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Topic: 7 string Gibson EH 150 question |
Marc Weller
From:
Upland, Ca. 91784
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Posted 5 Nov 2003 7:31 pm |
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| I just aquired one of my all time dream instruments, a 7 string '38 EH 150 with a Charlie Christian pickup. It's in beautiful shape and is everything I imagined in the tone department. One question. I just installed a standard C6 string set with my seventh tuned to either A or Bb. I notice that the nut at the seventh string seems to be notched for a lighter string than the sixth. As a result the seventh string is sitting higher than the six. What gauge string did the manufacturer intend for that seventh position and to what tuning would it correspond? |
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Al Terhune
From:
Newcastle, WA
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Posted 5 Nov 2003 8:35 pm
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| Congratulations, Marc -- were you the winner of that beauty on ebay last week? I saw pictures of it (if that was it). In an earlier thread someone mentioned the same on their EH150. I just got a 7-string EH100, and it was grooved for a larger 7th-than-6th string, so I didn't have that problem. I don't know the answer to your question (re what did Gibson intend), but if my EH100 had come to me like that, I would, without a doubt, carefully file that last grove (gasp! -- I know, you lose that originality) to fit a heavier-than-6th-string gauge. I'm sure you'll find some steelers who would find that sacreligious, but, hey, it's your guitar! |
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Marc Weller
From:
Upland, Ca. 91784
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Posted 5 Nov 2003 11:57 pm
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Al,
Yup, that's the one. The ebay pictures barely do it justice. The seller turned out to be Bill Asher of Guitar Traditions. He builds some mighty nice lap steels and I had an opportunity to play one of his instruments while I was picking up the Gibson. Here's the link to his site http://www.guitartraditions.com/ He builds some gorgeous stuff but I'm gonna have to wait awhile to buy one if I don't want to wind up in divorce court. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 6 Nov 2003 4:59 am
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| Marc, you've got a beauty of a steel there. Enjoy. |
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John Kavanagh
From:
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.
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Posted 7 Nov 2003 10:27 am
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The 7th string was probably tuned to an out-of-sequence 7th or 9th. Joaquin Murphy used a high b string on the bottom of his 8-string C6th (b c# e g a c' e' g' - the b is pitched between the third and fourth strings). It's fun to grab a melody note with your thumb!
The notching may not be original, anyway. I've read on this Forum that the 7th string was originally added for an extra low string in C6, so you could have both c and c# on the bottom, but some early owner who used a re-entrant tuning might have filed the slots for his own strings and tuning. If he (or she)used a high 7th string, he'd have filed the slots he used for wound strings but not that one.[This message was edited by John Kavanagh on 07 November 2003 at 10:28 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 7 Nov 2003 11:29 am
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I have a 7 string EH 150 and the 7th string slot is set up for a higher tuned string.
Erv |
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