High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)

Subject: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 03:44 PM

Do any of you have high strung guitars? How do you use them? finger-picked, flat-picked, solo or with other instruments...
How do you string them? - bottom four octave or bottom three?
Do you buy guaged strings or just buy a twelve string set and use the high strings for one guitar and the low ones for another? How often do you use it?

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Mooh
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 05:06 PM

Rarely have I a guitar "high strung" since a decent 12 string suits my needs better, but when I do it's strung with the 6th and 5th and 4th strings up one octave. I don't like the 3rd string up one octave 'cause it doesn't suit my ears when used with swing chords and rhythms. If I was to leave a guitar high strung I'd switch out the nut.

6th is .030, 5th is .023, 4th is .017 unless I'm trying to use up odds and sodds of strings in which case something close will do. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings are standard light guage.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Mooh
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 05:58 PM

Sorry 4th is a .012, or .014. Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Mooh
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 10:06 AM

Bump, in case anyone's still interested...Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Bee
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 10:10 AM

I am. I had never heard of doing this (sheltered life, I guess). Why would one 'high string' a guitar?

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 11:45 AM

I can only say, Bee, that Paul Simon uses it a lot and, I think, Keith Richard; supplies a delicate backdrop.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Mooh
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 12:32 PM

I've used it to get out of the way of a lot of other notes in the lower register of the guitar, like the left hand of the piano, other guitars, banjo, various mandolin related instruments, etc. Others have used it to get something approaching that chimey 12 string sound without the additional strings; to mimic (not so well) other instruments like mandolins, or just to get other chord "voicings". In groups with multiple guitars, a high strung one can be a nice alternative.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 12:40 PM

also if using a hi strung electric with powerfull humbuckers..

chords sounds very good.. more tight & focused sound.. through high gain distortion..

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 18 Feb 07 - 02:24 PM

As Guest Guest said, the black Yamaha Paul Simon plays is a high strung. I seldom see him play a standard stringing any more.
Kieth Richards talks about "putting a little angel dust on this track". He means using a High Strung.
Ian Tamblyn almost always brings a high strung Harmony Sovreign on stage and plays it for a few tunes. He's the only person I've ever heard play one solo.

I have an old Yamaha that I keep strung this way. I buy a light guage twelve string set and use the high strings on the Yamaha and the regular strings on my wife's '21 O-18. I have broken a 3rd string and replaced it with a regular G string and I found for melody finger-picking this worked well. I did fill the nut slots with super glue.

Thanks for your input to this thread Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: deadfrett
Date: 19 Feb 07 - 04:28 AM

For years I try'd different tunings on my dobros and slide guitars until I got into using an open D tuning (DADF#AD-lo to hi). I discovered that by lowering the hi D 1/2 tone I got a Dmajor7,which has a New Age/Hawaiian sound. Another fret lower is the D7th great for Blues etc. Next step down is the D6th great for Western Swing and Jazz licks. I hope this isn't to far off your thread Mooh. Cheers.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: deadfrett
Date: 19 Feb 07 - 04:42 AM

Oops. Thanks Jim for the thread. By the way the string guages are I use are .54,.42,.36,.26,.18,.16. These are pretty much standard for dobro and work well for G tunings as well. D

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: kendall
Date: 19 Feb 07 - 08:36 AM

I tune my 12 string down to "D" because I like the deeper sound. The guitar itself is bigger than a standard Dreadnaught so it can handle it.
I also use two wound strings in place of the "B" strings which eliminates that intonation thing.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Mooh
Date: 19 Feb 07 - 08:47 AM

It might be interesting to string a 12 string as a unison paired high strung guitar, though it might also be overkill. If I only had enough guitars...

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 12:05 PM

Anyone interested in this thread should pick up a copy of the Sept. 2007 Acoustic Guitar magazine. There's a good article on Nashville tuning in it.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Chris in Portland
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 03:43 PM

Yes - the Acoustic Guitar article was very good, and there are sound samples for subscribers. D'addario makes a set of "high tuned" strings. Just ordered a set - should be good when playing witn others, but maybe not for solo performing.
The article says that maybe Chet Atkins invented the tuning.
Chris in Portland

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Warwick Slade
Date: 01 Aug 07 - 04:13 PM

Not seen the Acousic mag so cannot comment but this has been asked before. I use it to play Carter Family type stuff where the thumb picks out the melody in a clawhammer style. Nice with second guitar
I heard of it from a guy called Mr Pink.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: SharonA
Date: 02 Aug 07 - 03:22 AM

I have a Larrivee parlor guitar that I've strung with the Nashville Strings, extra light gauge with the bottom four an octave higher. IMO a smaller-body guitar like the parlor style is ideal for this stringing.

Mostly I've used it for finger-picking, with a bit of light strumming (with fingers, not picks) thrown in. I've been playing folk songs on it so far -- no blues or country yet.

To Bee, who asked why one would do this: It sounds soooooo pretty! The tone is kind of a cross between a guitar and a celesta (think "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from the Nutcracker) -- very sweet.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Stringsinger
Date: 02 Aug 07 - 10:40 AM

I play a Tacoma tuned up a fourth from standard guitar tuning. My wife plays a standard tuning on her Martin. The two instruments blend well.

The Nashville tuning does create a "spread" for acoustic guitars that acts as a nice "bed" for vocals. In this, it is reminiscent of a manjoline or a steel strung uke or the Cavacinho from Brazil. It also has a Tipple sound.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Cool Beans
Date: 02 Aug 07 - 03:56 PM

This is a revelation to me. Fascinating. I'll try it some time but will keep my eyes closed when I tune up, in case of string snappage. How do you prevent that, anyway?

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Black Hawk unlogged
Date: 03 Aug 07 - 11:01 AM

C'mon all you knowledgeable folks - How do you prevent string breakage? Or is Cool Beans & I missing something?

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Cluin
Date: 03 Aug 07 - 01:32 PM

I've got an old Applause guitar I kept high-strung for a while (using the high strings from a 12-string set) but I've since restrung it normally so my neice could use it for learning. She has it now.

I didn't play it much, except in back-up work. Used it in the studio once on a buddy's indie.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: PoppaGator
Date: 03 Aug 07 - 02:24 PM

The strings shouldn't break as long as you use the appropriate guages (thicknesses). At least, they shouldn't be any more likely to break than "normal" guage strings in "normal" tuning, nor than the upper-register stings in each pair of strings on a 12-string guitar (which is what the Nashville-tuned strings essentially are).

Re-read the above for several different opinions about the exact guages to use, and also (I believe) there is a reference to one string manufacturer/vendor who markets a six-string set specifically designed for Nashville tuning.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 03 Aug 07 - 07:10 PM

one of the guitars i keep in Nashville tuning
is a bright red 3/4 scale kids Squier [hard-tail] strat..

i strung it with the upper course of a 12 string set of 11's gauge..


its a really chiming jangly tone.. even allowing for the cheap Squier pickups..


works well with a touch of reverb/delay

nice for picking out notes in chords..

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: GUEST,Black Hawk unlogged
Date: 04 Aug 07 - 05:35 AM

Thanks PoppaGator - I realised the 12 string bit after posting. Should have picked it up earlier.
Will have to try this.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: van lingle
Date: 04 Aug 07 - 07:43 AM

You can hear "Nashville tuned" acoustic guitars on studio recordings of Wild Horses and Jumpin' Jack Flash by the Stones, especially discernable at the beginning.

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: catspaw49
Date: 04 Aug 07 - 08:38 AM

HEY MOOH!!

Geez Man, how quickly we forget...........Actually it has been about 7 years but read this old post (and thread for that matter) talking about Nashville Tuning and 12 strings too.

The mind is the first thing to go.....CLICK HERE

Spaw

Subject: RE: High Strung Guitars (Nashville Tuned)
From: Chris in Portland
Date: 06 Aug 07 - 05:20 PM

I put the D'Addario high tuned set on the ol' Martin yesterday - very nice sound - Carter Family picking works the best. Sounds overly high with a capo, but not too much need for a capo and should work with another standard tuned guitar or bass. Finger-picked tunes come out different, but it still works. Will see tomorrow if it works with pizza parlor acoustics.
Chris