Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

12stringbassist wrote:(this one ISN'T mine).

Sorry Ian/Kenny... I just assumed from who posted the picture..... regardless still a nice bass.

Have 12s ever had string sets tuned to like 5th?, 7th? or 9ths? There were a couple of threads around where this was done with the D & G strings on an 8. I have played around with it a couple of times. Just was wondering what kind of effect it might have here on a 12.

weemac wrote:You do have to flaten your grip on a twelver, not the best way to play as it puts your hand in a weakened position to start with.. But with a few asprin it gets easier....

Eden.

Do you place the aspirin between your fingers and the strings or under the strings?

jps wrote:

weemac wrote:You do have to flaten your grip on a twelver, not the best way to play as it puts your hand in a weakened position to start with.. But with a few asprin it gets easier....
Eden.

Do you place the aspirin between your fingers and the strings or under the strings?

Capsules or tablets? I'd wonder if the dust coming off the tablets might, well...

You know I just can't think of a funny comeback at these comments...

Nightshift brain...

Eden.

ram wrote:Have 12s ever had string sets tuned to like 5th?, 7th? or 9ths? There were a couple of threads around where this was done with the D & G strings on an 8. I have played around with it a couple of times. Just was wondering what kind of effect it might have here on a 12.

This next comment is about guitars, but it would apply to basses as well. Several folks have experimented with different tunings of the octave strings to good effect, most notably David Gilmour.

Following logical overtone structure, the experiment that would come to mind to really fill in some texture would be to make the third string either 2 octaves or an octave + fifth, so the tuning would be:

E-e-e'
A-a-a'
D-d-d'
G-g-g'

or

E-e-b
A-a-e
D-d-a
G-g-d

There are other possibilities, but if you go much higher in pitch, the diameter of the string gets so small it makes intonation of the triplet very difficult with the difference in diameters of the respective strings, to say nothing of the intonation issues, depending on how the bridge saddles are constructed and how they adjust.

I'd like to try E-e-e' etc. sometime. It might be fun.

The ones with fifths would sound too Robert Fripp for me. I like pop songs.

kennyhowes wrote:The ones with fifths would sound too Robert Fripp for me. I like pop songs.

I tuned my 8 string Hagstrom in fifths once (by downtuning the octave string) and it sounded more like stoner rock than like Robert Fripp to me. It is very nice to do stoner like riffing.

Some one... might have been Miguel, said something like just the G & or D string tuned to say 9th or 7ths. I tried it. You could do the regular playing on the E & A (maybe D) and then some neat stuff on the tuned string or strings. Actually pretty cool!

Paul W., or anyone else who knows this...........


Please tell me....what is the advantage to building this 12-string in short scale?????? Wouldn't that cause more problems tension and intonation-wise????? Lord knows.....12 string guitars and 8 string basses in long scale can suffer from these problens.

Lefty4003s8






Do not drink from the toilet when taking Lyrica

Lefty4003S8 wrote:Please tell me....what is the advantage to building this 12-string in short scale?????? Wouldn't that cause more problems tension and intonation-wise????? Lord knows.....12 string guitars and 8 string basses in long scale can suffer from these problens.

I think you just answered your own question!

The Hamer I had been using is a 30.5" scale, and it's leaps and bounds easier to play than the Hamer Chapparal, the MusicVox, the Waterstone...pretty much than every other 12 string bass I'd encountered. So we went with that. Plus, it bridges the gap a bit between the typical 34" scale for bass and the <25" scale for guitar, which works for me conceptually, since the 12 string bass is kind of a mix of a bass and a guitar.

BTW, I just ran across this photo of a short-scale Hamer B12S:



A couple of folks have accused our 2030/12 design as being a bit much like this instrument, which is funny considering that this classic Hamer shape is a rip of the Gibson Les Paul Junior double-cut.

kennyhowes wrote:BTW, I just ran across this photo of a short-scale Hamer B12S:



A couple of folks have accused our 2030/12 design as being a bit much like this instrument, which is funny considering that this classic Hamer shape is a rip of the Gibson Les Paul Junior double-cut.

Hey, we know that guy!!

johnallg wrote:Hey, we know that guy!!

WOW! I should have read the fine print.

Talk about a thread coming full circle...

teeder wrote:I'd love to hear it! Do you have a sound clip, Kenny?

Why yes, I finally do!

Great Kenny! Thanks!

Any neck dive issues? That's a lot of metal on one end! Cool project.