Hi Again... A recent exchange with Bluegrass Icon Herb Pedersen https://www.herbpedersen.com/... The Desert Rose Band, The Dillards, Vince Gill, Vern & Ray, Chris Hillman, The Laurel Canyon Ramblers. Herb was one of the first to use Nashville Tuning. In Herbs own words: MM Well, I was the first guy to "use" that particular setup out here {Nashville} back in 1968, while working on the "Wheatstraw Suite" album on Elektra. While in Nashville, just months before coming back to California, I did several sessions at RCA, where Wayne Moss, a great studio guitar player had subsituted an octave G (like on a 12 -string) instead of the regular gauge... Then, I took it all the way down to the 6th string, so you had just the octave strings (the high ones) from E,A,D,G, then regular B and high E. So the tuning was the same note wise, it just gave it a more harpsichord sound while playing rhythm. Herb" Textbook definition: Nashville Tuning/High Strung Guitar. 'Nashville tuning is a little more involved than just tuning your guitar differently. It's also known as high-strung tuning. 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 B) remain unchanged, and the lower four strings (G through low E) are tuned an octave above standard tuning.' Some suggested gauges: 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. This is a good place to start. Specs for gauges vary. Don't be afraid to experiment. Fredsville Tuning/Fred Walecki {Westwood Music, L.A. CA} [https://www.4waysite.com/articles/usatodayAugust00.htm] Invert the 2nd & 5th strings so that the 2nd string is in the bass and the 5th string is in the treble. If you like this then create a permanent nut and saddle to accomodate the shift in intonation. *Note: For an example of a live performance of Nashville Stringing, on a detuned high strung instrument, check out Bach's Lunch via the hyperlink below. MM My Websites: 110 MB of free acoustic guitar downloads:`fingerstyle`slide`altered tunings. https://homepage.mac.com/rpeikoff/FileSharing14.html ~bio~photos~guitars~tunings~mp3s~cds. https://www.muktimusic.com
Making A Permanent Nut... Greetins Dr. If you like the configuration enough to keep a guitar permanently in Nashville tuning, I'd suggest creating a new nut to accomodate the change in string guages and a possible saddle adjustment. It will make for a more enjoyable and intonated experience. MM
