[All_¥our_Bass]

I was pondering the idea of getting as much range as possible out of an instrument. I found that by tunning a six in perfect fifths you can get as much range as an eight in fourths.

Six in fifths (as it would appear in a tab)
F (one semitone above High E on a standard tuned six)
A#
D#
G#
C#
F# (low F# on an eight)

Seven in fifths
C (three semitones above High A on "High A" eights)
F (one semitone above High E on a standard tuned six)
A#
D#
G#
C#
F# (low F# on an eight)

I also found that by tunning a seven with fourths between the two lowest strings and in fifths everywhere above that you could get the range of both popular eight string tunning conventions.

A# (one semitone above High A on "High A" eights)
D#
G#
C#
F#
B
F# (low F# on an eight)

What do you think?
I originally started thinking of this because there is a six string guitar that I want, but I like the extra range of sevens and eights, so I decided to see how much more range I could get by tunning in fifths, and was amazed at how much extra range you could squeeze out of an instrument this way, it's truly amazing.

[Metal Ken]

well, then you get the issue of being able to TUNE to above a high A. high A is hard enough to get to on its own.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Yeah I know about that. I was thinking "in theory." I know high A's are a pain in the ass. I also thought this would make for some good disscussion.

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

well, then you get the issue of being able to TUNE to above a high A. high A is hard enough to get to on its own.

It would be cool to instead, take the tuning down a full step on it, (Esp. on a 7) and have the full range of a standard guitar and bass plus the high Bb you would then have.

[distressed_romeo]

It's been done, and in theory it's great, but there is the issue of relearning the neck, which would be a steep learning curve.
I've often thought the best solution would be to use five strings, like on those old Schecter celloblaster, as the smaller neck would make it more comfortable to finger scales in four-note-per-string patterns. I've contemplated trying it on my Les Paul, tuning C to E and either leaving off the top string, or doubling the high E for drones.
Another bonus is that it apparently makes the guitar more in tune, by bringing the overtones on each string more in-line with their neighbours.

It's a great idea, and one I'd like to investigate one day, but unfortunately there are all sorts of inbuilt difficulties at the moment...

[ElRay]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

I was pondering the idea of getting as much range as possible out of an instrument. I found that by tunning a six in perfect fifths you can get as much range as an eight in fourths.

Check-out: http://www.tkinstruments.com/5ths_tu...r_and_bass.htm

Before he started doing compound-scale, aka multi-scale, aka Fanned-Fret (TM) guitars, he tuned his 25-1/2 6-string like:

So, starting from Low to high the string gauges and corresponding notes are:

• .074" - G - 1 step below a bass guitar's A string
• .054" - D - just 1 step below a Guitar's low E string
• .034" - A - same as a standard A string on a guitar
• .020" - E - 1-1/2 steps below a guitar's G string
• .014" - B - same as a standard B string on a guitar
• .009" - F# - 1 step above a guitar's E string

From the other threads where this has come up, it seems getting a Gary Goodman 0.008, starting with a high-A (A4, right?) and then working down by fifths would be the way to go.

Ray

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by OzzyC

It would be cool to instead, take the tuning down a full step on it, (Esp. on a 7) and have the full range of a standard guitar and bass plus the high G you would then have.

Tunning down a whole step would be a G not a B. But you have the right idea.

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

Tunning down a whole step would be a G not a B. But you have the right idea.

Yeah. Sorry about that, I would know that usually but a lack of good sleeping habits doesn't go hand-in-hand with logical thought.

[All_¥our_Bass]

I understand though, my brains acts like in minorly stoned when I pull an all nighter. And even worse when I do it two nights in a row. Once when I stayed up 48+ hours, I called a good friend of mine who's used to my wierdness, and the first thing he asked was "What the heck are you on!?".

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

I understand though, my brains acts like in minorly stoned when I pull an all nighter. And even worse when I do it two nights in a row. Once when I stayed up 48+ hours, I called a good friend of mine who's used to my wierdness, and the first thing he asked was "What the heck are you on!?".

The sad part about it is, I had planned on editing my last post to say that we were both wrong, since a full step below A# is Ab/G#, but I somehow managed to forget to hit send and closed the tab.