------------------
1985 Emmons push-pull, Session 500, Nashville400, 65 re-issue Fender Twin, Fender Tele

quote:

---

Everyone keeps talking about missing the low C to A7#9 "Nightlife Boo Wah" chord too much, but to me, it's the 5th pedal raise from low C up to D that would be alot harder to live without.

---

But don't you lose the full voiced F# half- diminished by getting rid of the F to F# raise? That would be really hard to live without for me. Almost every Real Book type jazz standard cries out for that change somewhere.

I can also dig what Johnny C. is doing with his low strings, but I kinda like the movement of lowering the F to the D.

[This message was edited by Rick Schmidt on 10 February 2003 at 06:40 PM.]

IE, two frets down from a C chord at the 12th fret; is a G7 with that big powerful root G note on the 10th sring. Forget about the boowah sound. Just that big G note (A note-open strings) is just too great for me to do without.

Also, 3 frets up from the tonic (I chord) is that chord's 7th with the Big C (or is it the big "E" ) on the bottom.

If you try this at the tonic fret (raising the A's to Bb, you have that pesky F (9th string) in the way. If you slide down 2 frets and engage the D pedal those 9ths can be a hindrance. Thus the sound is totally different. True the 9th HAS its place also. Best to have BOTH.

The "boowah" part is minimal in needs. But the note is major in my book. Also when a PSG is called upon to do "tick" guitar, rhythm or bass sounds, there is NO subsitute for the 8th pedal.

If you ever take lessons from a player like Buddy Charleton, he will hold his 8th pedal down and do a walking bass line (while you are playing) that will make one ask, "where IS that bass player?"

Simply awesome. Mac Atcheson in Atlanta will do the same thing. And not once will they use the boowah sound. But that 10th string is doin 'mosta the walkin'

"These boots were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One a these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you......boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom......." 8th string personified

Yeah, Yeah I know, you can get it on other strings. But HOSS, it jes don' sound right!

The dissonant sounds of a C# and a C (maj/minor 7th's) PLUS that big root on the bottom (NOT boohwah-just the note) is used much in music other than western swing; that further tells me I simply do not want to be without it. Putting a pesky D note in the middle of the string just messes it up completely for some of us. And it would not suprise me to find that is the case for most C6 players.

But whatever floats........

One thing I would like to make clear is that I don't advocate any tuning or set up over any other. I have what is currently working for me and that is just about it.
If anybody wants to try out the middle D thing I would just retune and play the guitar without pedals to see if you like it or not.