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Topic: Alternative to F# compensation |
Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 15 Nov 2014 8:11 am |
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I'm making various small adjustments to my home-build uni 12. Everything above deck is a success but the undercarriage still needs work.
I like to tune in natural intervals and I did have string 6 rigged up to lower slightly whenever pedals A, C or 7 were engaged. This made the F#m chord with A&B in tune, but P7 suffered from the D#s still being too high, and trying to lower those as well was way too messy.
So instead of two F#s I've opted for two C#s. String 6 stays where it is (I'm not particularly reliant on the F#m chord - there are others). A & C raise 5 to a C# that suits the A/B chord, and P7 raises to a slightly higher C# which makes the F#6 or Bmaj7/9 mathematically correct but also nice and bright dead on the fret.
Anyone else go about it this way?
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2014 11:14 am
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This is interesting because I have the *opposite* problem; the A pedal on mine causes 10 cents cabinet drop on the (6)G# string. Guitar is an MSA Classic U12. Yours is keyless, which is a different thing than a keyhead-bearing guitar.
FWIW, I remember a blonde ash Strat w/ 3-bolt neck played by a bandmate in the '80s where he had "cabinet drop" - bending one string sharp would flat other strings. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 15 Nov 2014 11:55 am
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my perspective on compensators is...unless you are playing so much better than steel players did throughout the 60's and 70's (before compensators), i wouldn't worry about it.
when i got a new zum in the early 80's, i took off all the compensator rods and extra changes that i had ordered.
now i have some good extra parts and never had a problem
playing in tune.
as a matter of fact, as long as my steel sounds basically in tune with itself, i don't even check it with my tuner.
otherwise you are constantly chasing your tuning, which goes up and down on a hourly basis. i use my ears to adjust with the music i'm playing to. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 15 Nov 2014 12:20 pm
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Chris - I'm quite old-fashioned and I know what you mean. I originally put compensation on string 6 because so many talk about it I thought it must be necessary. I tune by ear because that's what I listen to music with. Even temperament makes my teeth hurt. This is partly to do with being a trombone player and so trained to hunt down and eliminate beats of any kind. The only obstacle to setting up the uni was that the E9 C# (if I can call it that) is too flat for P7, so I treated it to one of its own - problem solved and everything sounds sweet.
The comment about regular guitars rings true. When I played bass, if I had to tune up or down an unusual amount for a rogue piano, it would alter the complete feel of the instrument.
My motive in building the keyless tuner was that I didn't have the resources to make a conventional one - but it's turned out really well.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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