Gino Marozzo wrote: I find the Solace seems to sound more open in lower tunings.
I'm glad that you mentioned that - I have thoughts on that point and you are certainly entitled to them.......
Firstly, I'm using standard Dobro string gauges 56-18 and I only have to lower the 3rd string 1/2 step and lower the 2nd string 1 step to get the D/G tuning.....I go back & forth between G and D/G......
It's interesting with regard to the lower tuning and you're right, the Solace really opens up with a low tuning......if you view Justin Johnson's video he is playing in C minor....the darker reddish Solace was the first one that I ordered and it is tuned to DADF#AD.....most Weiss style guitars and players (that I've heard) use that tuning and we are so used to it, much like the Gmaj on most Dobros....so there is that distinctive sound that is ingrained in our minds.....when I received the first Solace, I was bowled over by the sound, the appearance, and the meticulous craftsmanship & quality of this guitar.....I know that Emerald Guitars sells very few of the Solace model and wanted to hedge my bets in the event that it could be discontinued, and so I ordered a second one....there is no inkling that this is ever going to happen, but, having been on this planet for 72 years, I know what can happen......
As I'm a mostly Dobro G guy, I thought that I'd put a G tuning on the second Solace and I like b0b's D/G tuning a lot....so that's what I did.....for the three months it took to build, I played the heck out of the D tuned Solace.....when the second one arrived, of course I noticed the difference in sound, tone, & timbre and thought that it sounded a little thin, but I don't like to use the word "thin" because these guitars sound anything but thin.....the reason for my knee jerk first reaction was because a D tuned Weiss sound was ingrained in my mind and that's what it's supposed to sound like.....well, after a couple of weeks that thought never crossed my mind again, and as a matter of fact, going back to the D Solace after not having played it in a while, my initial thought was "this sounds a little muddy".....tricks that our brain play on us (or at least me).....it's kinda like the G Dobro - we know how a Dobro is supposed to sound but if we put a C6 tuning on it, well, it's chaos (according to Heath Ledger's Joker)....although Gerald Ross plays the tar out of C6 Dobro and it sounds just fine....
Speaking of preconceived sounds, I wanted a G tuning on something other than a Dobro, something that would provide a non banjo-y/dobro-y sound and so this was the perfect candidate.....as I stated, I like the D/G tuning as it gives me Gmaj, Gmaj7, Gadd9, Gmaj9, D power chord, Dmaj, D6, Bmin, Bmin7 (I'm not a theory maven so if there's an error there, I wouldn't be surprised).....that being said, I am going to experiment with a lower tuning that has the same intervals to see how it sounds.....an A/D tuning....
1. A .021
2. E .030
3. C# .036
4. A .042
5. F# .054
6. D .060
