning for an acoustic guitar. It is quite appropriate for most Hawaiian music up until about 1930. There is a dramatic sort-of minor 7th on the bottom four strings if you go up three frets from the straight-bar major.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother.
Last edited by David Matzenik on 12 Apr 2012 4:33 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 4:30 am
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It is simply a matter of getting the right gauge strings once you know the tuning you want to use.
On acoustic instruments, I like C#min7 and high bass A, just like the old-time Hawaiian players. These tunings really sing.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 7:08 am
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I agree with Mike.
I use both of the tunings he mentioned.
On my Weiss, I have an A, high bass.
I bought some special strings for mine that put less tension on the guitar as they are built rather light. |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 10:40 am
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Hi Erv, i use open D bottom top D A D Fsharp A D, often I tune2nd string up to B, you can hear many tunes in this tuning here
http://kevinbrown1.bandcamp.com/album/home-and-dry
I will shortly have some help on u tube regarding this tuning |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2012 10:44 am
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Kevin,
Some nice tracks there!  |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 13 Apr 2012 12:53 am
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I think that the W-style hollow neck acoustics are great for the higher tunings that usually don't work very well on a resonator. I would make up a custom set starting with the Joe Ely chart, and actually going a little bit lighter. You can experiment with the tension by lowering the tuning one half-step at a time until you get the tone you are looking for. Either leave it detuned like that or figure out what gauges you'd need for that tension for your desired tuning.
I tuned one of my GeorgeBoards Acoustic Hawaiians to C6th and another to E9th using properly gauged Martin Marquis strings taken from several different sets. I thought that sounded good but I decided to lower both of them a whole step and I think they sound much better now. (I posted the string gauges I used on an earlier thread here which I will look up later.)
Steve Ahola
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Alan Hamley
From:
Queensland, Australia
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Posted 13 Apr 2012 1:53 am
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Thanks everyone for your input. I like Kevin Brown's tuning very much. The tunes are first class too mate!
As some of you may know I build weissenborn copies. Here is my fifth weissenborn copy just finished.
I have been toying with the idea of building a Kona with a shorter 23 1/2 inch scale and select strings to suit a C#m7 high A bass tuning. How do oyu all think that will sound?
Cheers
Alan |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 13 Apr 2012 3:20 am
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| Alan Hamley wrote: |
Thanks everyone for your input. I like Kevin Brown's tuning very much. The tunes are first class too mate!
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Kevin's tuning would be the C#mi7 tuning down a whole step, so it is Bmi7.
Agreed on the tunes, too!
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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