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Topic: Opinions?- 8 string C6 |
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 22 May 2010 7:38 am |
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I'm wondering how many prefer the (lo to hi)6,1,3,5,6,1,3,5 and how many prefer the (I think Bobbe Seymour) 4,1,3,5,6,1,3. I think Mike Neer even recommends a 4#,1,3,5,6,1,3.
I think Seymour uses a lot of 7-3-2 and 8-4-3 string grips,,,not sure what chords those give, but they seem to provide a lot of mileage for his playing?
Welcome any thoughts or opinions????? |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 22 May 2010 8:38 am
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Sonny, I prefer the C6 with the E on top, but on my triple neck I also use a C6 with the 5th on top, or sometimes I put a D there. It's easy for me to retune that to an E tuning with a high G# if I need it.
As far as the bass strings are concerned, I use C# for string 6 a lot. When I don't, I don't I sometimes tune the 7th string to Bb. Having at least one of these enables me to get those 13th chords and 7#9. As fas as string 8 goes, I tune that differently for each song/style and it can be anything from the standard G all the way down to D. Just depends what I need. If I couldn't have that kind of flexibility with the bass strings (which I personally love and need), I'd probably just add the 5th on top.
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Lynn Oliver
From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 22 May 2010 8:39 am
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You are missing a string on the last two examples.
I started with the 6 1 3 5 6 1 3 5 because that's what Cindy Cashdollar teaches on her DVD's. The downside is that top note sounds thin, but you can retune to Don Helms E6 with the same strings.
John Ely uses C13th: 1 b7 1 3 5 6 1 3, and I think some of the pedal guys like Bobbe Seymour use 4 6 1 3 5 13 1 3 because it is similar to pedal steel C6. |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 22 May 2010 1:08 pm
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I use ACEGACEG (lo to hi), and while I use the high G a lot, I haven't found any use for the low A (I think I haven't even picked it a single time in the last 6 months  ) - I think even if I had to confine myself to 6-string C6, I'd rather go for keeping the high G and losing the low A and C rather than using the common CEGACE... |
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Jon Nygren
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 22 May 2010 4:07 pm
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One nice thing about having the 5th on top is you can get that diminished chord and 7th chord on top with a pretty easy slant...and I like how it sounds up high like that, opposed to doing it down lower on the tuning with the 3rd on top.
Just depends on what you want/need I guess, there are advantages and drawbacks for both.. |
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Benjamin Franz
From:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 22 May 2010 4:33 pm
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I use the high G. The slightly extended high register range of G on top to me is more useful than more range in the low register. I also keep strings 8 and 7 permanently as Bb and C#:
so from low to hi,
b7 #1 3 5 6 1 3 5.
This gives you a four string diminished chord on the bottom, which is extremely useful in many situations. |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 22 May 2010 9:54 pm
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One advantage to the "low" C6 tuning with the E on top (5-6-1-3-5-6-1-3) is that you can quickly retune it to A6 (6-1-3-5-6-1-3-5). For me another factor is that my other 8 string is tuned to E13(high) so I already have access to the higher notes (like the high 3rd- G#); C6(low) gives me access to low 5th(G).
Steve Ahola
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 23 May 2010 7:33 am
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I've been using the Junior Brown C13 and I just don't think I could get by without both the high G and the low Bb. It's the most versatile compromise for old-fashioned Western Swing and more standard jazz swing as well as hillbilly boogie/rockabilly/blues stuff. I have experimented with the C# tuning on string 7 and that's a beaut. In fact for some jazz/swing tunes the low Bb in conjunction with the C# is great for lots of diminished and "fat" chord combinations with no slants.
Also, as mentioned, the high-G C6 tunes easily to the E13 and that's my choice for more honky-tonk country shuffle stuff and "pedal" style playing.
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John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 23 May 2010 3:11 pm
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| John Allison wrote: |
| I've been using the Junior Brown C13 and I just don't think I could get by without both the high G and the low Bb. |
Thanks for the tip! I just looked it up and saw that the Junior Brown tuning was like the C6(low) tuning [A low to G high] but with the low A tuned up to Bb. And thanks for your tip about tuning the low C up to C#.
Junior is so outstanding on lap steel but if you look on YouTube most of the videos are of him playing Jimi Hendrix songs. I wish that there were more of his country and blues songs up there... *sigh*
Steve Ahola
EDIT On my 8 stringer tuned to C6(low) A is the 7th string and I tried raising that to Bb. Wow! It adds some interesting twists to plain old C6. I guess you could call it C13th now- I think calling it C6/7 would convey more information, with there being a high 6th and a low b7th. But nobody asked me when they decided on names for these tunings. 
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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