okay you dear kind patient guitarists - would any of you like to talk a bit about Nashville tuning, please and thank you kindly?

what i think i know about it: it's 6 strings tuned like the high strings on a 12-string, right? but what does that mean, precisely?

i know some of the Stones numbers where we can hear Nashville tuning; maybe i even i grasp what the sound of it is about:
"It gives you the feel of a 12-string without all that boom from the bottom strings and all of the hassle of having to tune TWELVE STRINGS (laughs).
It just gives you that octave high G, that pretty little ring."
- Keith Richards, 1985

then ... somewhere on Voodoo Stew, there's a moment when Keith and Ronnie say: "Nashville tuning stops you from thinking"
which is what they like about it. i've always wondered what, if anything, they mean by that.

Keith, be well

Nashville tuning is a little more involved than just tuning your guitar differently. It's also known as high-stringing a guitar because different strings need to be used. It creates a 12 string effect on a 6 string guitar. The simplest way to explain it is, you use the high octave strings of a 12 string set of strings on a six-string guitar. The first two strings of your instrument (high E and remain unchanged, and the lower four strings (G through low E) are tuned an octave above standard tuning. It is possible to buy ready-made string sets for Nashville tuning but they may be hard to find. You can use a 12-string set ( just use the octave or thin strings) but that's kind of expensive. The best way for you may be to buy the strings individually from your local music store's single-string bin.

The gauges for a medium set would be .012, .016, .010, .014, .020, .030 high to low.
A light set would be .010, .014, .009, .012, .018, .027 high to low.
All strings are unwound except for the low E which is wound.

thanks Reptile! (and welcome back)
any insights into what they might mean by that "it stops you from thinking" comment?

Keith, be well

Wish I typed that bit of info myself. Got it from Google, hehe..

I guess they say "it stops you from thinking" 'cause a 12 string guitar sounds great anyway, you can fill up a song with without thinking about it..

Reptile Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wish I typed that bit of info myself. Got it from
> Google, hehe..
>
> I guess they say "it stops you from thinking"
> 'cause a 12 string guitar sounds great anyway, you
> can fill up a song with without thinking about
> it..

You posted that info without quoting it properly and stating your sources.
I will report your message to Bjornulf and make sure you get banned again.



(kidding)


Belgrade-Bucharest-Budapest-Brno

>>"it stops you from thinking"<<

It's because those thin strings twinkle & chime like heavenly I dunno what.
It really comes thru' even if other guitars might be louder.

I have an old bashed up acoustic guitar by my side with nashville slung.
It's nice for a while, but then it gets on my nerves b/c its not very versatile.
Like too much icing on the cake, much too sweet.

great for wild horses, the studio version.
you can hear it very clear right at the beginning


...jeez, the typos^^



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-05 20:50 by open-g.

thank you kindly, Open-G honey!
and just to check if i remember right: the Stripped Wild Horses is in standard tuning, right?
just the original WH has the Nashville-strung guitar?

Keith, be well

Err, yes/no.
the stripped WH is open g, but no Nashville strung guitar

cool - thanks, i will try to remember that now ... :E

Keith, be well

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cool - thanks, i will try to remember that now
> ... :E
>
> Keith, be well

It IS hard. On the original, he plays a Nashville guitar, on Stripped, he plays open G, and nowadays, he plays 10-string open G.. on that exclusive guitar you are aware of.. and it all sounds just about the freakin' same!!

I did a quicky recording of a Nashille vs standard strung accoustic Guitar.
small mp3 Wild Horses intro
[s62.yousendit.com]

open-g Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did a quicky recording of a Nashille vs standard
> strung accoustic Guitar.
> small mp3 Wild Horses intro
> [s62.yousendit.com]
> 0NP472LPFO6

Thanks! That's interessting. Nice playing there too.

ohh Open-G honey - that is mighty pretty!
and very educational too - thank you! truly.

Keith, be well

thanx - both of you
Like I said, it was a quick one, meant as an example only.
I don't consider my playing very nice.

But you can imagine, when you put these 2 different guitars ontop of each other, how rich the sound becomes.

Hey Open G, thanks for the info. I'm gonna string one of my guitars to Nashville Tuning. A friend of mine warned me that the tension on the neck is a lot higher and that I could damage my guitar, but this sounds like a load of crock to me. I mean, don't the heavier gauge strings cause greater tension in general, depending of course in what key its tuned to? For example, doesn't a .46 gauge string tuned to E cause more tension than a .10 gauge string tuned to E even though its one octive higher?

Yeah, you're right - the heavier gauge strings cause greater tension.

In this case its the other way 'round, you're lacking tension with these thin wires!

Thats the reason I put a 46 string on 6th just to stabilize the neck + thats in G.

otherwise you might have to setup the guitar again.

You need to be carefull with the 3rd G string tho' - it was a lot of tension and its not the usual g sound.

Is Keith using Nashville tuning when he plays on that first acoustic part of SFTD with Brian and Mick (One to one)? Sounds like Nashville tuning.

Hey Open-G I downloaded, picked up my guitar and found myself playing the exact same licks straight off the bat, Nice playing!!

NickB

LA, I don't think there's a Nashville strung guitar on Sympathy, but I can't even double check at the moment.
still, I'd say: No.

Hey Nick, thats nice that it kicked ya off to grab yer geeetar
keep it going, pal

hey open-g:

I do consider your playing as very nice. You obviously have the talent for making a guitar sound sweet, plus you got nice timing.

consider yourself lucky i'd say.

Got some electric for us too?

The only song I've ever heard of being played in Nashville tuning is "Wild Horses." Are there any others by the stones? Is it somewhere on Voodoo Lounge?

Is it actually used on songs by "real" country artists?

the acoustic on Sleep Tonight is Nashville-strung;
and the one they're working on on Voodoo Stew when they talk about it is The Nearness of You
(but i guess that doesn't quite count, does it).


Keith, be well



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-06 20:31 by with sssoul.

cc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Is it actually used on songs by "real" country
> artists?


Good question - Next one.

err, no I mean, I can't think of one,

But I'm quite confident that there are country song out there, with that special name for stringing the guitar.

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> the acoustic on Sleep Tonight is Nashville-strung;
>
> and the one they're working on on Voodoo Stew when
> they talk about it is The Nearness of You
> (but i guess that doesn't quite count, does it).
>
>
> Keith, be well


Hmm - I just listend to Sleep Tonight (offical DW version) but I couldn't spot one.

for Nearness of You:
do you mean Voodoo Stew disk 4, the 3rd version where Ron grabs the guitar and tunes it?

Maybe you have some interessting links to read about that?

(and yes - it counts



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-07 03:15 by open-g.

here you go, Open-G my dear - a link about Sleep Tonight:
[www.timeisonourside.com]

>> do mean Voodoo Stew disk 4, the 3rd version where Ron grabs the guitar and tunes it? <<

that's the one. (i meant it doesn't quite count because it wasn't finished/released,
and i imagined CC was asking about finished tracks.)

Keith, be well

Any other official releases where we are sure there is a Nashville tuning?

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Hey Mudbone, thank you kindly.

do I have electic stuff?

hm, should have, but don't know wich one I would want to fling out right now.

I'll think about it

Yes, please do that open-g,
I missed your last song unfortunately....

Good link once again Miss Sssoul, thank you.

>>"Yeah, that's high-strung, the Nashville tuning. It's a lovely stringing, it really rings. I first used that on Wild Horses down in Muscle Shoals in '69, where I picked it up. I remembered it for a year or two, then I totally forgot about it unil this year, when it came up in conversation with Alan Rogan and Joe Walsh, so we strung up a guitar like that. It gives you the feel of a 12-string without all that boom from the bottom strings and all of the hassle of having to tune TWELVE STRINGS (laughs). It just gives you that octave high G, that pretty little ring."<<
(from timeisonourside.com)


I'll listen to Sleep Tonite again tomorrow, as I don't trust my ears tonight anymore.
I had been trying out a friends '68 Telecaster wich he got as a B-day present from his brother.
jeez - I wish I got birthday presents like that - the lucky bastard
We entertained the neighbours quite loud, lol - they even clapped some hands

Erik_Snow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, please do that open-g,
> I missed your last song unfortunately....

dunno wich one you missed, but here are a few
[www.track4.de]

but beware, different stuff alltogether.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-07 02:13 by open-g.