I read that a blues great (Leadbelly?) tuned his baritone 12 string with the 6th pair 2 octaves apart. So, has anyone tried tuning a 12 with the 5th and 6th pairs both 2 octaves apart, and if so how does it sound? With DADGAD tuning, I should be able to use the single 2nd .014 and 1st .010 gauge as unwound 6th and 5th strings 2 octaves above the low ones. I know the answer is 'why not try it', but I defer to your previous experience, and anyway I'm too lazy to just try it in case it's a miserable fail : ) Thanks, Max
2-octave gap 5 and 6 pairs on a 12?
- Thread starter maxr
- Start date
12 string
Senior Member
Well, why not try it if you want to? I've tried the 2 octave 6th course. It was kinda fun at first, it energizes the downbeats and gives them more emphasis, but I found that I needed that middle octave more. Lead Belly also had 2 matching wound strings in unison in his 3rd course. My Gibson B-45 12N came that way from the factory in 1966. You would be amazed at how much this changes the sound of the guitar. I prefer the high octave 3rd course.
There are lots of different ways to set up and string a 12er. Jesse Fuller sometimes played with the top 4 courses in unison and octaves only in the bottom 2 courses. Blind Willie McTell tuned so very low that he was able to put a high octave string in each of the bottom 5 courses, unisons only on top. There really aren't any rules so feel free to experiment. If you don't like any of the results the fix is just a string change away!
' Strang
There are lots of different ways to set up and string a 12er. Jesse Fuller sometimes played with the top 4 courses in unison and octaves only in the bottom 2 courses. Blind Willie McTell tuned so very low that he was able to put a high octave string in each of the bottom 5 courses, unisons only on top. There really aren't any rules so feel free to experiment. If you don't like any of the results the fix is just a string change away!
' Strang
Never tried it, but I'd think it'd buzz like crazy.
^ Not that leadbelly minded... 