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Re: Anyone here tuning guitars in fifths?



Am 08.04.2013 15:51, schrieb Per Boysen:
The more I play fifths tuned string instruments (like the Cello and
the Stick) the more I like it and I'm curious about if it would even
be possible to tune a six stringed guitar in fifths? What I mean is
If we can agree that a (six-stringed) bass guitar is a guitar, then yes, it is possible :).

What I did was to use some inverted lute/guitar tuning in fifths and sixths, e.g. for a four-string:
E-B-g-d' or D-A-f-c',
for a six-string:
'A-E-B-f#-d'-a',
so the six-string version roughly covers the range from the bottom of a five/six-string bass to the top of a baritone guitar (range is one octave more than a guitar).

For strings, you can get by with bass guitar sets with a high c string for the four-string version, for the six-string one, I resorted to using baritone guitar strings for the top two.

Why did I do it? First, mainly for the extended range; I wanted to have both bass and guitar in one instrument with fewer than 10 or 12 strings...the different sound/feel (string resonances etc.) is rather different (and also means you'll have more trouble with unwanted resonances). Finally, it will (like every non-standard tuning) lead to you playing things differently (that is if you're playing from the moment and not after a score, be it on paper or in your mind).

    Rainer