Slide 8-String vs. 6-String, and 8-string in open G.

[Ken Koellner]

Noob question. If you go from a 6-string to an 8-string, do you use the same width slide, just not quite cover all the strings, and mute the strings not covered?

Reason I ask is I just started playing reso in open-G bluegrass tuning. I want to get a lap steel I can leave in my car for traveling in winter. As a noob, the number of possible tunings has my head spinning. ANd now I see SX has an 8-string coming out soon for not much more than the 6-string but with many possible tunings. I was wondering if I could play that without relearning too much. I might even consider tuning the middle-6 GBDGBD Open-G then throwing on a Low E and high E to get 6ths and minors but can still play the middle six via the tuning that I'm still just learning (I only started playing open-G reso a few weeks ago).

-l2t

[Howard Parker]

On the tuning question, there's no real way to respond without knowing what your knowledge is.

As a player of bluegrass dobro, 8 string G6 dobro and lapsteel 6/8 I can tell you that the right hand techniques are not identical. Similar but....

fwiw

h

[Richard Alderson]

Also besides the tuning question, ......Do you mean a slide (hollow tube that fits over your finger) or a bar ?(the steel bar, or simply the 'steel'). The bars come in various widths and styles. Sometimes a longer bar is needed to cover a wider neck. I think the standard Dobro "Stevens" bar would also cover most 8 string necks.

[Joe Burke]

Hi Ken - I often use that exact 8 string G tuning. I like it a lot. Maybe down the road you’ll get interested in C6, but a lot can be done with the dobro G tuning!

[Ken Koellner]

Also besides the tuning question, ......Do you mean a slide (hollow tube that fits over your finger) or a bar ?(the steel bar, or simply the 'steel'). The bars come in various widths and styles. Sometimes a longer bar is needed to cover a wider neck. I think the standard Dobro "Stevens" bar would also cover most 8 string necks.

Bar, I started with a Dunlap Lap Dawg as that's what they had at the store.

-l2t

[Richard Alderson]

Yes, Lap Dawg is Dunlop's version of the standard Dobro bar, the Stevens bar. OK, got it! That's what most acoustic resonator players use. Lap steel players start experimenting with different tone bars more because with amplification subtle tone differences start to reveal themselves more. Your Lap Dawg bar would cover all strings across the width of most 8 string necks. If you found that it didn't you would want to buy a slightly longer bar to span the width of the 8 string neck.

[Allan Revich]

Also besides the tuning question, ......Do you mean a slide (hollow tube that fits over your finger) or a bar ?(the steel bar, or simply the 'steel'). The bars come in various widths and styles. Sometimes a longer bar is needed to cover a wider neck. I think the standard Dobro "Stevens" bar would also cover most 8 string necks.

Bar, I started with a Dunlap Lap Dawg as that's what they had at the store.

-l2t

Dunlop makes a longer version of the Lap Dawg, called the Long Dawg. Perfect for an 8 string


.

[Rich Arnold]

Noob question. If you go from a 6-string to an 8-string, do you use the same width slide, just not quite cover all the strings, and mute the strings not covered?

Reason I ask is I just started playing reso in open-G bluegrass tuning. I want to get a lap steel I can leave in my car for traveling in winter. As a noob, the number of possible tunings has my head spinning. ANd now I see SX has an 8-string coming out soon for not much more than the 6-string but with many possible tunings. I was wondering if I could play that without relearning too much. I might even consider tuning the middle-6 GBDGBD Open-G then throwing on a Low E and high E to get 6ths and minors but can still play the middle six via the tuning that I'm still just learning (I only started playing open-G reso a few weeks ago).

-l2t

Hi Ken,

I come from Jerry Douglas but play lap and pedal steel these days.
I remember when I was playing the 6 string lap and wanted to go to guitar with 2 necks, I looked for a a guitar with 6 strings on one neck and 8 on the other. Pretty rare.
When I did buy another guitar it had 2 necks with 8.
The change was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Then, after having played the D8 electric for a while, I bought an 8 string dobro.
After having played the 8 string, I wouldn't play a 6 string again for any reason.
The 8 string dobro has an E in the middle of the 2 triads and an E on the bottom. (Normally)
It was very natural to make the transition to that, but a little practice to stay off the low E until needed.
When improvising, it's pretty natural because E is part of the G scale.
As far as bars, when I went to the 8 string dobro I liked to use the Shubb SP-1. It's shaped like the Stevens but has a round end and is a bit longer.
I've seen people take a 8 string dobro and leave 2 string off it and even changing the nut and bridge saddle to make an 8 string into a 6.
I call that vandalism. But to each his own.

[D Schubert]

I've been using the Shubb RR-2 (Robert Randolph) bar a lot. It's like the old Stevens bar, but bigger and heavier. Works for Dobro, six and eight string lap steels, and I've used it for 10-string pedal steel more than once.

[Tim Whitlock]

Noob question. If you go from a 6-string to an 8-string, do you use the same width slide, just not quite cover all the strings, and mute the strings not covered?

First, since you will now be a card carrying steel guitar player, please use the correct term "bar", "tone bar" or "steel". Duane Allman played with a "slide". Sorry I don't mean this to be snarky. Pet peeve of mine.

A 3" bar works great for 6 or 8 strings. Handles nicely and will cover 8 strings. I find anything longer starts to become less wieldy and not as nimble for slanting.