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Mark E
Lokahi
USA
186 Posts |
 Posted - 03/09/2008 : 5:25:55 PM
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My playing partner has gotten it in his head that he needs to replace 3 of the tuners on his Martin 000-15 with tuners that can be pre-set to 2 different notes. Namely, something that does what the Scruggs-Keith tuners on my banjo do. He has heard of Schaller Hipshot tuners but they are so back ordered that he has given up. Since the point is to switch tunings in the middle of a song, I have suggested that his wife can grab the guitar he's playing and slam another into his hands at the appropriate moment. This would have the added benefit of giving his playing some visual interest. I don't know why but this obvious solution hasn't caught on with them.
Does anybody have any other suggestions? Would the Schallers do the trick if he can get hold of some?
Thanks for any thoughts - serious or not.
Mark E
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2008 : 6:41:36 PM
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| I vote for the excuse to buy another guitar. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2008 : 8:49:37 PM
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| Get one double neck like George Kuo then easy for change keys in the middle of a son. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 03:52:06 AM
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Hi Mark,
I've seen guitar players drop the 6th string (& bass players drop the 4th string) from E to D using one of those tuners. I'd be hesitant to put 3 of 'em on a Martin.
The tuners may help slack the strings faster but the change in tension will probably throw the other 3 strings out of tune. Either way, you've got re-tuning to do. So why go through the trouble? |
Andy |
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salmonella
Lokahi
240 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 05:22:22 AM
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How about a capo that only hits the strings he wants to change tuning on? If the step down/up is the same on all the strings just one will do, otherwise multiple capos each designed for a specific string would be required. This would also add some visual interest to his playing as his left hand tries to maneuver around multiple capos at multiple frets.
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 07:37:54 AM
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I've seen Adrian Legg change tunings as part of the tune, and as far as I know it was using something very like the Keith pegs. Perhaps he adapted them?
Unless it's a 'featured gimmick' in the song, I'd probably just go along with learning some other way round it. There's lots of capo designs for quick key changes - maybe one of those would be easier? |
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 09:15:53 AM
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Last time I checked I have eight guitars, so I come from the school of just get another guitar up on stage and keep it within easy reach. However, there are ways to approach this with a certain outcome. One of them is to learn how to play in other keys. Learn the primary chords of each key that you would typically use. Or if that is too difficult use a partial capo. If you opt for the mechanical approach, as Andy points out the shift in tension of half the strings will throw the guitar out of tune with itself -- which is quite awkward in the middle of a song.
Changing tuning in a live performance is a neat trick, but the caveat is that you have to be able to pull it off. Getting up on stage is difficult enough, the best thing I think should be to keep things simple in order to avoid the possibility of screwing up.
The double neck guitar is a compromised approach that kind of works. The problem is that they are expensive, heavy, do not sound very good and do not last long because of the additional stress on the sound board.
PM |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 11:14:41 AM
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John Keawe has a couple Scruggs tuners on his amazing custom guitar. So he can - and does-- switch tunings in the middle of a song, or just for an effect.
It means a fairly extensive mangling of your axe-- and you have to learn how to use them.
Lots of guitarists, Chris Proctor for one, use specialized "Third Hand" capos to alter tunings.
And then there's the old bluegrass trick of using multiple capos that you whip off one at a time to change keys. Looks impressive, anyway.
Never seen Schaller Hipshots on an acoustic, though I have seen an old Martin D-28 that was bastardized with a Parson-White B-bender-- the kind that raises the B string when you pull down on the body. Whoever did that musta had a dang good reason to destroy his guitar.
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 2:42:23 PM
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Adrian Legg started with a pair of Keith Tuners on his guitar, and within a short time he decided to replace all the tuners with Keith's. Keith's can be had from any bluegrass/banjo friendly store. http://www.thirdhandcapo.com/ Here's a web site for Third Hand Capo's. I never used either of these add-on's; If I ever reach the level that playing a whole song in one key/tuning isn't challenging enough, I'll worry about it then. Got my hands full as it is.
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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slackkeymike
Lokahi
440 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 8:23:31 PM
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I have GAS. That is, guitar acquisition syndrome. I beleive one should have a guitar for every tuning that one plays. Much more expensive than tuners, therefore much more worthwhile.
Thee is no cure for GAS. Just tell your friends and relatives that you have it and they will leave you alone with your guitars... a very good thing.
Mike |
Aloha, Mike |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2008 : 06:15:18 AM
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I too vote for a second guitar. It's a little more to carry to the gig, but you can switch quickly and not disrupt the flow of the show.
David Wilcox never uses the same tuning for two songs in a row, and he performs with one guitar. He has memorized the number of turns or partial turns that his tuners require to get a string near the right pitch. He changes them silently while bantering between songs, then does a subtle quick fine-tune before starting again. It takes some work to learn this technque, but it really is pretty smooth once you have it down.
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