6 string DADGAD chords on 12 string guitar?

[maxr]

A 12 string Q - I'm about to dive into what looks like a very useful instructor book on accompanying (mostly) Irish trad music on DADGAD tuned 6 string acoustic. I'd like to do it on a 12 string as DADGAD chords sounds so good on it - it's a Guild JF30-12 with a big complex sound, not a smooth 'accompaniment' guitar, and I haven't played a 12 much. I've only covered some of the initial theory chapters, and had a quick go at some of the chord progressions. Trouble is, some of the chords sound a bit OTT to me when played on the 12.

Could this be due to the high octave strings on the bottom 4 pairs of the 12 clashing with some of the lower octave chord tones. and/or do I mostly need to reduce the number of string pairs I'm playing on a 12? Any experience gratefully received! Thanks, Max

[Glennwillow]

DADGAD on a 12-string can sound a little over-the-top. I play DADGAD on my 6-string guitars every once in a while, but I have only tried DADGAD once on a 12-string. For me, I thought DADGAD on a 12-string was just a little too much sound.

Here is an Al Petteway piece called Smoky Mountain that I played on my Guild F212 tuned in DADGAD a few years ago.



I am hardly an expert on DADGAD but the best book on this tuning that I know of is Doug Young's book, Understanding DADGAD for Fingerstyle Guitar.

- Glenn

[donlyn]

6 string DADGAD chords on 12 string guitar?

I have four 12 string guitars and often have one in DADGAD or DADFAD.
My Taylor 355 Jumbo shines in this role. (spruce over sapele).
I tune all my 12 string guitars down a semi-tone to 'D#', which in turn (tune ?!) means I'm playing DADGAD in 'C#' with DADGAD intervals.
I string them with Elixir PB 12 string Lights or D'Addario XS Lights. (Same gauge; {.010 - .047})
I fingerpick all my instruments using my nails as picks.

I have had outstanding results fingerpicking 12 strings in an alternate tuning.
I also play a number of pieces in a 'raga' style using the bass strings as drones and melody/harmonies on the trebles.

At some point Irish players started using the Balalaika as an accompanying instrument too. The long necked 6 and 8 string variety strung in unison or octave courses. Something else you can check on. There were a couple of balalaika players on PBS a few weeks ago from Dublin Castle.

Be well and have fun,

Don
.

[hotroad]

Removing a couple of the octave strings cleans up the sound quite a bit. Finger picking also cleans up the sound versus strumming, especially with a flat pick. That adds a lot of volume and jingle jangle.

[Daniel Grenier]

Originally Posted by maxr

A 12 string Q -....Trouble is, some of the chords sound a bit OTT to me when played on the 12.

Not sure what "OTT" means but I suspect you meant to say Out Of Tune (OOT)?

Anyway, I suspect your 12 has extra-lights or, at most, lights? If you have extra-lights and if you are a heavy pick strummer, then it will sound off in DADGAD. My 12 string (w/e-l) is almost always in (lower) alt-tunings and heavy pick strumming is a no-go. As others have suggested, I'd go with fingerpicking or a much lighter attack using a pick. Yes a 12 string in DADGAD can be glorious indeed. Good luck.

[maxr]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

Not sure what "OTT" means but I suspect you meant to say Out Of Tune (OOT)?

Sorry - OTT = over the top, OT = off topic, OOT = Canadian for 'oot of tune' (I make joke...). I shouldn't really use these acronyms from prehistory!

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

Anyway, I suspect your 12 has extra-lights or, at most, lights? If you have extra-lights and if you are a heavy pick strummer, then it will sound off in DADGAD.

It has Extra Lights on the standard pitch DGA (4-2) pairs, Lights on the downtuned lower DA (6,5) and high D (1) pairs. This is an older Guild with twin truss rods and a big maple neck that doesn't move much. It might well sound off in DADGAD if I hadn't also asked a local luthier to tune it to DADGAD and then make a custom bridge saddle with 12 individually tuned saddle facets. After he'd done it, he said "That was a very interesting exercise, but please don't ask me to do it again". I think tuning's pretty good except higher on the low D (6) string, when the octave D string of the pair goes out with the low D string. I don't know if anyone plays there a lot?

I'm tempted to go down the 9-string rabbit hole (3 low singles, 3 high unison), except I should really learn to play this thing first

[Charlie Bernstein]

OTT as in over the top? Nothing wrong with that. I'd run with it!

[Doug Young]

12-string in DADGAD can be great. I keep both my 12's in DADGAD. Too much trouble to retune them, so that's where they stay!

Teja Gerken just released his new solo CD today, with a fabulous take on Coltrane's Naima, on a 12 string in DADGAD. Here's the track on You Tube:

[JonPR]

A more modest example of a 12-string in DADGAD (capo 2):


And here's me demo-ing another DADGAD track from that album, which was probably played on 12-string. It was a vocal, but works nicely as an instrumental:

(Skip to 2:30 to avoid the intro chat.)

[Teja Gerken]

Thanks to Doug for pointing to my 12-string DADGAD take on "Naima." I do indeed mostly keep my 12-string (a 2000 Taylor 355) in DADGAD, though I seem to go through periods of tuning up to pitch with light strings (as on Naima), or tuned to C or even lower using heavier strings. Here's my tune "The Groomsmen" played live with the same guitar tuned lower (I think I was in C#, then DADGAD from there):



Teja Gerken
www.tejagerken.com

[catt]

Great stuff Teja - 12 string right on for Naima!

*I used to always keep a dadgad 12-str - some of which inspired me to take up clarsach (like a led zep old fart with a hippy dulcimer and some Irish trad tunes are nice - i love Bensusan on 12-string.