How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).

How do you feel about Nashville Tuning?

Wouldn't be without it!
7
16%
I've used it occasionally, but always reverted to normal tuning afterwards. / It interests me, but I couldn't justify having a dedicated guitar to it.
9
21%
I've heard of it but have yet to try it.
22
51%
I've only just heard of it.
2
5%
Couldn't care less. Country music is for redneck hicks.
3
7%
 
Total votes: 43

User avatar
Ceylon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3280
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:27 am
Location: Middle of the Baltic Sea

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by Ceylon » Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:46 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Sep 07, 2020 5:21 pm
Ceylon wrote:
Mon Sep 07, 2020 7:02 am
If you have 3 12-strings that you don't use much, ever consider stringing one of them up with two sets of octave strings for DOUBLE NASHVILLE TUNING?
I don't know if that is what I'm thinking, but I always thought about getting 2 packs of 12-string strings and using only the thin/high octave for all couplings. I always figured it would be like a baritone mandolin.

Exactly this is what I mean. Seems like you'd get a whole lot of jangle and a very soft-playing 12-string.
Science Friction burns my fingers
Electricity still lingers

User avatar
UlricvonCatalyst
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7193
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:05 am
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Tue Sep 08, 2020 2:06 am

Bradley-Jazz wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:49 am
Richard Hawley talking about NT on a Fylde acoustic....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZt6yWQW_kY
Lovely, thanks!

User avatar
UlricvonCatalyst
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7193
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:05 am
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Tue Sep 08, 2020 2:11 am

Ceylon wrote:
Mon Sep 07, 2020 7:02 am
If you have 3 12-strings that you don't use much, ever consider stringing one of them up with two sets of octave strings for DOUBLE NASHVILLE TUNING?
I could also string the third one up with 2 sets of 'normal' electric strings and call it Glasgow Tuning. I'm already imagining the wall of sound you'd get if you put all three together in a mix.

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by parry » Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:21 am

mbene085 wrote:
Mon Sep 07, 2020 5:26 am
Here was my experience: I discovered it, was fascinated by it, tried it out with one set of strings, spent a lot of time writing/playing in it, and ultimately didn't find it useful enough for my own purposes. It's been...5 years since my experiment with it and I occasionally consider trying it again, but the reality is that I don't play, write or enjoy the kind of material that seems to benefit from it.
Thanks for taking the time to write out my experience as well. I'm a few months out from selling the guitar I had in that tuning (Jag) and while I do think about setting up another that way, I think I'll wait until we head back in to the studio to finish our pre-covid tracks. I suspect it'll come in handy, fleshing-out a couple of those songs.
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:35 am

Just curious so far. I do a bit of doubling of chords with different capo positions, but I like the idea of Nashville for arpeggiated stuff.

User avatar
MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2407
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:28 am
Location: Linz, Austria

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Mon Aug 07, 2023 11:50 am

Thomann Package arrived today and it contains a pack of Nashville tuning strings.

What guitar do you recommend it for?

- Telemaster (with a Widerange in the neck)
- Squier VM Jaguar (with Surf90s and a Lipstick behind the Bridge)
- Danelectro Dead on 67 (double Lipsticks)
- Les Paul (Gibson with P90s or Epiphone with HBs)
- Eastwood Sidejack Deluxe (with P90s and an Offset Vibrato)

And how „much“ work can I expect from the change in tension? Should I worry about the nut too?

User avatar
UlricvonCatalyst
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7193
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:05 am
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Mon Aug 07, 2023 12:24 pm

^ Danelectro Dead on 67. Why? Just a hunch - I've never had my hands on one - but everyone knows the Dano DC-12 with lipsticks punches above its price bracket.

Hey, it's three years later and I bought a ratty Takamine and the cheapest 12-string set money could buy and now have a Nashville-tuned guitar, which I like just fine.

Sure, the Richard Hawley video shows that NT-ing a beautifully-made acoustic will yield lovely-sounding results, but I'm happy with my £100 one for my purposes.

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7343
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Aug 07, 2023 12:39 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:35 am
Just curious so far. I do a bit of doubling of chords with different capo positions, but I like the idea of Nashville for arpeggiated stuff.
Since posting this I had my first experience with Nashville tuning in the studio (it’s all over this song), and liked it so much I bought a cheap acoustic to devote to it at home, and most likely my next guitar will be a better one for the application.

I love it. It’s a great way to add subtle brightness and lift on recordings. It’s one of those things you hear all the time without realizing it. To me it’s much more useful than a 12 string because it takes up a lot less bandwidth.

User avatar
daemon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 832
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:44 pm
Location: Cincinnati, Ohia

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by daemon » Mon Aug 07, 2023 12:49 pm

I'd only heard of it but tried it recently on an extra parts Strat I had when I bought a cheap pack to get free shipping. Laid it down as an extra track on something we recorded and it's pretty cool. Definitely not something to use on everything, but good to have one strung up and around just in case.

User avatar
PapaB
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 286
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2023 9:02 pm
Location: Southern US

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by PapaB » Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:12 pm

I like old school country. But I'm not a fan of thin strings so I'm out. As a matter of fact, I'm much more inclined to remove the treble double strings from the 6, 5 & 4 on a 12 string, and recut the nut for a bit heavier bass strings. The heavy bass sound like a normal guitar, the doubled trebled sound like a second guitar, with flanged notes.

But music is a very personal thing, with no boundaries to creativity, and unlimited possibility. I'm happy to hear of those that like it.

(Right now I have two 12 strings, tuned normally and 1/2 step down. I also have a 9 string, tuned normally but as stated above. If I'm playing acoustic for folk, just guitar, self and small audience, no amplification, I generally always play the 12 string. It's loud, cuts well, most non musicians are not familiar with it, and instantly like it. It impresses folk.)

User avatar
Dave
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1226
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:32 am
Location: ON

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by Dave » Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:12 pm

I monkeyed with Nashville a summer or two ago on my Jazzmaster with a toaster in the bridge. My takeaway was that it was way too bright and sharp, no matter how I tried to tame it down or mix/blendwith conventionally tuned electric it just fuckin rang like a bell but in an unpleasant way that seemed to just overtake everything else. Ultimately it was novel but I wasn’t exactly spellbound with it, and that’s coming from a guy who adores the sound of electric 12.
"I'm all metric and loving every inch of it"
-Orang Goreng

User avatar
Zork
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1811
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:01 am
Location: Bremen, Germany

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by Zork » Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:44 am

I had my Strat and an acoustic set up in NT. I like it on both acoustics and electrics for recording but it still used it so rarely on the Strat that I went back to normal strings. On the acoustic, however, I still have NT and use it quite often to noodle around, preferably in open tunings and/or with a capo on the 5th or 7th fret. I don't have a 12 string but I consider a Squier JM XII to play it with huge fuzz pedals. On acoustics I think I prefer NT over 12 strings. It's somehow more inspiring to me.

User avatar
BoringPostcards
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7045
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:50 am
Location: Newfoundland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by BoringPostcards » Tue Aug 08, 2023 8:01 am

I haven’t tried proper NT, but I strung an acoustic up with a mix of normal gauge and the tandem strings from a 12 set.
It was like this:

Low E- Tandem string
A- standard A
D- tandem string
G- standard G
B - standard B
E - tandem string

It was really cool. All the chords sound so different, especially since the A, G and B are an octave below the rest of the strings.
I’m going to do that again sometime soon with one of my acoustics.
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

User avatar
UlricvonCatalyst
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7193
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:05 am
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:39 am

BoringPostcards wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 8:01 am
I haven’t tried proper NT, but I strung an acoustic up with a mix of normal gauge and the tandem strings from a 12 set.
It was like this:

Low E- Tandem string
A- standard A
D- tandem string
G- standard G
B - standard B
E - tandem string

It was really cool. All the chords sound so different, especially since the A, G and B are an octave below the rest of the strings.
I’m going to do that again sometime soon with one of my acoustics.
Not sure if I'm missing something or misunderstanding what you mean by "tandem", but it seems like only the low E and D strings would be shifted up an octave in that set, as the B and high E strings on a 12-string set are just pairs with the same gauge . I guess the high E is the apex, but its relation to the B and G strings would be the same as on a conventionally strung guitar, no?

User avatar
BoringPostcards
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7045
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:50 am
Location: Newfoundland

Re: How do you feel about Nashville Tuning? (Poll)

Post by BoringPostcards » Tue Aug 08, 2023 2:16 pm

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:39 am
BoringPostcards wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 8:01 am
I haven’t tried proper NT, but I strung an acoustic up with a mix of normal gauge and the tandem strings from a 12 set.
It was like this:

Low E- Tandem string
A- standard A
D- tandem string
G- standard G
B - standard B
E - tandem string

It was really cool. All the chords sound so different, especially since the A, G and B are an octave below the rest of the strings.
I’m going to do that again sometime soon with one of my acoustics.
Not sure if I'm missing something or misunderstanding what you mean by "tandem", but it seems like only the low E and D strings would be shifted up an octave in that set, as the B and high E strings on a 12-string set are just pairs with the same gauge . I guess the high E is the apex, but its relation to the B and G strings would be the same as on a conventionally strung guitar, no?
Yeah, I was writing from a wedding, lol. I meant to put the G also as a tandem. By tandem, I just mean the higher string from the 12 Set.
So the Low E, D and G would be an octave higher than normal.
I guess, it’s really as simple as swapping out the set and leaving the A where it is, rather than using the higher string.

*Edited for clarity
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

Post Reply