C6th First String - G or D?

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 26 May 2003 6:24 am

I beg to differ. I have a G on top with a raise to G# on the fifth pedal, and this with the RKL gives a nice useful major triad. The seventh pedal gives you a rich 6th chord and a lot of pocket possibilities. Scales are meant to go UP as you cross the neck, and a descending note on top is a leftover artifice from E9th wierdism and a sure invitation to demonism, hairy palms and all other sort of mischief.

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 26 May 2003 7:42 am

David-One way to have both, and Reece Anderson does on his Bb6 -maj7 th tuning. Is to Keep the G up there and LOWER the 2nd string E to D.! That is a nice very useful pull. Then if you lower the C to B as usually on another knee lever, you have the maj7th tht goes along with P 5 and p6., Thne you don't have to put both feet down to get P 7.
And as you say, you still keep the notes in progressive up order.
I used to do that a lot with my A6,C6 or Bb6th tunings. I got the idea from Reece in 1968.
Now that I play E6, It is too long a pull to go from G# to F# and I don't have the 5th B on top, like the G is on C6. So therefore, I place the F# on the 1st string and G# on 2nd string. And I get Get that chord with the E to F lever 3 frets up, ( I also use the E to F lever for me Boowah 8th pedals) same as mentioned on C6 to Raise the C to C# and go up three frets.
I prefer E6 as it is same bar postions as E9, and a brighter sound than C6....al

[This message was edited by Al Marcus on 26 May 2003 at 08:43 AM.]

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 26 May 2003 8:26 am

David

I'm sure you're right! I've only played C6 for three years after thirty years on E9 - and the 'D' on top of my back neck was a lifesaver for me, giving me a feeling of familiarity as I used the top string for passing notes.

Now I've found my way around the 'C' neck a little, I can't help wondering how you guys with that 'G' ever managed

! Raising the 3rd on my LKR gives me even more parity with my 'Day' E9 set-up, as it almost parallels my E-F raise.

While my rudimentary fumblings on the back neck barely qualify me to even offer an opinion, I will say that I think the 'three frets up/P5/raise 3rd' has a warmer and thicker timbre than the same chord at 'zero' on the old 'G' tuning - in my view that alone is a major advantage. When I factor in the ease with which passing notes can be accessed with the 'D' on top, it seems (to me, at least) to be a step forward...

------------------
Roger Rettig
[This message was edited by Roger Rettig on 26 May 2003 at 09:28 AM.]

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 26 May 2003 11:13 am

D on top.

It just feels natural for me..

Playing scales across the neck can be extended very naturaly as well as ascending scales taken from different root positions.

I almost feel like a Guitar player !

tp[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 27 May 2003 at 08:14 AM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 26 May 2003 12:19 pm

Al You have some good logic there too. I see a bit of both camps. I am not locked into either.
I have the half step raise on s1 on the Bowah, which works with the P6, I can see where that is coming from.

What I noticed the other day was, musically I was running short of finishing a musical idea several times. When I tried G it was there. Something about the starting point for the idea just wasn't working lower, and higher it came up short. So I looked up this old thread again.

I have also bee analysing the neck and the pedals for the 10 string, while following the C6 modal thread in No Peddlers for 6 string, and did some charts which I have on a web site.
http://home.fr.inter.net/animatic/c6_tuning_psg_10_strings.htm

I am sure there are few mistakes and I have't looked at the mode changes with pedals.
But this is getting things clearer for me.
I haven't combined pedals yet for a chart, but I will.
I have not looked at alternate roots. Just from C. But expect to.

Ken Williams · Post by **Ken Williams** » 28 May 2003 8:03 pm

I put the D on top about 10 years. Never played much C6 till then because the things I wanted to do seemed immpossible without lightning fast bar movement. I'm speaking of kinda mid to high range single note scale type licks. When I put the D on top everything just seemed to fall into place. Different players have different approaches, but the D on top just seemed to work better for me.

Ken
http://home.ipa.net/~kenwill

Bobby Snell · Post by **Bobby Snell** » 29 May 2003 5:16 am

G on top.

Pros:
Western swing and old-timey flavors come easier to me, whereas the D seems to be in the way.

Have that octave grip to go along with the C's, A's, E's.

Using p6 and rocking on and off p7, there's a lot of good rocking licks. (I seem to gravitate to the C neck for most blues/rock material.)

P5 raises to G# (.012 string), which in combination with RKR C-B gives a nice inversion. Sliding up a fret from the I position with that gives the IV. Using the p5 as needed will give major/minor changes up the neck.

I like having a difference from the E neck chromatic strings tuning. Yet, if I break the third string on the E neck, the G on top gives some country options.

(Listening to Herby Wallace, G on top, as I type.)

Wayne Cox · Post by **Wayne Cox** » 29 May 2003 11:33 am

Well, there is at least one more thing to be said about the D on top...have any of you tried swapping places with the D and E? In other words,instead of D E C A etc.,try E D C A etc. Like everything else, it has advantages and disadvantages. Some scales become easier,while some chords become cluttered,IMHO. By the way,it is my understanding that Johnny (COX) has his C6 set up with both a G and a D. But in his own words,"That's today." When all is said and done,I have to go with B.E. on this one.
~~W.C.~~[This message was edited by Wayne Cox on 29 May 2003 at 12:39 PM.]

Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 29 May 2003 3:47 pm

I tune my first string A 12gage. What A. ?Yes and the 2nd. string E that is the 5th. note of the cord. But that is a different story. I tune to A6th. Why ? like Burger King have it your way

Joe.

Tony Smart · Post by **Tony Smart** » 30 May 2003 2:12 pm

I keep the G and lower the E to D on a knee lever - a good compromise.
Regards Tony

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 30 May 2003 2:26 pm

I have both on my D-12's.

My C6 starts F-D-G-E-C-A...

Chris Scruggs · Post by **Chris Scruggs** » 8 Jun 2003 10:33 pm

Neither D or G.

E is the definite answer.

And don't let ANYBODY EVER tell you anything else

!