"Nashville tuning" question

[trosse]

Google search "Nashville Tuning" and you'll get 735,000 items.

Then try Googling "Nashville Stringing" and you'll get 57,700 results.

I think they're both accurate descriptions, so take your pick.

If you want to really argue about something, let's talk about vibratos and tremolos . . .

It's not always so that the majority is completely right Nashville Tuning means at least one more thing than changeing to thinner strings: Among country music pros it's the name for the open E9 tuning B-D-E-F#-G#-B-E-G#-D#-F# (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E9_tuning) - but now we are into pedal steel land... So maybe there is - after all - a mixup between those two expressions.

... Yes vibratos and tremolos... that lovely old discussion. I think Leo Fender (or somebody in his staff) came up with the words Syncronized Tremolo - which is superbly for marketing. And these days everybody know what it is - even it's wrong because they do mean... erhhh... vibrato... or do they... Some Fender guitars have tremolo units... as do some of the F amps - but but when it comes to amps it's no longer changes in the pitch but a fast variation in the volume Still we all know what we are talking about.

But the most important part of my original answer here was (I probably didn't get my point across very well in the first place ), that this stringing (or tuning) (which is also used outside Nashville btw) - won't hurt the guitar due to the balanced sets of strings as well as it changes the guitars overall sound without adding anything - it sounds a bit like a 12 stringer or a pedal steel but with los of bass and midrange... It feels - as well - a bit rubberlike to play a guitar with N....

BTW John... I'm not going to high string, Nashville tune or Nashville string my 360... it sounds EXCELLENT the way it is

[elreydlp]

Just saw an ad for this:

http://guitarsandgear.sweetwater.com/20 ... nashville/

[jps]

.....but now we are into pedal steel land...

So, now we are in CJJ land? Come on CJ, please explain this all to us.

[electrofaro]

ah, potatos.

Ooh, offensive post!!!

I did a search for "nashville stringing" and didn't get ANY results on the topic - both using Google.com and Yahoo.com - search results are very much different for people of different regions. When I searched for "nashville tuning" I got pages for "nashville high-string tuning"...

I must get an old guitar somewhere and try this... or convince my DPS to convert one of the LP Studios to it...

[trosse]

ah, potatos.

Ooh, offensive post!!!

I did a search for "nashville stringing" and didn't get ANY results on the topic - both using Google.com and Yahoo.com - search results are very much different for people of different regions. When I searched for "nashville tuning" I got pages for "nashville high-string tuning"...

I must get an old guitar somewhere and try this... or convince my DPS to convert one of the LP Studios to it...

You actually won't need and old guitar... it won't hurt your favorite guitar at all. If you google nashville tuning and/or nashville stringing on qoogle world wide - then you wil get plenty of hits - even from YouTube so that you can actually hear the soyund of this tuning ...erhhh... stringning

[trosse]

We recently built a 660 leftie with Nashville tuning at the request of U2's Edge and Bono, for use in the Spiderman musical. We learned that it had about 100 lbs. less tension on the neck, so the truss rods have to be loosened significantly to flatten the fingerboard.

The effect/sound is absolutely amazing and I keep thinking I need to have another one made for the studio.

Oddly enough, it was originally requested as a 12 stringer but after looking at all the very tiny plain wire strings involved, we quickly concluded this would induce a serious case of over-jangle. The six string final version is already somewhere between ultra-jangle and mondo-jangle level.

John, how come it could be as much as 100 lbs. less just by changeing the strings and tune them up??? A set of 0.009 to 0.42 has a string tension a bit lower then 100 lbs itself - so is that really correct?

If you take a standard set of say D'Addario super light wound (as mentioned) then E 0.042 will have a tension at 14,8 lbs. - and substituted with a plain 0.009 it will have a tension level af 13,1... that's minus 1,7 lbs. The A and D wound strings pull each 15,8 lbs. but substituted with say 0.11s the pull of each will be about 10 lbs each - which all in all means an overall reduced string tension at about (5+5+1,7=) 11,7 lbs - if the guitar is kept in standard tuning... or am I completely wrong??? What string gauge did you use and how did you actually measure it out?

[electrofaro]

You actually won't need and old guitar... it won't hurt your favorite guitar at all. If you google nashville tuning and/or nashville stringing on qoogle world wide - then you wil get plenty of hits - even from YouTube so that you can actually hear the soyund of this tuning ...erhhh... stringning

I really am not going to change good strings on my guitar, which I barely had to tune for ages, to put the Nashville stringing on it, end up having to adjust etc... etc... etc...

[jdawe]

It won't hurt the guitar, but changing between the two setups is a bit of a pain because at minimum you have to reintonate your bridge. IMO it would be a waste of a good guitar to leave it set up in Nashville tuning all the time, because the sound is somewhat limited as compared to normal tuning/stringing. I also suspect (although I'm not sure, and stand to be corrected) that the sound difference between a cheap and an expensive guitar is reduced when you eliminate all the low notes.

Regarding John Hall's comment about 100 lbs tension difference, I was puzzled by this too but concluded that he was talking about the difference between the Nashville setup and a 12-string (since the guitar he was talking about was originally intended to be a 12).

[johnhall]

Regarding John Hall's comment about 100 lbs tension difference, I was puzzled by this too but concluded that he was talking about the difference between the Nashville setup and a 12-string (since the guitar he was talking about was originally intended to be a 12).

That's exactly correct and I didn't make it clear in my post.

There is, however, some difference even on a six-stringer, even though theoretically there shouldn't be much. You can check it out with any of the various string tension calculators. Obviously it has to do with the substitution of some solid plain wire strings for some that would otherwise be wound.

[trosse]

Regarding John Hall's comment about 100 lbs tension difference, I was puzzled by this too but concluded that he was talking about the difference between the Nashville setup and a 12-string (since the guitar he was talking about was originally intended to be a 12).

That's exactly correct and I didn't make it clear in my post.

There is, however, some difference even on a six-stringer, even though theoretically there shouldn't be much. You can check it out with any of the various string tension calculators. Obviously it has to do with the substitution of some solid plain wire strings for some that would otherwise be wound.

Ah sorry, now I understand... my wife thought I was calculating last years income but I was hunting 100 lbs (string tension - not my body) and to make things even more complicated we measure weight out in kilograms here in Europe - and that means that we don't have a single clue whatsoever about what 14 lbs. feels like... if you understand what I mean.

I don't know if I'm right - but the truss rod(s) is(are) a bit like the holy grail... don't touch it unless absolutely necessary. Or am I actually wrong, John? You live with them (make them...) every day and probably feel a bit more comfortable and relaxed in handling these important counter tension fellows, or ???

[beatbyrd]

The effect/sound is absolutely amazing and I keep thinking I need to have another one made for the studio.

Hi, I don't own a 12 string acoustic guitar, but I've got a couple of 6 stringers. I just posted a cover of "California Dreamin' " on my website. I used one acoustic guitar with regular stringing and I 'angel strung' the other with the high pair strings of a 12 string set. The two guitars are panned slightly left and right, so the listener has to 'assemble' an acoustic 12 string in their head. I agree that the effect is pretty interesting. It's most noticeable during the middle recorder solo. http://www.beatbyrd.com/misc_covers
Disclaimer: no Papa's were injured or hurt during the recording of the song. Tom

[trosse]

The effect/sound is absolutely amazing and I keep thinking I need to have another one made for the studio.

Hi, I don't own a 12 string acoustic guitar, but I've got a couple of 6 stringers. I just posted a cover of "California Dreamin' " on my website. I used one acoustic guitar with regular stringing and I 'angel strung' the other with the high pair strings of a 12 string set. The two guitars are panned slightly left and right, so the listener has to 'assemble' an acoustic 12 string in their head. I agree that the effect is pretty interesting. It's most noticeable during the middle recorder solo. http://www.beatbyrd.com/misc_covers
Disclaimer: no Papa's were injured or hurt during the recording of the song. Tom

Very nice recording - it's sounding nice and airy - and is great for recording where you can add more guitars swith more midrange - as the other guitars deliver here. They blend nicely in the stereo mix I think.

That said I MUST say as well that the late John Phillips was one of the all time greatest American pop/rock composers. What a genious. Maybe the greatest of them all.

[jdawe]

Tom's recording is great example of the sound of high-strung acoustic. If anyone is curious about what a Nashville-tuned electric sounds like, here's something I threw together featuring my high-strung 430:

http://soundcloud.com/jdawe/05-scrapings

The Nashville-tuned 430 is in the right channel during the beginning and middle segments. (The other electric guitar parts are all done on my 620-6; unfortunately the bass and acoustic guitar parts have no Ric content).

[harry]

I first tried this many years ago after reading that the Stones deployed this on 'Wild Horses'. I may have done this twice, on my Ovation 12-string, usually when I was ready to change the strings anyways. It tended to wear thin on me after awhile (pun intended)....

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

Tom's recording is great example of the sound of high-strung acoustic. If anyone is curious about what a Nashville-tuned electric sounds like, here's something I threw together featuring my high-strung 430:

http://soundcloud.com/jdawe/05-scrapings

The Nashville-tuned 430 is in the right channel during the beginning and middle segments. (The other electric guitar parts are all done on my 620-6; unfortunately the bass and acoustic guitar parts have no Ric content).

Nice track! Really "ultra jangle" is correct... lol