C6 for looks?

[Niels Andrews]

I wonder how many people have a D-10 and never touch the C6 neck? They don't know what they are missing. Reece Anderson convinced me to get a Super Slide 12 string lap steel and that opened an entire new World to me. It is a little akward playing the C6 and then going to my Uni with the B6, but in time it will come. Not using C6 if it is available is like driving a V8 with 6 spark plug wires disconnected. All show no go! One would be better off with a little E9 S-10, a lot simpler and lighter for sure. Did I mention I love "Reece's C6 12 string tuning".

[Paul King]

I played a Gospel singing one evening and the emcee made the comment that I played the back neck instead of using it for an armrest. To me the C6th is more complicated and I do not play it as much as the E9th. Personally, I would never ask another steel player if it was for show and I sure do not believe that is your intention. I remember a drummer who used two kick drums, one did not even have a pedal hooked up. Said he did not feel comfortable without it.

[Scott Duckworth]

I am planning on learning to be fluent on the C6 neck. I played 6 string C6 lap before getting the D-10 I have now.

[Jack Stoner]

My C6th neck gets a lot of playing time. Not as much as the E9th but it gets its share.

[Pete Burak]

...It is a little akward playing the C6 and then going to my Uni with the B6...

fwiw, Some B6th Uni players tune their non-pedal 6th tuning axe to B6th also.
Some D10 players tune their 6th neck to B6th instead of C6th, also.

[Dale Rottacker]

I've got it, and I guess it's just for show as I've never gotten comfortable enough or knowledgeable enough with the tuning to get comfortable...E9th for the most part when I started playing seemed to make more sense to me...I love the big chords and the tonal color that the C6th provides, but for whatever reason or excuse, I've never made the transition.

I always say that if I had only one neck that I could really master, C6th is the one I would pick...When I got my first Double Neck, the plan was to learn them both...So every time I think about getting a Single 12 extended E9th, instead of the D-10, the thought keeps coming back, "but someday, I really want to learn C6th"...so I've had a little trouble pulling the trigger on abandoning the D-10 for a S-10/12...oh if only I could afford to have 2 guitars.

[Niels Andrews]

Hello Dale,
No worry you are not abandoning anything. Just lay your bar on the first fret and you are in C6 land. It is rich with tonality. Don't worry about the pedals you will have fun just with the grips and additional notes.

[chris ivey]

from even before i played steel, double necks were just the coolest thing to me. i knew i would never be happy being half a steel player. after my first two single necks in the first three years i finally got a double neck. the 6th neck was intimidating, but after finding some simple basics i gradually learned more and it gave me a sense of pride. i'm still not a real accomplished 6th player but i play it alot on gigs. i would love to have another lifetime for developing my chord knowledge. my laziness has pretty much peaked out this lifetime.

but i always felt you should have both necks or look like a beginner. ...even if it's not true.

[Howard Steinberg]

I think that E9 is simply a more logical tuning, for guitar players, to start off with. E is open and B is on the seventh fret. Something that was helpful to me, when playing simple music, on C6, is to mentally transpose 2 steps up so that if a tune is in E I'm thinking in Ab. I wish that I had the time to put into C6 that It would take to become really fluent. I no longer take a D10 on gigs but enjoy playing C6 at home. Mike Archer has a DVD that is good for picking up some things on C6, once you've started playing the tuning.

[Paul Sutherland]

I find that the music the band is playing dictates whether the C6th neck gets used or not. With the country swing band I might play half the tunes on the C6 neck, whereas with a band playing modern or classic country I might only play that back neck once or twice a set, or not at all.

I almost never practice C6th. I give myself pep-talks on the matter, but when I sit down to practice I'm drawn to E9.

[Rick Schmidt]

I'd be willing to bet that all the great double neck players who are equally fluent on both tunings find that each tuning conceptually opens up the other one for new ideas. That's what it's like for me at least. If I can find any good ideas on C6 at all, in some way it's because of E9, and visa versa.

I'm pretty much a 50-50 player when I practice at home, and hardly ever think in terms of country vs jazz or western swing etc. Each neck is great for any style and each is different and unique enough to warrant carrying the beast around. At least it is for me.

So I guess the "one big tuning" thing can apply to a double neck too.

[Niels Andrews]

You are right Rick

[Herb Steiner]

Because of the gigs I have predominantly now, it's almost exclusively C6; pedal guitar with Tony Harrison Band (3 or 4 E9 songs per night) and non-pedal 10-string C6 with Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys.

On the somewhat infrequent Michael Martin Murphey gigs, it's exclusively E9.

Back when I was with the Tom Teboe Band (an excellent San Antonio Price/Bush/Faron style group), it was 50-50. I misss that band since it was all ex-Bandoleros and ex-Billy Mata players, fine country music.

My 5 C6 courses are my best sellers for the last three or four years, so there are lots of guys wanting to dip their toes into Lake Cee Six.

[Dale Rottacker]

from even before i played steel, double necks were just the coolest thing to me. i knew i would never be happy being half a steel player. after my first two single necks in the first three years i finally got a double neck. the 6th neck was intimidating, but after finding some simple basics i gradually learned more and it gave me a sense of pride. i'm still not a real accomplished 6th player but i play it alot on gigs. i would love to have another lifetime for developing my chord knowledge. my laziness has pretty much peaked out this lifetime.

but i always felt you should have both necks or look like a beginner. ...even if it's not true.

Chris, I think you said it well...I just feel so lost when I get on that neck...I play a couple of little things but seem unable to transfer much of what I may know on those little things to other things...and yeah when I see a Pro on stage with a Single Neck the first thought in my head is, "He doesn't know how to play C6th"...which is like saying I've got two necks so obviously I can play them both...sorry, but some day!!!...BTW, I dress like a golfer too!!!

[Joshua Gibson]

I don't play as C6 as I'd like, and when I do, I end up playing it more like a console style...I understand the positioning, but I'm just not that quick with the pedals.
I personally have tried S10/SD10's...and it absolutely drives Me nuts to NOT have a C6 neck!, there are just too many tunes and sounds that are hiding back there.

[Richard Sinkler]

My C6th neck gets a lot of playing time. Not as much as the E9th but it gets its share.

Mine too

[Asa Brosius]

since i bought a d10, i use the back neck maybe once a set for country gigs, but that's all i practice with now at home. the possibilities are astounding

[Jeff Garden]

I agree with you Asa. Especially if you're "experimenting" at home there are some really lush extended chords available on the C6th neck. I enjoy taking jazz charts from American Songbook-type tunes and figuring out where the chords and changes lay on C6.

[steve takacs]

The more I play the C6th neck, the more I like it and am inspired to put in the time practicing on it. Herby Wallace courses HWP 200 and 201, Buddy Emmons course on Beginning C6th and the Newman course, C6 and Swinging really have helped me not to be frightened playing C6th. Of course all the posts by Forum members regarding C6th also have helped. I don't have any of Herb Steiner's C6th courses but have heard good things about them. I totally agree with what Chris Ivey said. stevet

[CrowBear Schmitt]

my C6 sounds better than it looks imo...

[Eric Philippsen]

As it's been said.......

E9th is the money neck (or the "Kroger" neck)
C6th is for fun

I take a D10 to nine out of 10 gigs and use the back neck for maybe 30-40% of my work that night. Once in awhile I'll take an S10 and when a tune calls for it I just hit the knee lever to lower the E's and there I am, in 6th land.

Practicing at home is easily 75% on the back neck.

[Tony Farr]

I'm Tony's other half, he plays both necks. He will go back and forth from neck to neck, during every gig. The other guys he plays with, stare in amazement when they are really rocking on a tune. Check out, Ray Ward and The Friendship Band, on youtube.

[Don McClellan]

Jeff Newman said the C6th is easier than the E9. I think he was right. You can say you want to play C6th but action speaks louder than words. If you wanted to play C6th you would. It ain't rocket science. The reason you don't play it is because you don't want to. Maybe you're afraid you might have to learn a bit of music theory like how to spell a chord or what a flat 5 is. Or what a tri-tone sub is and how it works. I too was intimidated by these strange terms that seemed impossible to understand but I was determined to play the 6th neck and I now laugh at how silly it was for me to be intimidated. I wasted years being afraid of the 6th neck. I finally started playing it in 1992. Time flies. Start today!
People LOVE the sound of the 6th neck. You'll get far more comments on your sound. Don

[Dave Grafe]

Not everyone is fluent at it, but if you don't have a C6 neck on your guitar to begin with you will never learn to play it.

After thirty-odd years with a single-neck E9 guitar I bought my first D10 as a 'masters course' investment. I did not get very far with the back neck for the first couple of years, but last year one of the artists I work with released an album with several C6 intros that could not be faked on the top neck, so I had to start learning and practicing in earnest to keep the gig. At this point I can honestly stand up and say that it has become an addiction

The two necks require different mindsets to negotiate, and both yield different musical opportunities, the more I play the back neck the more I enjoy playing the back neck

[Tony Glassman]

I love and enjoy playing both necks. I felt really limited with a single, the several times I've tried to scale down.