8 string double neck tuning? Help!

Tele · Post by **Tele** » 31 Jan 2001 11:31 am

Hi

these are my favourites, pretty much standard:
E13th
G#
E
C#
B
G#
E
D
B

and C6th
G
E
C
A
G
E
C
A

but there are many others which I think will follow soon

Andy

Maurie Junod · Post by **Maurie Junod** » 31 Jan 2001 11:53 am

Hi Steve,

I will agree with Andy

C6th.....To You Sweetheart Aloha
Blue Hawaii
Beyond The Reef...Etc.

E13th....Aloha Tears
My Tani
Coquette...Etc.

Different songs lend themselves to these two popular tunings.

regards, Maurie

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 31 Jan 2001 12:15 pm

Here's what I use: http://b0b.com/tunings/blee.htm#Hawaiian

I used to play the same E13th as Andy, but in the past few years I've dropped the low string to add a high F# for fast melody work. I've been playing D-8 for almost 30 years now. These tuning have served me very well on the bandstand doing country, Hawaiian, blues and rock-a-billy.

------------------
<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session S-12 (E9), Speedy West D-10 (E9, D6),
Sierra 8 Laptop (D13), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, A6)

Robert · Post by **Robert** » 31 Jan 2001 3:42 pm

Scannerman:

I'll add to this chorus - I use an A6 and an E13, albeit a little different: E D E G# B C# E G#. Bobby Lee goes the extra length in giving you ideas of string gauges - thus heading off a new thread at the pass! That E13 I've been learning on has those two E's on the bottom. May seem strange, but grab them together for the "drag" in "Bootheel Drag", and you'll have big fun. Of course, this tuning is great for Hank Williams tunes. Lastly, if you don't have a chromatic tuner, you may want to invest in one. Have fun.

Rob

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 1 Feb 2001 5:30 pm

I prefer these tunings on a double-8 with "E" as the highest note; low to high:

E13th:
E, G#, D, F#, G#, B, C#, E

C13th:
C, Bb, C, E, G, A, C, E[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 01 February 2001 at 05:35 PM.]

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 2 Feb 2001 1:39 am

And yet another double-8 tuning I use.
(E tuning)
G#
E
C#
B
G#
F#
E
D
(C tuning)
G
E
C
A
G
E
C
A
Have fun.

------------------
Ricky Davis

My Homepage
Rebel™ and Ricky's Audio Clips
www.mightyfinemusic.com
Email Ricky: sshawaiian@aol.com

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 3 Feb 2001 8:15 am

Steve -- I use the same C6 tuning (ACEGACEG, l-h) as most everyone on this thread, but for my E neck, I use this E13 tuning, and while not too common, I like the voicing (H to L):

E
C#
B
G#
E
D
B
G#

I use a plain .024 on that high G# so that I can pull it up to A when I want to. A wound string here won't work for that. Whatever you do, experiment, and find one that you like. This is probably my favorite thing about this very cool instrument. HAVE FUN!

TJW

------------------
Todd James Weger/RD/RTD
www.franchise-yourself.com
1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6)

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 3 Feb 2001 11:48 pm

Having a high G# on the E6 or E13 gives you exactly the same voicings that Don Helms uses on Hank Williams tunes. That's what I like most about it.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 5 Feb 2001 12:40 am

If you take the standard C6 that everybody's talking about - (hi to lo)G,E,C,A,G,E,C,A and tune your 8th string up a half-tone to Bb(which is a 7th),you'll have Junior Brown's tuning.Junior calls it C13(actually C6/7)With that you can get some more bluesier and jazzier things.The great Hawaiian player Barney Issacs played it too.The low C can also be tuned up to C# giving you a C6/A7 hybrid - tricky but very musical.And that is just a short step away from Joaquin Murphey's tuning which had a high B(Maj7)as the 8th string - so it went : (hi to lo)G,E,C,A,G,E,C#,B. The out of place high B was like a chromatic string on an E9 pedal steel except on the other side of the tuning. Murphey played so much deep jazz on that tuning it was frightening-you'd swear to God he had pedals.The C6 tuning plus these variations should keep you busy for the rest of your life. -MJ-[This message was edited by Michael Johnstone on 05 February 2001 at 12:44 AM.]

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 5 Feb 2001 6:18 am

Amen to that, Michael! It took me a long time (years) to realize it's not about the tuning. It's what you can do with whatever you've got. As soon as I stopped changing tunings and concentrated on just C6th I begin to improve a little.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 7 Feb 2001 9:38 am

I keep going back to a low F on my C6:
E
C
A
G
E
C
A
F
You lose the high 5th on top but gain a lot, a full F maj 9 chord and some great single string possibilities for rockabilly, blues, etc. Of course the similarity to the pedal tuning comes in handy as well. I'm with Andy on the "tuning changes"- I think you can get just about anything out of any tuning if you work at it enough.

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Mark van Allen-"Blueground Undergrass" Pedal, Non-Pedal, Lap, and Dobro

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 7 Feb 2001 11:51 am

Mark,

For many years the top note on C6 was indeed an E. And the bottom note was an F. The high G did not become popular until the advent of widespread usage of a 10 string.

I am with you. If limited to 8 strings, my C6 neck would have to have an E on top. And of course the F on the bottom.

Jerry Bryd has NEVER had anything but an E on top on any of his C6 tunings. And gets all the minor thirds he wants.

carl

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 11 Feb 2001 8:48 pm

Thank you Carl for all your insightful Posts.
Back in the old days, I always had my E as the top string, same as guitar. It didn't matter whether I played E6, E13, C6 or A6, the E was on top.I guess I am from the old school too.
Of course now with 10 and 12 strings, etc, we changed along with the times.

Tele-If you try a D on that 3rd string on your E13 for some songs, you get some completely different sounds and chords. I used to use that E13, then on some songs tune the 3rd string C# to D and maybe the 6th String E to F#. I used that for a lot of songs.....al