The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm in the process of building basslap guitar 12 string. I'm planing on having 4 bass strings and then 8 regular strings above that.

I'm looking at open g,d and c6 for the tunings. I have found information on the string gauges for the lap side but do not know the bass progression from the lowest lap string to the highest bass string and then the next three after that.

So if anyone could enlighten me of what strings and what tuning for the strings that would be great.

The scale of the lap side is 30.5 like a baritone wessenborn. So it would be ok for the bass to be either short or long scale since I will have plenty of realestate to work with since I'm starting with a 2x10x48 piece of wood.
thanks

Phill Martin Said

YOU CAN TUNE A GUITAR BUT YOUR CAN'T TUNA FISH!

YES I CAN



MY TUBE AMP SITE
http://www.geocities.com/insp/SUPRO6420.html

I have several guitars with bass necks. here's 2 of them:



The 8-string neck, bottom to top is, .130 - C, .105 - C, .070 - C, .050 - G, .030 - C, .025 - D, .020 - E, .018 - G. There's quite a bit of flexibility to the tunings available on bass strings. I can re-tune the bottom strings down to A, if need be and the top D and E, which are there if I need to do something melodic, can be re-tuned to C's or C,D, for power chords.

The 6-string has a .165 for the bottom strings, but I've had a hard time finding that size, as of late. Both of these guitars have pickups on both ends, because they get used for "effects" more often than not. And both necks are 34" scale.

Jim is that a eight or twelve stringer you got there, what do ya got her tuna to? That quote is off a old Hot Tuna Album that originally said you can tuna a piano but you can't tuna fish!!
Into Supros? Got an old brown and white 5 watter that kicks butt three tuber 6sl7 6v6 and 5y3, has a nice growl to her.

Chas when you say they are for effects what do you mean by that? I was looking to have the four bass strings for added depth for playing blues. Thanks for the information on the strings this will help me in sending Rick A dimensions for the pickup on the 12 stringer....Sure that would help to explaine the reference to effects. Do you play it
much anymore? Who were you getting the extra heavy strings from? I've only been able to find up to a .130 on the heavy side.

I ended up using one of the "strings on line" companies that offered bass strings from a number of different mfgs. and I looked at all the various packages (I couldn't get all the ones I wanted from one package) and ordered a few of each that had the sizes I was looking for.

I use the bass neck on a regular basis. I just played on a score where the cue was in D- and I simply played a "melodic" phrase. Then I bowed the strings with glass, which also works well on the regular neck. It makes a sound that you don't know what it is and that has a lot of appeal.

The bass neck is really good for power chords, I have 2 1/2 octaves, if you ever need to do that sort of thing.

The original intention, for the bass neck, was done on a guitar that got named Guitarzilla, that had two 10-string necks and a 5-string bass neck.

I made it back around 1990 and it was for playing on film soundtracks. I could "roll the bar" over a fret and send that into my Eventides to make a huge bottom sound.

By having a pup on both ends, with a balance knob, I could select which side of the bar I wanted to hear, or both. When "rolling" over frets 5, 7 and 9, in particular, each side of the bar would be in tune and it was an even bigger sound. Then, if I just rolled slowly down, one side of the bar would go up and the other would go down, to create a sh*t-storm.

Phill if you noticed I had a rough night that was a 24 hour trip I was using the TUNA fish to hold my head up.
October 22,2007 70 degrees out in the Gulf Strean that night 110 miles off New Jersey Tee shirt fishing.

I played Sousaphone in the high school band back in 1964

I still play it now looking for a picture

That was a FREET LESS upright Tuna Bass

Bass is a funny word

Tou can play a BASS
You can catch a Bass and eat it

Way cool Jim, like to see ya from the 60's in your band outfit.

May be we could start a thread of show us your high school pictures. I of course would be exempt since I drooped out in the tenth grade and eventually got my GED three months before my class graduated.

Now if you go back to grade school then I could dig up a cute little guy wearing his home made covered wagon print shirt.

I know that most of the guys and gals on this forum got one of those home made shirts or blouses from a aunt or grandmother back in the day.

Yes you can catch Bass and eat it! Tasted Good!


White Sea Bass, Acme Rock, Baja California, Mexico, 250 miles south of San Diego. Jackpot fish.




Dad's 8 lb 4 oz Calico Bass, catch and release, Cedros Island Baja Mexico, another 50 miles down. I beat him by 2 oz to win the jackpot this trip. Yes.........we split it.

Bass / Bass

Lead / Lead

You can have a Lead Guitar player
And a Lead sinker for fishing

Who made up this language?

Can anybody read Arabic numbers?

"Who made up this language?"
I KNOW IT WAS NOT THE HOBBITS!!! THEY ARE MUCH TO SENSIBLE FOR THIS NONSENCE!