Muchas gracias, Patricio. What modifications did you have to make to
your Takamine to get the new strings to work? Any problem with the
neck twisting? One possibility would be to convert a twelve string
to the 2 string bass, 6 string guitar or to an alto guitar.
You're welcome.
Only modification needed was filing the saddle a bit where the 6th strings
goes to help overcome tuning problems (it's actually extending a couple of
mm the scale length). Tuning the 5th and 6th strings lower doesn't add any
extra tension, or at least not as much as to give any trouble to the neck.
My guitar is used this way since ten years ago, and I had no problems
whatsoever with either the neck or the top (which is solid, BTW. I would
think a laminated top is more likely to suffer for any extra tension).
Another option would be a 7 string guitar.
Not quite low enough, I'm afraid.
You can use a bass string for the 7th, tune it to a low A, tune the 6th to
D, and get a fourth up what a bass would give you. This tuning would also
need almost zero time to work out voicings, since the notes will be the same
as the 4th and 5th strings.
With an electric 6string, the problem will be the pickups and the wiring.
Conventional guitar pickups and amps aren't designed to work with low
frequencies. A 7 string instrument will come from factory more close to what
you look for. Still, I guess that it will be better to output separate
"bass" and "guitar" sounds to either two amps or amp and PA.
Yet another option would be to use a Roland VG8 processor, which,
IMHO,
will please you a lot more than a Midi Guitar, since you'll be
working with
the guitar as a sound source, rather than a synthesizer.
Too expensive for me, I'm afraid!
Yep. I just throwed the idea, but for me too this kind of beasts are still
out of the question... :-(
good luck
Patricio Murphy
NAN - Buenos Aires, Argentina
