How would you extend a 6 string 6th tuning?

Keith Grubb · Post by **Keith Grubb** » 13 Nov 2001 9:47 pm

I was wondering how you guys would extend any basic 6th tuning? For example low to high: C E G A C E. I've found that having a D on the first string is pretty handy for playing melody and a low Bb is great for slipping in a dom. 7th chord.

Am I missing anything by not having a high G on the first string? What about Jerry Byrd's C6th/A7th: Low A C C# E G A C E? Is that low A handy to have?

I've got a triple neck so I've got a couple necks to work with. I'm sure there has been talk on this subject in the past but I was just curious if there were any new thoughts.

Thanks,

Keith

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 14 Nov 2001 1:38 am

Keith, I just started using C6/A7. Before that it was just C6 ( with pedals ). I have ( eight strings )high G on top and a low A and C#, no low C at all. Well depending on a tune, and tuning back to C takes about half a second, so... Anyway, I find that very useful. I heard, that this was Joaquin Murphy's main one, but to extended it even more, he also had two high "chromatic" strings on the bottom slot.
Jussi

Tony Harris · Post by **Tony Harris** » 14 Nov 2001 3:55 am

I tried adding a D on top - it always seems to give you the note you need in melodies and licks on the top strings! Then I added a low A. This gives you the root to minor chords and to the 7th. Having said all that, I went back to 6-string - maybe because the 8-string guitar had very close string spacing and made bar-slants virtually impossible, and being a guitar-player my right hand never quite got used to having 8 strings to choose from.
Tony Harris.

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 14 Nov 2001 4:04 am

I've been working on one with the tonic on top and at the bottom - in G, thus,
G B D E G B D G low to high
mainly because I like the "Open E" pattern on the top strings.
However, that A and C# at the bottom, with the fifth on top, sounds veerryy interesting!
A BIG A7 down there...
Darn it! I hate retuning, and am trying to settle on just one, and now you come along and get me thinking again. My own fault, for reading the Forum, I guess

Nick

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 14 Nov 2001 7:03 am

Well, on my T-8 a few weeks ago, I played a Hawaiian gig with me on guitar, and an older Hawaiian gentleman playing my steel.

I had the first neck (closest to body) tuned to A6, which he retuned to a LOW bass C13. I had the middle neck tuned to C6, with the high G on top, but he retuned THAT to some wild E13, which sounds way cool!

But, regarding your extension of the C6, I think the low bass C13 (using the string gauges for an A6 tuning) really, really works great. The one drawback I see by not having the high G on top is for playing tunes like San Antonio Rose, and the old Hank Williams' style honky-tonk stuff. I just do a backward slant for playing those adjacent 3rd-5th combos in that case (not easy, but doable).

TJW<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Todd Weger on 17 November 2001 at 09:11 AM.]</p></FONT>

Ziggie · Post by **Ziggie** » 14 Nov 2001 7:11 am

I've been using an E13 tunning. low to high
D E G# B C# E I really like it but I wish I had another string tuned to B on the bottom so I could play 5ths behind a singer once in a while. I play with just a mandolin, bass, and drummer(no guitar when I play dobro or lap steel) Other then that I love this tunning. I can get 7ths, minors, and diminished chords very easy. I love diminished chords for turnarounds and this really gets it for that.
Ziggie

mikey · Post by **mikey** » 14 Nov 2001 12:39 pm

I play in C13...so I add a Bb ...so either I put a bass C, Bb, then straight C6...I use that for Hawaiian music...if I'm playing Western Swing or Honky Tonk..I put the Bb on the bottom and a high G on top...short scale fender so I use a .013 for the G...but I prefer...having an E on top so normally it's C,Bb,C,E,G,A,C,E....Barney Issacs Tuning,
Mike