Why not A6???

Lap steels, resonators, multi-neck consoles and acoustic steel guitars

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Dave Mudgett
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Post by Dave Mudgett »

On 6 strings, I haven't really liked A6 (or C6) because there is no bottom end. But the 8 string version, F# A C# E F# A C# E looks really good. You get that F#m7 going on two full octaves. Do most A6 players use 8 strings?
On 6-string, I'd go A C# E F# A C#, which I sometimes find somewhat lacking in the high end. But I want the low root somewhere. So I usually go C6 = C E G A C E. If I use a 6-string at all, which is not often. I definitely prefer 8 strings for 6th tunings, period. F# A C# E F# A C# E is my go-to for A6.

One exception is this National Silvo - viewtopic.php?t=352985 - which I tune nominally to G6 = E G B D E G. I sometimes sharpen the low G for G6/E7, or you could call it E7#9; or also sharp the high G for just a plain E7, or flatten it to F# for E9. Pretty heavy strings, and it gets a bit of electric resonator vibe. I like it for blues.
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Allan Revich
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Post by Allan Revich »

Thanks Dave, it’s more theoretical than practical for me at this time, as I am currently enamoured with 9th tunings. :D

BTW that National looks awesome!
Last edited by Allan Revich on 1 Jun 2022 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Tunings:
G6 – e G B D G B D
D/Dm – f D A D F# A D

https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
Rose Sinclair
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A6

Post by Rose Sinclair »

I started playing with A6 from listening to records of Noel Boggs and Herb Remington. Later on I realized that most of the steel world today uses a C6 tuning. Oh well - LOL! :D
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