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Old 10-16-2017, 05:33 PM
Carbonius Carbonius is offline
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Location: Canada
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Originally Posted by philjs View Post
Yeah, I've wondered the same thing. I've been very tempted by the Emerald harps but, since I'm a DADGAD player and frequently play with partial capos (which yield some pretty odd "effective" tunings), I'd need an easy way to re-tune the sub-bass strings. Sharping levers would be a must for me.

I, too, was quite attracted to the fan fret X20. Someday...hopefully soon!

Phil
Looking at the 6 sub bass string model, there is lots of room for them. I have been comparing online photos of harp guitars that have them. There may not be enough room on the 7 sub bass, although I'm sure they'd customize.

I think they could easily be screwed and/or epoxied in place on CF guitars. I was doing some reading and many say the Truitt ones are some of the best. Brass with 24K plating for great tone and no corrosion ever. Very thin gold, so not a crazy price at all. They recommend altering handle styles so you have a quick visual reference point. Use one shape for the ones you use the most, different one for others. Although that may moreso be for harp players vs harp guitar players. The same lever is used on both. Here's the website. http://www.dragonwhispers.com/levers/

You can also use levers to BEND notes. That opens up some interesting options,

What I wonder is if there are some more high-tech ones where the change can be set. The Hipshot Xtender can be dailed in so you drop from ½ a step to 2 full steps. Add the double stop and go 3 whole steps. But you need a lot of room for them to work. Michael Manring uses 4 on his signature 4 string bass with a larger headstock. He also has a bridge that can drop all 4 strings at one time. It gives home a huge tuning range that he uses during songs. He sometimes changes tuning a good 50 times in a song. Anyhow... A full step drop on the lowest string would be nice. Then you'd have the lever on when tuned to E, turn it off to go to low D. As a former bass player, I love low end!!

If you haven't seen it, you really should see Michael at work on his 3 octave fretless. Watch has hands at both the headstock and the bridge. It's distracting at first. Then just listen to how beautiful the song is. It's shocking that it is all done on just one 4 string bass. Enjoy!

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