The Steel Guitar Forum

Broke a string in the middle of "Crazy Arms" the other night. After a moments panic, I remembered I had another neck with 10 intact strings!! Barely missed a beat. I use both necks equally at a typical gig, but I have my E9 songs and my C6 songs and if I need a 6th feel on a E9 song I normally just leave my A pedal down. Never occurred to me that whichever neck I'm using, the other is a convenient spare !!!

Hey Marc, I couldn't agree with you more. The C6 neck scares me just as bad as the E9!

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

edited to start a new thread.

Terry

Terry,
I could be wrong, but doesn't lowering the E's make it a B6 tuning, so wouldn't you have a G6 at fret 8? I think this is the theory behing the universal tuning is it not? Not sure about the II, IV & V though. In an emergency, I would just grab the knee lever and move up and down the neck to the appropriate fret for the chord and start playing like it was a non-pedal. But I'm far from knowing much about it.

another good use of the C6 neck, as illustrated to me by peter grant, is a place to put your plate of food from the free buffet while burning on the E9 neck...

Terry,
I could be wrong, but doesn't lowering the E's make it a B6 tuning, so wouldn't you have a G6 at fret 8? I think this is the theory behing the universal tuning is it not

Roger I don't know, but I know somebody on the forum can tell us.

Terry

chris ivey wrote:another good use of the C6 neck, as illustrated to me by peter grant, is a place to put your plate of food from the free buffet while burning on the E9 neck...

Actually, That's what the E9th is for.

chris ivey wrote:another good use of the C6 neck, as illustrated to me by peter grant, is a place to put your plate of food from the free buffet while burning on the E9 neck...

Yes this is true....except for the 9th string (D),which is the minor 3rd in the key of B. (you can lower it 1/2 step which gives a nice add 9 interval).

....but a broken E9th string is going to impede top neck playing whether your playing straight E9th or B6........so jumping down to the C neck, is not only a remedy, but a great oppourtunity to play C6th.

While getting "C6th" sounds on the E9th neck is often discussed, no one ever seems to talk about getting E9th sounds on the C6th neck, which seems much less easy to me. Seems a switch to C6th in the middle of a country song because of a broken string would virtually require a big change of playing style.

(For the record, though I've had a doubleneck since 1984, in spite of sporadic attempts I've never warmed to the C6th neck--it's just an armrest for me.)

E9 sounds on the C6 neck? Listen to PF on George Strait's "NOBODY IN HIS RIGHT MIND", sound like what you would play on E9 but he plays it on the C6. If you tune the first string to D, play off the 5th string G as the root and play strings 1,4 & 5 then press peadl 7 and you have a E9 pedal A sound. That's only one but there's more we just need to hunt for them.
Tony

One way to remember certain chords or keys on the C6 neck. When you are a E9 player. Open with D# lever in is B6 as we all know. That B is the fifth of the scale on E9, so if you know your fifths, you will know that 8th fret is C..C-E-G 1st 3rd 5th, so the 5th is G so with your D# lever in, you are in G. On the 5th fret A-C#-E, you are in E with that lever in.

An easy way for an E9 player to know where he is at, is to change the C6 to E6, Now all his chords and frets are the same as E9, in fact he can use E9 strings, and add a guitar E for the bottom.

The amazing thing is by tuning 2 whole tones up, the sound is brighter like E9. AND just change the open strings to E6 and ALL the C6 pedals will work with NO changing the setup. I think that is a Win,Win Situation. here is the open string setup and see how close it is to E9. Top down.

[tab]
F#-D#-G#-E-B-G#-F#-E-D-B...E9

F#-G#-E-C#-B-G#-E-C#-A-E...E6
9--3--1-6--5-3--1--6-4-1
D--E--C-A--G-E--C-A--F-C...C6
[tab\]

(b0b-how do I get these all to line up right??)
Now which notes look more familiar to you.
You can still play all the C6 tab, etc,The pedal pulls can all stay the same ...al.:):)

[tab]
F#-D#-G#-E-B-G#-F#-E-D-B...E9

F#-G#-E-C#-B-G#-E-C#-A-E...E6
9--3--1-6--5-3--1--6-4-1
D--E--C-A--G-E--C-A--F-C...C6
[/tab]

You gotta put a [/tab] at the end there, not [tab/].

Colin-Thanks, I had the slash the wrong way. Been a long time since I did that....As lone as I am here I want forum players that don't like C6 because it is strange to them, after playing E9th,and they are right, to really take a look at E6 instead. The main piint I want to emphasize is , Just changing the strings is all you have to do, and E9 strings will work. The only string on E9 set you dont use on E6 tuning is the 7th string. And you Add one string the guitar E for the 10th string, the root.
No need to get under the guitar, all the C6 pedals and knee levers will work on the E6 setup same as they would on C6. If you find you want to go back to C6 for some reason, just put the C6 strings back on and that is it.But you can play all the C6 tab, lessons, etc, on the E6 tuning. A lot of players use it, some change a note or two and call it E13th...al.:)

If you're paranoid about breaking strings what about tuning both necks to E9, then when a string breaks you just jump to the other neck.

A band member once commented that I played so little C6 on this particular gig that he started referring to it as the Electric Cheese Slicer.

SS

Sometimes it's better to play around a broken string,depending on the song and which string,and sometimes it's fun to just switch necks. I really enjoy both tunings and would be lost without either one. I guess it comes from starting out without pedals. Without pedals I prefer the C6th.

I decided to go out and play 'live' way before I should have - kept getting lost.

I tuned the c6th neck so that all the strings were part of the e major chord, changed the copedant so the far right pedal gave me a minor... if I ever just got lost in a song (you know, the kind of lost where EVERYTHING you try is way out of key) I could just switch necks and 'get by' until a pause.

Came in handy when the bandleader would just come up with something 'off the cuff' from his personal repertoire and say, "Okay, It's G, B#m, F, then D-D#. The chorus is real simple. OK, ready?"


Now I have an S-10 so I hafta get better...


Landon

Like Rodger,I started without pedals so the C6 neck was initially more comfortable. I still have to remind myself to use pedals once in a while. The E9 neck is particularly good for slicing cheese due to the string tension, but either neck is suitable for hard boiled eggs.

Like Rodger,I started without pedals so the C6 neck was initially more comfortable. I still have to remind myself to use pedals once in a while. The E9 neck is particularly good for slicing cheese due to the string tension, but either neck is suitable for hard boiled eggs.

At one club I play at,the back neck could be used as a miniture football field for roaches and crickets.