How Can I do This? - Trying to bring fewer guitars to gigs

[Miata1476]

Please Help me figure this out!

For the songs that my band currently plays, I need to bring 3 guitars to every practice and gig. These include a 7-string in standard tuning with a tremolo, a 6-string tuned to drop-D, and a 6-string tuned down 1 whole step (DGCFAD) with a tremolo. I am trying to get everything done with just 2 guitars, but I am having trouble figuring out how. Here are some of the options that I have come up with so far:

1. Use my 2027 and my old RG550. Block the trem on the 550 and retune it for the different songs. For this I would have to use a whammy pedal with the 550.

2. Use my 2027 and get a 6-string with a drop-D detuner on the trem (like the Peavey Wolfgang). I would have to tune the 6-string down a whole step (DGCFAD) and use a capo on the second fret for the drop-d tuning (giving DADGBE). This would work, except that the song that I need the tremolo on I need to be able to pull the tremolo up, not down.

ANY recomendations are welcome.

Thanks,
Ryan

[7 Dying Trees]

Detune some of the songs, or play them in a different tuning. Question wether you need both the drop D and the full setp detuned songs, in fact, if possible, try playing everything in either straight D or drop D tuning. Blocking the trem and retuning is an arse, although a solution that may well work. Alternately, see if you can play the stuff on the 7 detuned a whole step, and play what you'd play on the D tuned guitar. But then again, I don't know what the songs are and how dependant they are on the tuning...

James

edit: Maybe try detuniung the 7 as above, but carrying around a capo that will "fudge" it up to your BEADGBE tuning from ADGCFAD...tuning)

(Edited by 7 Dying Trees at 2:34 pm on April 22, 2002)

[jonrayl]

roland has a pedal coming out, think its called the polyoctave or something like that. *Any way, it makes use of the gk2a pickup (just like the gr33 and the vg88 do) and provides instant tracking and the ability to program different tunings by applying different amounts to each string (e.g. low e could be up an octave, A could be down a fifth, D left the same, G up a 3rd.. etc..). * With that you could just stomp the pedal to change your tunings... you could probably even leave the 7 string home

[Two hands31]

In theory that pedal thing-y could work, but it seems like it would just feel odd. *I dunno...

[chris state]

keep the 7 string as is

tune your 6 string to dgcfad

play the drop D songs in drop C now.

way heavier.

[Gabe Nickelson]

Roland VG-8 Guitar Synth for your 6-string. *You can tune to any key on the fly and the tracking is reasonable.

Gabe

[Two hands31]

Or, if you can live without the trem, and have a few thousand $$s laying around...you could try the Transperformance Self-Tuning bridge. *:biggrin:

[littlegreenman]

or, do what I did, just relearn whatever songs you are doing on your downtuned 6 string on the 7 string, in the old band, we used to play all kinds of stuff that was Drop D, or downtuned, and thats where I totally fell in love with my 7 string, because with not a lot of work, I could relearn everything and play it all on the 7. *Some of the songs required some really odd fingerings, but I got them down, and it was all kewl. *The thing of it is, if you are playing a 6 string that is just dropped one step, all your barre chords and everything are still the same shape, and if you can learn the new positions on a down tuned axe, then you can surely learn them on the 7. *

As for drop D, some stuff was tricky to pull off on the 7, but it's all do-able, we did a lot of Motley Crue, and it's all drop D pretty much, but I never once had a Drop D guitar.

[Miata1476]

Thanks for the replies.

I think that what I am going to try for now is to use two 7-strings. One in standard tuning and one down a whole step. This will give me the open D string that I need for What If and it will give me full use of the tremolos.

I have tried to learn the songs on a 7-string, but it is very difficult. I do play most of the alternate tunings on the 7-string. That's why I got it in the first place, but some of the songs are very difficult and they sound so much better in a different tuning because of the time between chord changes and sometimes leaving out a note or two to cover it on the 7-string. I might work on that some more if I have the time though.

I don't think that the roland pedals would work for me. Besides not having the money for them, I too think that it would feel funny.

The songs that I need the second (or possibly third) guitar for are:

Lifer (Down) in drop D
What If (Creed) in drop D
I'm Broken (Pantera) down 1 step
Cemetary Gates (Pantera) down 1 step
Sad but True (Metallica) down 1 step

Ryan

[Two hands31]

Sad But True should be great, just remember to keep the tempo down. *If it gets too fast, it loses all its heaviness. *And What If should be interesting without Drop-D. *:biggrin: