Who has gone back to 10 Stg & why??

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 2 Nov 2005 8:18 pm

I have spent the last month or so with a U-14 7+5,
and I am getting more and more at home on it.

Of course at 1st it was like playing on the Serrengheti plains: BIG.
But you begin to adapt.

I had the same feeling when I 1st started playing my 28 fret 6 string bass,
now I can't live without the extra strings and range.

Th U-14 may likely end up a Bb6 machine, when I get some more parts,
but I am enjoying the normal Uni concept a lot.
I only had a few years of D-10 to break with, after decades of multiple laptseel tunings.

I am keeping my D-10, but will play the 14 a lot more in the near future.
I don't see having one, excluding the other...

I plan on redoing the Bud since It got VERY busy underneith, so the 14 will be my main axe for awhile, and I am happy with that.
I may redo the Bud with the Eb lever moved to make it match the uni more. Maybe not.

Then again I am not trying to do standard tunes,
or make a Uni be an E9 neck exactly as my Bud's is.

I think there is the crux of the biscuit!
The main issues I see for those going back is that thay can't make it be the classic E9 or classic C6 neck.

I just see it as a new tuning, and what it is,
not what I wish it to be.

Mike Johnstone said it well.

The question each player must ask is - what tuning and combination of changes allows you to play what you want to play.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 02 November 2005 at 08:24 PM.]

Al Carmichael · Post by **Al Carmichael** » 3 Nov 2005 10:03 pm

When I started to learn steel, it was on borrowed instruments that were S-10. Practically speaking, after trying to lift a D-10 and practically ruining my back, I decided against the D-10. When I was offered a Sho-Bud 12 Universal, the guy was nice enough to let me try it for a few months. I eventually bought it.

My thinking was that the E9 side of the 12 was logically laid out. I could find a way to play anything if I looked for it. Plus, it had the B6 capability. So, I dove into my first real steel, which was a 12 universal. After playing it for a number of years, I'd be scared to make the switch.

After all this time, I think I'd be ruined if I went back to the 10 string E9. All the knees are in different places. Plus, I like those low grips too.

Still, you never know. A buddy of mine has a nice S-10 Emmons, and if he ever wants to sell it, I'd be tempted to try the S-10 again!

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 4 Nov 2005 12:21 am

Al nothing says yoiu can have your S-10 set up to match your U-12 iun many main aspects.

I just thought of two different types of Eb ock.

a) lock it and when you push the lever the lock lets go and you are in E9 mode again.
Ok that gets over Pete's Doom scenario.

If it has a downward motion set mechanism just outside the body, then you can re-set it with the picking hand while playing easier.

b) a ratchet type lock.
flip a switch and when you push the lever it locks in,
push it again and it's free,
Repeat as neccesary.

Or flip the switch back and it is a regular E to Eb lever.

And I suppose nothing says you can't have all three types on the same guitar.
Lock once, lock and release and alternate locking releasing.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 04 November 2005 at 12:25 AM.]

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 4 Nov 2005 1:23 pm

Thanks, John Mcg. Yours is the only one ...