6 or 8 strings

Mike Ruffin · Post by **Mike Ruffin** » 4 Oct 2004 3:35 pm

Hi ya'll
I have been monitoring the forum for while and recently joined. This a very informative and entertaining site. I have been trying to teach myself how to play dobro for the last year. I have not made much progress. The "sound" I really like is the steel guitar. After I found you guys I decided to take the leap. I purchased a Remington Steelmaster off of ebay and also got a new Peavey Nashville 112. Cindy Cashdollar is my teacher(both DVD's) for now.
My question to ya'll is, should I be starting with an 8 string or 6? Will I progress quicker and have more fun with 6? I am considering getting a 6-string lap to go with the Remington.
Thanks
Love that Sound
Mike

Don Joslin · Post by **Don Joslin** » 4 Oct 2004 4:04 pm

You will find lot's of mixed opinions here. Here's mine: After reading a lot and asking a few questions I went ahead and got the 8 string. It really opens up your options for chords and also tunings. I have been playing a C6 neck for about 5 months but I already want a D8 so I can play with E13 as well. 8 strings might seem a little cumbersome at first but in six months or a year you will be glad to have 8.

Don

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My favorite baseball team is the Minnesota Twins...
-------- ...my second favorite is whoever is playing the Yankees!

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 4 Oct 2004 4:09 pm

Hi Mike - Welcome to the coolest forum in the universe!

So, it was you who got that Remington Steelmaster! An excellent choice my friend, and you got one heck of a deal. I ordered a custom T8 from Herb and it should be arriving soon. Incidentally, Herb's instructional videos are very enlightening and they are an excellent follow-up to Cindy Cashdollar's. Top it off with Jerry Byrd's video and you will have enough to keep busy for a while . .

It's probably a good idea to play both 6 and 8 string and to become familiar with multiple tunings. I don't find 8 string easier than 6 at all - in fact, 8 string just makes more sense to me. If you get a lap steel stand you could set a 6 string up in front of your Steelmaster and have it all right there at your fingertips. Here are some examples of that approach - http://rickalexander.com/BigSteel

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Rick Alexander
57 Fender Stringmaster T8, 57 Fender Champ, 59 Valco D8, 47 National New Yorker . .

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 4 Oct 2004 4:14 pm

There's a place for both 6 and 8 strings, having both won't do any harm. I tend to reach for my 6-strings most of the time, but it feels good to know that I have that 8-string hanging on the wall......

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Don Joslin · Post by **Don Joslin** » 4 Oct 2004 4:32 pm

Yeah Steinar, but that's just for 'dem Norwegian Blues

Oh yeah, I showed my Swedish wife your website and she said to tell you that you're OK for a Norwegian

Don

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My favorite baseball team is the Minnesota Twins...
-------- ...my second favorite is whoever is playing the Yankees!

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 4 Oct 2004 4:42 pm

Your wife is from..... from..... Sweden????

Okay, judging from your own website you're such a multitalented artist that I'll ignore it. For now....

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Travis Bernhardt · Post by **Travis Bernhardt** » 4 Oct 2004 10:34 pm

Just started and already thinking about buying more guitars, eh?

Your eight-string is fine. If you want a six-string, you should get it, but not because one is better for learning on--just because it's good to have more guitars.

-Travis

Mike Ruffin · Post by **Mike Ruffin** » 5 Oct 2004 12:08 pm

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I really dig this forum. Rick, you have an awsome collection. Can you recommend any lap steel stands?
Don, what is your connection to New Mexico? I am right on the border, 43 miles from Las Cruces. My mom lives in Albuqerque.
Have any of you ever heard of a Steel player here in El Paso by the name of Art Maya. He is 66 years old and retired. I am hoping he will come out of retirement enough to give me some lessons.
Thanks again for your input.
Love that Sound
Mike

Don Joslin · Post by **Don Joslin** » 6 Oct 2004 3:46 am

Mike - I was raised in Albuquerque from age 3-17. Then after a two year stretch in the Navy I lived there 'til I was 23 and left on the road. My brother still lives in the South Valley. Also have family in Farmington and Raton. Hope to retire back there someday.

Don

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My favorite baseball team is the Minnesota Twins...
-------- ...my second favorite is whoever is playing the Yankees!

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 6 Oct 2004 4:52 am

Norwegians and Swedes are the illigitimate kids of us Danes.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 6 Oct 2004 5:53 am

A Swede marrying a Norwegian!
We call that a mixed marriage in Minnesota!
UFf-Da!

Erv

Dwayne Martineau · Post by **Dwayne Martineau** » 6 Oct 2004 9:14 am

You made the right decision, I think.

The Cashdollar video is mostly C6, and most of the melodies are played on the middle 6 strings anyway (that's the common 6-string C6 tuning), so if the 8-string learning curve is too steep (I was lost for a couple weeks), just take off the high and low strings off and turn it into a 6-string C6 for a while.

When you find yourself saying "man, I wish I didn't have to move up 3 frets to hit *that* note," it's time to put them back on.

Al Sato · Post by **Al Sato** » 6 Oct 2004 10:51 am

Well, the string spacing is different. The strings on an 8-string are closer together, at least on my guitars. I like the harmonic possibilities of the 8 but I like the string spacing of the 6.

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So many stringed instruments, so little time...

Dwayne Martineau · Post by **Dwayne Martineau** » 7 Oct 2004 10:17 am

Agreed. String spacing tripped me up last night, actually.

I've been playing so much on my 6-string Supro, that when I tried playing my 8-string last night, I kept getting my 2nd finger pick caught on the high string and it was driving me crazy.

But I was in the wrong chair, so the steel was too high and my right hand wasn't really positioned properly, but indeed the string spacing on most 6-string steels is luxurious in comparison.

I don't know how 10- and 12-string pedal steel players can do it.

I would like to find a double 8-string with wider string spacing.

I played on a GuyaTone recently with such wide spacing, you could stick a whole finger between two strings without touching either of them.

R. L. Jones · Post by **R. L. Jones** » 10 Oct 2004 6:23 am

First I want you to know I am predjudist, A dyed in the wool 6 stringer.I really envy all you guys that canplay those 8 and 10 12 strings. A little complicated for an old 6 string player .

Anyway I think I would start out with the 6 stringer and then go up .
just one guys opinion. have a nice day

R. L. Jones

Loni Specter · Post by **Loni Specter** » 10 Oct 2004 9:59 am

Can you all only count in even numbers?
As I began research on the history of professional lap steel players, I discovered that mant preferred 7-strings. That's one of the reasons why I adopted 7 for my custom models. The other reason being that, for a 'regular' guitarist, the transition to one more string is not as scarey. The logic of adding a high note in particular seems logical in open G or D where a lot of Dobro, Rock and Blues players live. Hey, it works for me,
Loni, www.Lapdancerguitars.com