I am thinking of buying a lap steel and not sure the difference between 6 and 8 string guitars.
I want to play music in C6 like 12 bar blues.
Is it much harder to learn 8 string?
Of course I will never stop playing my reso, I just want to branch out a bit.
Also, I'm looking for a place to get a deal buying multiple sets of strings if anyone knows of one.
Thank you, Bob
If blues was my focus, I would not be looking at either an 8 or C6. I'd prefer a 6 and a D tuned guitar.
But, we might not be thinking in similar terms.
As an experiment, if you are already a lapstyle player on an acoustic instrument I might want to experiment in D on your current axe.
h
C6 does work for many songs, western swing being one style. While you can play some in D or G, Sleepwalk works best on a 6 string in C6. Not an exact Santo & Johnny cover but very close. I think D or E (if you play with guitarists) would be better for blues. Guitarists love the key of E for blues as it allows many permutations of the chord patterns up and down the neck, with the root using some open strings.
BTW, I have three 6 string lap steels each tuned in G, E and C6. Just makes it easier to adapt to different keys without capos or complicated bar maneuvers. My lap steels are all old vintage ones and are fairly inexpensive.
Edited by - lap dog on 10/19/2022 04:56:47
Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe plays everything on her lap steel in standard G tuning, no matter what key the song is in. That is talent the rest of us can only dream of.
Thanks for all they suggestions. I wonder why M. Auldridge & Troy Be renningmeyer use 8 string. Besides the fact that they play so well
Bob
Yeah, for electric lap steel blues, I’d recommend 6-string Open D or Open E. That is a well-trodden path. Other major triad tunings would work as well (either versions of Open G, for instance…).
Like Howard said, tune a reso to Open D to experiment.
Edited by - JC Dobro on 10/19/2022 06:08:55
quote:
Originally posted by lap dogMegan Lovell of Larkin Poe plays everything on her lap steel in standard G tuning, no matter what key the song is in. That is talent the rest of us can only dream of.
I'm no Megan Lovell, but I humbly submit to you that learning to play in different keys from a particular tuning (sans capo) is an acquired skill. It can be accomplished by learning open position scale steps, movable patterns, etc. Granted, she does it at a world class level.
I mainly play in C6 and E (Fender dual pro + tricone/8 string dobro for acoustic sets). Which blues are you considering? The E gives more growl for Chicago & Delta blues, but the C6 is nice for swinging and jump blues. As for 6 vs. 8 string, 6 string C6 works just fine, but the 8 gives options like 13th tuning. I also play some in low bass A- same as typical open G for bottleneck but up a step. You can certainly play bluesy in high bass G, but I prefer having the extra root or V note instead of a second III. A really fun one to toy with is B11; it's a Hawaiian tuning, but gives you 1-3-5, and a 7th note, and a relative minor. (You can retune high G to A11 to try it out: A-C#-E-G-B-D)
You don't have to master all the tunings, but it's worth trying them out to see what suits you best. Just watch the string gauges- you'll need to do some changing.
quote:
Originally posted by Bob78Thanks for all they suggestions. I wonder why M. Auldridge & Troy Be renningmeyer use 8 string. Besides the fact that they play so well
Bob
Mike used his 8's for swing, traditional jazz and country styles. His 3 favorite 8 string tunings were G6/A6/D9 which were useful for those genres.
h
Junior Barber played 6 string C6. Sometimes I wish I hadn't been at that workshop when he demonstrated; things would be more simple.
PS- C6 works best for our singing keys, but G6, A6, E6 are all fine and dandy.
Getting back to the original question, standard 8 string C6 (GACEGACE) just adds two lower strings to the 6 string (CEGACE) C6 tuning. If you're well-grounded in one, it's an easy move to the other. If you're coming over from G-tuned reso, consider A6 to give you the 1-3-5 triad on the top strings that you're used to.
All your advice is greatly appreciated. As many of you have suggested I think I will tune my six to C6 or D and try that first.
Age is getting to be a factor also so I thank you again, Bob
Late to the party, but I like 8 strings for 6th tunings in order to have the 1, 3, 5 on top and not loose the bottom bass string. I rarely use the 8th string, so I could be happy with just seven strings, but see no reason not to have the 8th either.
I also prefer A6 to C6 cause I can use slightly heavier gauges on the top string. Gets a little plinky with the fifth on top in C6.
quote:
Originally posted by lap dogMegan Lovell of Larkin Poe plays everything on her lap steel in standard G tuning, no matter what key the song is in. That is talent the rest of us can only dream of.
God bless her.
