An E9 11 string? (with E on bottom)

[Jon Voth]

I started music a a teen in the 80s playing along with Maiden, Priest, Metallica etc. in my basement.

Decades later, I'm learning PSG. And for fun I plug in some distortion and try to emulate a lot of the ZZ Top, Billy Squire, Black Sabbath, whatever. Some of it goes surprisingly well.

I miss the low E string. Is there an 11 string PSG with low E? I know I might retune the whole thing but I would miss the top string.

Is there anyone who uses this, or is there a maker of an 11 string? I've looked but haven't found a lot.

Any rockers here that think of this? Thanks.

[Benjamin Franz]

There are ZB guitars that have eleven strings, some just on the E neck some on both necks. I think it’s standard to have an eleven string E neck with a low E a la Tom Brumley. I have a low E on my ZB D11.

[Eric Dahlhoff]

I am hooked on having the low E on my ZB-11, also the low G# like this...

[Dave Zirbel]

I met a steel player named Big Jim Baron from California and he played a doubleneck 11 string built by Fessenden. This was several years ago. He may build you one.

[Jon Light]

Easiest solution would be to find a much more common Ext E9 12 string.

[Bill Flores]

I have a Williams S-11.......pickup selections are a bit limited though,

[K Maul]

I have a custom made S11 EXCEL. It was no problem at all. He makes his own pickups. Not too many pre-owned ones out there I would think. More ZBs than any other.
You could consider the “semi universal” 10 string, low note being G# with no D string and then have a pedal or lever lowering that down to E. I did that with some success on a GFI that I had.

[Chris Brooks]

I'm with Jon. Get a 12 string.

Chris

[Jon Light]

To be clear, I am totally all for an 11 string if that is specifically what you want. But 12 string E9 is a fairly standard config that you will have a much easier time finding.

[Bob Hoffnar]

You could also get those intervals on the low strings by having your C pedal drop the low B string to an A.

[Dylan Schorer]

Eric Heywood, who plays with The Pretenders and Ray Lamontagne, plays a recently-built 11-string Williams. It's a standard E9 with a low E added. Not sure what the customization charge is but, but Williams will build an 11-string using their keyless head.

I play a 12-string Williams with extended E9 with a low E and G#. I like the low strings, but barely miss them when I move back to 10-string.

[Sonny Jenkins]

I'm starting a rebuild on an old 11 string BMI that belonged to Tom Brumley. It will have 5 and 5,,,He gave it to me back in the 80s,,I sold it and recently got it back as pretty much a basket case,,,it will hopefully be as new when finished.

[Hugo Knef]

I put a .48 on 10 for low E. Moved B to 9 with a lever raise to D. Vertical lever for F# to G#. Don’t know if I am missing something but it works for me. Easy to chug along on rock and blues and stuff. Easy to try. I dig it.

[Jon Voth]

Thanks all for replies!

I'm just farting around, don't see myself being in/using PSG in an 80's glam metal cover band though that would be sweet.

But now I know it's possible! And it's a lot of fun doing that. An 11 string with extra E would be the way to go.

BTW Go Nats-I play tuba for the Army & my quintet could perform if they make it to game 5!

[Skip Edwards]

I'm all in favor of the 11 string thing. I wish I'd had one when I was doing gigs with a 4 piece band... I would've been able to comp rhythm way better if I'd had that low E string.
If I ever get another steel, that's what it'll be.

[John Goux]

Another easy way to accomplish this is to buy a 12 string Uni and take off the low B string. It will give you an 11 string coped similar to Eric, above.

I play both, standard 10 string, and Ext E9 12 string. I love the low E and G# strings, but sometimes 12 strings across can be visually and mentally challenging. I do sometimes fantasize about a simpler setup that still has those low notes. 11 could be fun.
John

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Going to 12 strings is a big step just to play power chords. Bob Hoffner's suggestion is much simpler. Gives you great power chords with A+B down and lots of other interesting stuff in the low string grips. I have this on all my steels. You lose the raise on string 10 from B-C#, but you can put that on a different pedal or lever (I have it on my LKV).

[Bob Carlucci]

It is all about making choices…
http://www.gunlaug.no/tos/var/s10tt-10.html
I have had those low strings on my main S10s (Extended E (- not E9)) since back in -88, and miss them every time I play one of my regular E9 tuned steels.

I have often thought of taking a standard 10 string pedal steel, moving the low B to string position 9, deleting the D, adding a low E to string position 10, and then lowering the 8th string E to D on a lever, possibly the same lever as the Eb-D-C# on 2nd string.. Never did it, and since I am retired from live performing these days, I probably never will.. Bet it would work pretty well... That being said, best answer is to buy a nice used 12 string of course....bob

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Bob Carlucci wrote:

I have often thought of taking a standard 10 string pedal steel, moving the low B to string position 9, deleting the D, adding a low E to string position 10, and then lowering the 8th string E to D on a lever,

Paging Bruce Derr......

[Skip Edwards]

Bob, I'm thinking about doing something similar to my old S10...
Only difference is I think I'd keep string 9 D, and lose string 7 F#, and get that note back by lowering 6.

[Ian Rae]

I play a 12-string universal. I don't use the 12th string much, so mostly I ignore it.
And then today I found a use for it in a particular song, so I'm still glad it's there.
So Jon, by all means get an 11-string if one comes along, but you'll have more choice of 12s.
When was the last time a wildcard won the World Series?

Skip, while you're at it you could get rid of 9 too (and raise B to D). Then from top down you'd have
F# D# G# E B G# E B G# E, which might be nice.

[Skip Edwards]

Ian, I considered that. I've been able to mess around with an 11 stringer a bit, and one of the things I really liked was being able to have a pronounced pick attack between the B raise to C#, and the 9th string D. To me, that was more important than having the F#, or the low A.
Whatever... having that low E string is the bomb.

[Jon Voth]

Thanks Ian,

Being new, I'd need it to be standard E9 tuning (but with the low E added). A universal 12 has a different tuning? Maybe it could be changed to act like that-I'm not experienced enough to know that at the moment. But it's a good plan if it's easier to acquire a 12 string.

Regarding baseball, as of now it looks like it will go to game 5. Just learned Army Brass Quintet will perform Anthem both Sat and Sun. But I actually have a PSG gig tomorrow night so I'll have to get a sub, but excited for Sunday!

[Bob Hoffnar]

Going to 12 strings is a big step just to play power chords. Bob Hoffner's suggestion is much simpler. Gives you great power chords with A+B down and lots of other interesting stuff in the low string grips. I have this on all my steels. You lose the raise on string 10 from B-C#, but you can put that on a different pedal or lever (I have it on my LKV).

I put the 10th string B lowering to an A on the C pedal so you lose nothing from the standard E9 tuning. I may try it on the A pedal though.

Jon, I highly suggest not adding strings or changing the tuning of your steel for a minimum of 3 years from now. Everything you want and more is already there waiting for you. You will most likely lose more than you will gain by correcting perceived limitations at this point. Unless you are planning on developing the sacred steel framming technique where you need to strum at least 3 strings in a row you might be wasting your time fixing something that might not be broken.