Question? - Emerald Amicus tuning
The thought of an Amicus is really intriguing to me but I'm wondering about the DGCFAD tuning.
Lets say I wanted to play it with our group (keyboard, bass, drums...), but wanted to use the same music I've been using with my regular 6 string acoustic guitar..... Would it be reasonable to put a capo on the second fret of the Amicus and play my long-established music that way rather than figuring out a different set of chords (which I assume I'd have to do without the capo)?? Would a capo on that short neck be awkward? What are others doing? Thanks for your thoughts! |
It would probably work if your chords are mostly open and in the 1st position.
With that much tension barre chords up the neck would be pretty difficult. I tune mine down to around A to C, and some players are claiming G (depends on the strings). I bought the Amicus because of that flexibility. A mandolin player might like the high tuning. But the lower tension makes it easier to fingerstyle and barre a little farther up the neck. The strings used will make a big difference. I put Ernie Ball Carbon Slinkies (9-42) on immediately for even lower tension. Yep those are electric strings. But it doesn't matter because I think it sounds and plays better. The Amicus is a wonderful instrument. Tune it to open G, C, D, Page, etc,, it will dazzle, just awesome. I wear it on a strap up high like a mando player might. It's a challenge to play but doable and oh so much fun. Good luck! |
Hi Song:
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Sounds like it would be a reasonable thing to capo the 2nd fret - though I likely should take the mental time to change the key by a couple steps instead. A couple more questions? - How wide is the neck 2-3 frets down? (wondering if a conventional capo would be wide enough) - Is it possible to tune the amicus up to EADGBE without causing too much tension? Thank you again! |
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My NS capo works to at least the 7th and capoed at 5 can play chords quite nicely. Quote:
From Sean: Quote:
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I'm new to it and I think we need to hear from this guy. What tuning are you in Kramster? |
This might interest you. http://emeraldguitars.com/portfolio/...v=7516fd43adaa
If it were me I would be trying to contact Kenn Fox to see what he thinks about it now. http://www.paramountguitars.net/index.htm |
Thanks again Song, for the helpful information. Interesting that Alistair has already made a short scale Amicus. I'll perhaps inquire just to see the upcharge for a custom such as that. Otherwise, your capo measurements are very helpful. So it appears it wouldn't be that much of an impact to capo up 2 frets.... if there are time constraints - as opposed to changing the chord key.
(also looked at your website in your profile. I really enjoyed the music!) |
Found a YouTube clip where the Amicus is capo-ed on the 2nd fret to bring it up to E-e tuning (I'm assuming):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppe4nqVcRks |
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Like you I had never touched an Emerald before I bought some. Had to take a leap of faith and so glad I did. The Amicus is such an intimate instrument. Both of them meet and exceed my expectations. Here's another one capoed. This is the video that consummated my Amicus dreams :) https://youtu.be/gpKva8ORpZw |
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Hey after seeing that duo play ... I realized my Amicus and X-20 match...cool... so I got that going for me.
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you can absolutely put a Capo on the second fret and play in standard tuning. It also is a great test of your music theory knowledge to just transpose on the fly. It took a little while to figure it out but just do the math. Some chords become much easier - so instead of a b flat - you actually play a C - so much easier. Instead of a g minor - play an a minor - some chords are just easier on the amicus when you transpose.
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