And Jesse, oh yeah, these too ...

         
         Dmin9          Cmai9      D7         
 E-------0--------------- 0---------0------
 C-------0----------------2--------0------
 A--------0---------------2----------------
 G------10---------------0--------2------
 E------10---------------0--------2------
 C------------------------0--------2------

These chords are supposed to be vertically aligned.

[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 24 January 2004 at 08:30 AM.]

Howard, how do you like that string bender on your Dobro there, now that you have had a chance to get to know it?

Rick, your a real pal. Now I gotta re-think my whole approach!

      B7    E7    A6 
  E|-----|-----|---9-|
  C|---6-|-----|---9-|
  A|---6-|---7-|---9-|
  G|-----|---7-|---9-|
  E|---5-|---7-|-----|
 C#|-----|---7-|-----|

       B7      E7     A6
  E|-------|-----7-|------|
  C|-------|---8---|---9--|
  A|-----7-|-------|------|
  G|---7---|-------|------|
  E|-------|-------|------|
 C#|-------|-------|------|

[This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 24 January 2004 at 05:32 PM.]

Interesting you brought up about raising that 6th string a half a tone with a pedal. It is my understanding that at least one player did just that only with a knee lever. When it was explained to me how it worked, I thought it was quite unique.

Instead of the hassle of a changer finger (or hook) pulling the string (as some have used), this person fashioned a very small mechanical device that looked just like a tiny tuning fork. The shank part of the fork went thru the key head in a hole drilled between the 5th and 6th key posts.

Then he pulled the 6th string thru the "fork" part. By turning the shank of the fork from under neath, the string was bent just slightly enough, as it was captured between the tines of the fork, so it raised the string from C to C#. He had fashioned a small crank on the underneath shaft part of the tuning fork, that was pushed against a tunable stop. A knee lever was then attached to the bottom of the guitar that pulled this crank.

As I recall, the knee lever was installed on the left knee moving to the left. But I see no reason why a pedal and pedal rod could not be rigged to do the same thing.

It is my understanding it worked like a charm. Sounded like a terrific idea to me also.

I later learned that this "tuning fork" method is how they change pitch on given strings on a "Harp". Very possibly where the gentleman got the idea.

Incidently, JB has often tuned his 6th string from C to C# and back often while playing and sometimes EVEN in the middle of a song! But then of course there is only one JB. This is more than likely why he went to a 7 string so he could have both.

quote:

---

pithy

---

I had to look that one up ... thought I was gettin' cursed at

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 24 January 2004 at 05:22 PM.]

Jesse, the peg bender works very well and I'm happy with it. Basically it's a spring loaded tuning key with a cam and lever, connected to a spring loaded pedal by a bicycle cable. It is very accurate and stays in tune.

The only problem there might be is if you're playing out and you break that string. It will take a longer time to replace it because there's a few adjustments involved. You may have to sit out a song. I suppose if you do this enough times you get quicker at it.

As far as my tuning, I'm just learning the very basics of it. I'm learning the simple head of a couple of tunes and simple chords. I seem to favor the top strings, as I'm familiar with those intervals. I have worked out a couple neat licks but I need to connect them into a fluent form. In other words, play music. My motor skills far exceed my mental skills at this point. It's like getting behind the wheel of a Corvette only to find four flat tires.

The pedal with just it's half tone lower makes a big difference. On Minor Swing I have nice 3, 4 & 5 string voicings of minor & dom7 chords without any skip grips, except for a four string minor which is an easy grip. I can move around up tempo nicely with that set up.

I think having the most commonly used chords for Gypsy Swing available without having to slant is important. A lot of the tunes are up tempo (4/4) so slanting, or slanting accurately would be a problem (for me). Also, the playing style is choppy, abrupt, and percussive. The Selmer style guitars have very little sustain which contributes to this sound. I end up blocking and muting. I use a Scheerhorn bar because it gives a crisper, sharper sound, but it's not the best bar for reverse slants (for me). I also don't want to sound too Hawaiian (sorry Jeff) or too bluegrassy. I think the ballads, slower boleros, and bossas are much better with slanting and using more slides. Slanting would also be very effective in the waltzes.

I hope I didn't hijack this thread....too much. I don't want to be the cause of any "Hoopla"..

Mike.... I'd also be interested in your tuning. If you care to tweak it, as you said, I'd like to try it as the top string intervals are the same. I'm not so far into my tuning that there would be a lot to unlearn if I felt yours was better suited for this music.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 24 January 2004 at 09:43 PM.]

I have an email into him asking if he has any more parts to make more. I don't think that he has, but I could be wrong. I'm known for that. I'll post when I hear, or you can contact him if you'd like.
http://www.bradivarius.com/

[This message was edited by HowardR on 24 January 2004 at 08:47 PM.]