CF Martin makes a 'Tres'

Subject: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Wesley S
Date: 07 May 09 - 11:21 AM

I found out on another message board that CF Martin is going to be making a "Tres". It's often been used in Cuban music - and I've been interested in getting one. It has 6 strings but they are arranged in three pairs of 2 strings each. And for you dulcimer players it would be easy to tune it to any of the pitches you are already using. So I thought you might want to check it out.

CF Martin Website

Elderly Music already has one for sale for $349.00.

Elderly Music site

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Art Thieme
Date: 07 May 09 - 01:06 PM

3 more and it'll be my 9-stinger I adapted from the D-76 I won new in a raffle about that year--1976.

Ah, nostalgia!!

Art

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: matt milton
Date: 07 May 09 - 01:59 PM

what's the conventional tuning of a tres?

i've been interested in getting a puerto rican cuatro recently, as it's basically like a mandolin with an extra string (different notes, same intervals).

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Wesley S
Date: 07 May 09 - 02:11 PM

The Martin site says the strings are tuned as follows: EE CC GG

Special Tres Set .0115 E, .024 e, .014 c, .014 c, .024 G, .0115 g

But I'm sure that can be tweaked or adjusted.

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: matt milton
Date: 07 May 09 - 03:08 PM

Good for slide guitarists then - are there any slide tres players, I wonder?

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Art Thieme
Date: 07 May 09 - 03:51 PM

It is also like the dulcimer I made out of a Star Wars lunchbox and a 3-string neck. I played that for over 20 years in the six counties of Northern Illinois in and around Chicago. (Where our politicians make our license plates.)

After patching that instrument into my P.A. system, the idea of an electric Star Wars Dulcimer was a delight to the students. I was striving to show that we could still take what we had around the house to make music with, just as the earlier Americans did out of necessity.

That would be a good lesson for today, actually.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 08 May 09 - 02:49 AM

EE CC GG ?

if the E is the bass it wouldn't be much good for slide, the last thing you want is a major third rumbling around in the bass.

if the G is the bass then it would work ...

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: matt milton
Date: 08 May 09 - 04:29 AM

G is indeed the bass string, going on wikipedia and various other websites.

As an aside though, I disagree. I think you can get some interesting slide stuff with the third of the scale on the bass. You end up with a similar sort of harmony to Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" bassline.

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Jack Campin
Date: 08 May 09 - 04:57 AM

i've been interested in getting a puerto rican cuatro recently, as it's basically like a mandolin with an extra string (different notes, same intervals).

No it isn't - it's tuned in fourths, B, E A d g c' (the lower strings octaved as on a 12-string guitar, and I use a 12-string guitar set on mine).

It's more like an ud with the lowest course missing, or a cobza with an added lower course. (Sounds much like a cobza).

Mine is a cheap Far Eastern one but it sounds very good. The main problem I have with it is that the string tension is mandolin-like - compared with an ud, cumbus or cobza it's very hard on the fingers. And the tailpiece is a cheap and nasty bit of stamped sheet metal. (Also I don't get on with fretted lutes as well as fretless ones, but that's negotiable)

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: matt milton
Date: 08 May 09 - 06:52 AM

Aw, this time I got the strings wrong way round. Reading about them on the hobgoblin website I'd misread it as CGDAEB being low-to-high.

Subject: RE: CF Martin makes a 'Tres'
From: Jack Campin
Date: 08 May 09 - 06:57 AM

And I got it wrong and miscounted the strings - I meant B, E A d g (the c' was from thinking about Arabic oud tuning).