Any guitarists out there who play something other than standard guitars?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

I'm talking about unorthodox guitar-like instruments or who play a standard guitar in an unstandard way, such as different tunings. (I'm not just talking about changing one string's tuning, like dropping the low E string to a D for certain classical pieces or tuning up the G string for slide guitar, but altogether different tunings). Or it could even involve approaches to the guitar other than plucking strings with fingers or picks, like Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, or the amazing way young female jazz guitarist Kaki King slaps the strings and the body of the guitar to get some wild sounds.

It could include playing a 7 string or 8 string (I believe Ibanez came out with an 8 string not that long ago) or more strings. Or a fanned fret guitar like a Novax. Or smaller or larger members of the guitar family, like a Requinto, which has a brighter, crisper sound than a standard guitar, with a 535mm scale tuned A D G C E A.

It could involve tuning a guitar in major thirds as some guys have experimented with (jazz guitarist Ralph Patt http://www.ralphpatt.com/), which can be very interesting or other non-standard tunings such as the New Standard Guitar Tuning used by Robert Fripp of King Crimson (C(6th string) - G(5th) - D(4th) - A(3rd) - E(2nd) - G(1st).

I have a both a 7 string electric (Ibanez) and a 7 string classical type of guitar. On both guitars, the top string is a high A above the high E. It lets me hit the same chords as my 6 string but with the ability to get to more notes in the same area of the neck for bits of solo. On the nylon string guitar, I have some nylon fishing line (40 lb. test) for the high A and it doesn't break and sounds very clear. For the electric, I use a .008 Thomastik-Infeld string for the high A, for which I solder the string winding with solder which helps to keep it from breaking. I haven't shifted all my playing over to this configuraton but I pick them up often enough to be comfortable with a high A and I've adjusted to seeing it there. It's really not that big a deal.

For anyone who has experimented with something other than a standard 6 string or standard way of playing a 6 string, what are your experiences? Is it something you've just played around with or have you actually shifted most of your playing over to that and developed a new style? If so, has playing that guitar or guitar tuning really changed your sound and your style in a positive way and how? I'd be curious to know.

[regularguy]

1. I just got a book on Hawaiian "Slack-key" guitar

which uses a bunch of different tunings. I've so far only tried the F-Wahine tuning :F-C-E-G-C-E. Another one I've tried (no slack-key) is DADGAD. In the last year I've been working on fingerstyle playing so when I learn a song in an odd (to me) tuning I'll also spend some time improvising and finding patterns that sound good, but not to the point of thinking about every note I'm playing. I think I'll continue to use standard tuning as my default. There's a guy named Pierre Bensusan who uses DADGAD exclusively, says he basically re-learned to play from scratch using this tuning.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

2. Interesting - I don't know anything about Hawaiian slack key guitar

Can you only play traditional Hawaiian tunes with it or is it something you could adapt to almost anything, like jazz for example?

Thanks for the mention of Pierre Bensusan. I just tried tuning my guitar to DADGAD as you describe using. It has interesting possibilities, but it's hard for me to play scales on the lower strings. And I'm having trouble finding the voicings in more complex chords, especially with that wide jump from the 6th to the 5th string. But playing a major scale in chords (up through the modes, 1-3-5-7 voicings) is much easier than with a normally tuned guitar. I can see why this tuning would make sense. And that short jump between the 3rd and 2nd string can make for some quick playing. And you can play the same note on two different strings (3rd and 2nd string) very easily, which could make for some interesting solos. And it's extremely easy to play Wes Montgomery style octaves as they are on the same fret, but four strings apart (except on the low strings where they are three strings apart on the same fret).

By the way, another interesting player is jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, who is uniquely unorthodox and creative (http://www.stanleyjordan.com/). He doesn't pluck the strings. Instead, with both hands, he hammers with his fingers on top of the strings. He can play chords with the fingers of one hand and a solo on top with the other.

He explains his technique in detail at his website. Supposedly, it works best on a solid body electric guitar where the action is very low.
http://www.stanleyjordan.com/Technique/starting.html

[regularguy]

3. I've only just started with the Slack-key stuff

it really doesn't sound that different from some of the folk-ish stuff I've been doing, more major-7th sounding maybe. You wouldn't automatically identify it as Hawiian..it's ultimately spanish influenced.

I've heard Stanley Jordan, I think I have one of his albums. He's fantastic, but I'm personally not interested in learning to play that way. Andy McKie is also awesome, but I'm more interested in listening to stuff that I have a slight chance in hell of actually playing.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Here's An Idea For A Similar Approach

Try D-G-B-D-G-D, but for the 4th & 5th strings use a B string and an unwound G string. It creates some interesting sounding chords because if you drone the 1st or 2nd string, they are lower notes than the 4th and 5th.

I've got 4 of my six acoustics tuned to different tunings (only my Martins, 6 & 12 are tuned standard).

What i'm describing gives an interesting combination of open tuning and bright tuning, but the lowest string is still provided some bottom.

Pretty fun, especially if you learn some of the chords in the new positions and work with a slide on the pinky.
The Professor

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Interesting - I just tried it

It is fun, especially for blues. On the 3rd string (the standard G string - the middle D on this tuning) you can go up a whole step, then a half step, and then down a half step while barring across the neck and create a nice blues rhythm. I kind of like it. Thanks, Prof.

There's another blues tuning that slide players like to use and it's EG#EG#BE.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Here's Another For You

If you're REALLY adventerous, because the chords up and down the neck are VERY different.

Tune to a C6. From low to high, C-G-E-A-C-E. It allows you to play slide, using the middle finger for the slide. But, you can grab the dominant seventh by simply fretting the third string one fret above the slide. Use the little finger and go up one more fret and you get the M7, two frets and the major chord.

It's hard at first, but fun to play around with.
GAC

[DrDan]

6. although having played guitar for 4 decades, I cannot

say I have played anything other than a traditional 6-string - although have experimented with various tunings.

However - you might enjoy this video - an 8-string

http://www.redmondotoole.com/prelude1007.html

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. Thanks - that's pretty wild

A classical guitar with a low B string below the low E and a high A string above the high E, with different scale lengths on the instrument. And the guitar is tuned in fourths. But also the way he plays the guitar is more like a cello position. That must require a great deal of dedication and practice. Thanks for this. I've never seen this.

[DrDan]

7. I have taken some workshops from Tony McManus

Tony plays a lot of celtic music - and plays with many alternate tunings. Here is a good example of his interpretation of a bagpipe on guitar. He walks through the tuning in the teaching of "The Seagull" on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI7zSSRTw0c

[DarkTirade]

10. I've played a 13 string lute before.

Unfortunately it belonged to the early music ensemble I was in, so if I want to play it again I'll have to get my own. :)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. Fascinating - I wish I had time to study Renaissance stringed instruments like the lute

or like this chitarrone.



At this British website, you can order a kit to built an 8 course lute for about 405 pounds (about $800 US).

http://www.masterkit.com/rwc/products/lute.htm#Kits

[DarkTirade]

12. I'd love to get into instrument making...

but right now I have neither the skill nor the tools for something like that. I'm planning on starting with electric guitars and working my way up to acoustic (hopefully.)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

13. I just took on my first guitar-making project

It isn't really to make an entire guitar, but to improve on one. I bought a brand new Chinese-made archtop jazz guitar for a little over $200 on ebay. The thing is fairly well-made, but it's all maple plywood, including the top and it has a neck that is too narrow for me, at 1 11/16 inches wide. I'm now removing all of the thick paint and polyester coating from the guitar which dampens the tone, down to bare wood. I'm going to remove the fingerboard and put a wider and flatter fretboard on it made of ebony. I'm going to increase the width of the fretboard by 3/16 inches to make it 1 7/8, which is more comfortable for fingerstyle playing. I'll have to use a small amount of plastic wood to fill in the gap between the original neck and the new fretboard. I'm going to put a graphite truss rod in place of the thick plastic one it now has. And then I'm going to remove the maple plywood top and try my hand at carving an arch top from two joined pieces of solid spruce and brace it. Then I'm going to try to French polish the entire guitar and put a B-band acoustic pick-up inside. I may fall completely on my face here, but the investment in materials isn't that great if I do everything myself.

[DarkTirade]

14. That's kinda my idea.

First overhaul one that I already have, and I'm thinking about sanding down and repainting another one to get a feel for that. And work my way up from there.