DADGAD Day

Subject: DADGAD Day
From: Phil Williams
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 11:59 AM

I'm thinking of hosting a DADGAD day followed by a concert here
at 'Cornwall Harp Centre' later on this year - possibly Sept 12th.
We are on the Devon/Cornwall Border between Bude & Launceston
- Very near to 'Hawker' (Hi Lucy!)
Guest tutor will be Sarah McQuaid and it will be a Days tuition with
lunch, then pasties before evening concert with Sarah McQuaid and
Sarah Deere-Jones (Harp) & Phil Williams (Gazuki & pipes)
The tuition will be in DADGAD and all related topics.
I'm just guaging the interest at the moment, cost will be approx £20
plus a little extra for the meals.
I'd be particularly interested in anyone who'd like to come, as will have to keep it to 20 max, or would welcome thoughts on whether or not its a good idea!
email phil - at - trehawsa.com camping on site if required.
Thanks for reading

Phil Williams

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 02:26 PM

It's too far for me to come but do you know any string manufacturer apart from Newtone who will do DADGAD string sets? Gordon Newton's strings are well thought of but he wants me to buy a minimum of 6 sets and if it turns out I don't like them that would be silly...

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Phil Williams
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 06:06 PM

No, I buy individual strings from Strings-Direct myself, I only dabble in DADGAD (easier to type than say) so re-tuning is the order of the day. Interesting to find out whether Sarah McQuaid or the likes of Tony McManus use different guage Strings for DADGAD compared to conventional tuning. They might for recordings I suppose.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 06:10 PM

I am a limited player, so I rely on the guitar sounding good on its own to cover my playing!

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: catspaw49
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 08:25 PM

Are you looking for asuplier for the special glasses?

Spaw

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Mar 09 - 08:37 PM

???

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 12:20 AM

Are special gauges a requirement for DADGAD to play and sound good? Or is it more a matter of matching the strings to the player and the instrument?

Don

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 01:22 AM

Well, yes, the bottom and top Ds and teh top A are both tuned down a tone from the pitch in standard tuning, so are slacker and floppier, with all that that implies including for ability to excite the top of the guitar.

On the guitar I usually use for DADGAD, since it has a slightly short scale length, I'd play 13/56s or even a 13/58 bluegrass set, in standard, so I'd expect to want 14/18/26/36/46/58 for DADGAD and so far my choice seems to be either to buy strings as singles or to get 6 sets as a minimum order from Gordon Newton.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: andyroberts
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 02:21 AM

There are so many light guage sets of strings for sale these days it's probably normal to use a set of medium guage for tuning to DADGAD.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: GUEST,Richard Bridge awaiting students!
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 04:55 AM

Yes, but if you use 13/17/26/36/46/56 then the 13, 17, and 56 will be floppy when in DADGAD, have that sort of bouzouki-ish sound of a thin slack string, will pull out of tune easily when fretting, will not excite the top and will not sound even with the 26/36/46.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: van lingle
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 07:53 AM

What a 3D convention? :>)

25 1/2" scale guitar with mediums and a 60 low string for DADGAD, drop D and open D setup with medium low action. That's how I do it. Tried DADGAD Newtones and found them a bit softer than John Pearse and D'Addario mediums and not much different tonally. Maybe they lacked some of the warmth of the other sets. My 2 cents.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 12:42 PM

60? That's BIG!

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: van lingle
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 03:13 PM

But it doesn't rattle and I hit it pretty hard when backing tunes.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 09:05 PM

Still awaiting bid results on the glasses concession...........

Spaw

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: GUEST,Bruce Michael Baillie
Date: 08 Mar 09 - 12:26 PM

DADGAD day? sounds like a bloody awful idea. How about a 'Learn a more original tuning' day... Nothing against DADGAD, sounds good when it's done well but too many people use it as a cover for boring amateur playing

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: van lingle
Date: 08 Mar 09 - 09:02 PM

Okay Spaw, you can have the glasses but I'm handling the Goobers, Raisinets and Milk Duds.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Phil Williams
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 07:02 AM

I'm trying to get people who presently play in good old EADGBE to get their feet wet. What they do thereafter......

Looks like 12th September 2009 here on Devon/Cornwall Border 8m Between Launceston & Bude.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: matt milton
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 07:09 AM

I have a self-imposed and fairly arbitrary rule never to retune more than one string at a time. I find it hard enough to keep my guitar in tune over the course of a gig anyway. So I never venture further than drop Ds, or A strings detuned to Gs (or G sharps)

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: bubblyrat
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 07:25 AM

I now play in Double Dropped D all the time,and find that 13 / 57s are generally OK( Daddy Rio Phosphor Bronze usually).The idea of a 60 is interesting,although I don't have to play my Avalon "hard",as it's a very loud instrument anyway,especially with brass bridge -pins.Those things you're going to eat on the night,by the way,are called OGGIES----only Emmetts & Grockles call them "Pasties" !!

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 12:42 PM

Apropos of other tunings: Does anyone have suggestion for string gauges for modal C (CGCGCD)?

The bottom C is of course 2 tones down and tends to drift off sometimes when hit hard. Incidentally, Nic Jones used to drop down another semitone to B (i.e. in Canadee-i-o)!

I recently had some tuning-drift problems with my 30-year old Fylde Goodfellow, took it to Hayward the Luthier in Winchester - he fixed 90% of the problem by refitting quality rosewood pegs. Best £25 I ever spent. Still hates the cold though ...

AP

PS Matt: I take 2 guitars to gigs, one in open tuning, and retune between sets. Works for me. Except when they go out of tune halfway through, but there's no helping that...

PPS Bruce Michael Baillie: Thrashing out 3 chords sounds just as bad in any tuning.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Phil Williams
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 12:44 PM

"Pastie, Pastie, Pastie,   oi, oi, OI!" - yer right it doesn't scan.

Subject: RE: DADGAD Day
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Mar 09 - 12:55 PM

Cor, flipping Heck, CGCGCD (why not E on the top?)

I'd probably suggest 60(or even more!), 48, 38, 25, 16, 14 - but look it up on one of the tension calcualtors. I know one player who does that tuning on standard 13/56s on his L'Arrivee.