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Anyone Tune a 7-String As a 6?
- Thread starter TSJMajesty
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Right. I guess what we're getting at is having the 7th-2nd strings tuned as JP (I assume) tuned his 6th-1st strings? So TJS could use a standard-ish 7 string tuning, but for the M3 between the 3rd and 2nd strings. He'd have to move that to fall between the 4th and 3rd strings.
Depending on the song, it might be easier to just tune the whole guitar in 4ths.
Dave Lewis
Roadie
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These Come in very handy at times 
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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Well, add the JP factor in and I would probably just tune a guitar with the same # of strings the exact way he does instead of transposing on the fly because I am betting it's already difficult enough to play let alone having to shift everything all around
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You have to play at least moderately loud (and even then it's a compromise) but having one of these on hand is great for those days when you have to learn n songs in n different tunings:
Dave Lewis
Roadie
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I can do anything that does on a Tele LP and 335 & Strat variations all with 5 and 6 strings.You have to play at least moderately loud (and even then it's a compromise) but having one of these on hand is great for those days when you have to learn n songs in n different tunings:
metropolis_4
Rock Star
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JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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Time to mount it on the Majesty!
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Of course. Variations, plural. But I don't always have half a dozen guitars readily to hand and set up for exactly the tunings I need, is the point.
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TSJMajesty
Rock Star
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I was so beat after work yesterday (heel still hurts) that I crashed shortly after getting home. Then wide fuckin awake at 1am. What to do? Play guitar, that's what!I hope that tuning issue didn't keep you awake too long. 3:32 AM???
TSJMajesty
Rock Star
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You got it!
BahamaDada
Roadie
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Over a decade ago I moved to another city and as I was young and bored I searched for a new band. A hardcore band invited me to a practice and their guitarist (I was to replace) was there (he came 30min too late, though). He opened his case and kinda awkwardly I was like "Oh, you've got a 7 string. I don't have one.". So their drummer chimed in "Just so you know, he did not want a 7 string. He just did not notice in store, that it had 1 string more. So he just tunes the B string to D (D Standard) as well."It could be fun to put a 6 string set on it and double the low string.
That could get some cool droning.
Could get plain awful just as well...
Sounded shit. But it's worth a try, I guess?
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How the hell do you buy a guitar without noticing all the strings LOL?
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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"ALLL SHOEW YEW IBUNANEZ"
Mikael Dez
Roadie
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I HATE playing drunk, it’s cool when I’m tipsy but at a certain point in intoxication I find myself stooped over my fretboard making nonsense notes and droolingI mean, I’ve been that drunk. I guess I’ve just never been that drunk whilst shopping for guitars.
If I were to shop drunk they’d kick my ass out for holding on to a Les Paul for too long while playing shit
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That’s if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky they sell you that Les Paul, but when you get it home it’s actually a pumpkin. With an extra string.I HATE playing drunk, it’s cool when I’m tipsy but at a certain point in intoxication I find myself stooped over my fretboard making nonsense notes and drooling
If I were to shop drunk they’d kick my ass out for holding on to a Les Paul for too long while playing shit
Ed DeGenaro
Shredder
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My first 8 I tuned E A D G C F A D
This was a double neck that also had a 7 string fretless I tuned B E A D F♯ B E.
That carried over to my first 6 string bass which also was tuned B E A D F♯ B.
I literally got no meaningful use out of it.
When I went back to 8 I decided after experimenting to keep it at standard tuning
F♯ B E A D G B E
Again didn’t use it enough.
That finally changed when I got the Heatley Parisienne 7 3 months ago and I literally started re-thinking how I visualised stuff.
To make a long story shorter. I was thinking of triads as the shape on the d g b string.
That meant my starting point had to change in different directions going up and down.
Once I re-wired my brain to think of the stuff on the strings that were in fourth and then shifting the result in one direction adding strings above or below didn’t matter.
As in…
If you have say an Am triad bottom string on a B string
10 8 7 x x x x
You can move this shape one string set higher and 5 fret down
X 5 3 2 x x x
Or 7 frets up for the octave higher version
X 17 15 14 x x x
Go up a string set and 5 down for that voicing on the next string set
X x 12 10 9 x x
Now you get to the b string all you need to do is raise the note that goes on the the b string up a fret so
The shape that was 12 10 9 become 12 10 10 and moves down 5 frets
X x x 7 5 5 x
And onto the last string set
The note that goes onto the B string gets raised a half step so the 7 5 5 shape becomes 7 6 5 before moving it 5 frets.
X x x x 2 1 0
This was a double neck that also had a 7 string fretless I tuned B E A D F♯ B E.
That carried over to my first 6 string bass which also was tuned B E A D F♯ B.
I literally got no meaningful use out of it.
When I went back to 8 I decided after experimenting to keep it at standard tuning
F♯ B E A D G B E
Again didn’t use it enough.
That finally changed when I got the Heatley Parisienne 7 3 months ago and I literally started re-thinking how I visualised stuff.
To make a long story shorter. I was thinking of triads as the shape on the d g b string.
That meant my starting point had to change in different directions going up and down.
Once I re-wired my brain to think of the stuff on the strings that were in fourth and then shifting the result in one direction adding strings above or below didn’t matter.
As in…
If you have say an Am triad bottom string on a B string
10 8 7 x x x x
You can move this shape one string set higher and 5 fret down
X 5 3 2 x x x
Or 7 frets up for the octave higher version
X 17 15 14 x x x
Go up a string set and 5 down for that voicing on the next string set
X x 12 10 9 x x
Now you get to the b string all you need to do is raise the note that goes on the the b string up a fret so
The shape that was 12 10 9 become 12 10 10 and moves down 5 frets
X x x 7 5 5 x
And onto the last string set
The note that goes onto the B string gets raised a half step so the 7 5 5 shape becomes 7 6 5 before moving it 5 frets.
X x x x 2 1 0
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I've tuned to BEADF#BE a bunch of times, and of course dropping the low B to A. It's pretty fun and gets you used to playing a guitar with an extra high string. Someone called it "7 String Lute Tuning" on SSO.
BahamaDada
Roadie
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Don't want to spam @TSJMajesty 's thread with dumb anecdotes, but that guitarist was special in every way. After the session the drummer told me "Good practice!" "Are you sure?" "Yes, normally our singer/shouter doesn't sing during practice. Today he did." A week later they reached out to me and I was like "Thank you, but I have other plans" and felt like I dodged a huge bullet there. Anybody want to make a "Worst auditions you had?" thread in the rant area?
Back to topic:
Now that I slept a night over it the idea "dwelled" in me. Maybe it would sound really cool to have a string that is just an octave under your 6th. IIRC the guy in my story did not do that. He just doubled it as the same. Who has a 7string with a thick enough B string to tune it to Drop E while having a normal 7 string tuning on everything else and can do some recordings?
