I have an all-koa Pono eight string. I keep it in standard tuning, just like my twelve string guitars. It is not surprising that the tension feels higher -- there are twice as many strings. Like my twelve string guitars, it sees about 10-15% of my play time.
Don't do what I did, though. One day I opened the case after several months of not playing it and found both strings on the first course had broken right at the nut! I replaced only those two with Worth fluorocarbon strings, leaving the original Ko'olau Golds on the other courses. (I like those Ko'olau Golds, but the new version of those strings is different, so I wanted to preserve the old ones). But the two materials respond differently to temperature. As the instrument warms with play, nylon goes one way while the fluorocarbon goes the other. Keeping it tuned is a bear. Guess I'm going to have to give up on the nylons and switch to a whole new consistent set. Lesson learned.....
|