Tuning a guitar to mimic a mandolin?is t

MTGuitarSlinger · #1 02-09-2010, 04:22 PM

is there any way to tune a guitar to sound very close to a mandolin? can the guitar be capoed up high on the neck or something similar? i'm playing Copperhead Road and i thought of this idea that me and 2 buddies can play our guitars and one of us be playing up high for the mandolin part to add something new to the song.

MTGuitarSlinger · #2 02-09-2010, 06:18 PM

27 views and no replies? has no one on here ever tried to do this?

well i've been working with it for a few hours now and i think i've got it. by capoing the 5th fret with no adjustment of the strings i can get very close to the mandolin range, at least a lot higher than it normally sounds. i'm thinking i may be able to tune the top 4 strings into a mando tuning of GDAE so i can play mando chords rather than hunt for the chords i want. i did find the D and G and came up with a good sounding gitlin version of CR. i may post it to youtube here in a bit.

and i apologize if i just sound like an idiot, just experimenting with different stuff cos i have nothing better to do.

L20A · #3 02-09-2010, 06:43 PM

Try Nashville tuning.
You use the high set of strings from a 12 string set.
This will get you very close to what you are looking for.
I like to use a smaller body guitar for this.

devellis · #4 02-09-2010, 06:53 PM

An integral part of a mandolin's sound is the double strings. I'm not convinced that a six string with a capo will do a very good job of simulating that. Something like an Ovation mandolin sounds pretty good plugged in (not so much straight acoustically, I'm told) and isn't prohibitively expensive. Or maybe you could just borrow one if it's only one tune every now and then that you're needing the sound for. A 12-string could work, but probably less likely to be available than a mandolin. Of course, you can try capoing a six-string and the sound may be close enough to work for you. But at best it will only hint at the voice of a mandolin.

Tony Burns · #5 02-09-2010, 06:58 PM

you can pick up a mandolin alot cheaper than you can try to immitate it .Ive tried by rapidly strumming a note to get the mandolin sound- ? 12 strings can work - but then again their hard to do anything more than rhythm guitar , getting a mandolin as a second instrument can give your group more versatility - and not as hard to carry around as a second guitar .

bkharmony · #6 02-09-2010, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTGuitarSlinger

27 views and no replies? has no one on here ever tried to do this?

I almost replied, but I was pretty sure anything I could add would be unhelpful, if not dumb. I've capo'd a 6-string up around the 7th or 9th fret to get that sound. Doesn't really work.

You might be able to do that with a 12-string, but the tuning would be difficult.

OK, I just tried this on a spare 12-string sitting around. Capo'd at the 9th fret and it was... well, it really doesnt sound like a mandolin. I think a lot of the mandolin sound comes form the scale, the small body and the archtop bridge.

Explorer · #7 02-09-2010, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTGuitarSlinger

27 views and no replies? has no one on here ever tried to do this?

First off, let me offer you my deepest apologies. I have been working all day, including the less than two hour period in which I didn't reply immediately to your initial post. Of course, I don't get paid to post, or even look at the AGF during the day, so my job takes precedence. *laugh* Of course I'm teasing you, but you should remember that the AGF isn't the only thing which occupies the time of members.

And, to answer your question, yes, I have several guitars set up for and tuned to full fifths tuning (C2 G2 D3 A3 E4 B4). Details can be found at the Mandolin Cafe. Just search for "full fifths guitar" and you find quite a few relevant threads, as I'm not the only one playing this way regularly.

My first fifths-tuned guitar conversion was a six-string, but I now have several instruments in full fifths tuning, including an Ovation 12-string which has been altered to have unison stringing on all the courses, instead of the octave stringing of a normal 12-string.

Any of my full fifths instruments play open like a mandocello, octave mandolin/bouzouki and cittern. When capoed at the fifth fret, I have mandolin on the four highest strings, and mandola on the center four strings.

When borrowing an instrument, I will sometimes retune the strings C2 G2 D3 D3 A3 E4. None of the strings are tuned higher than their natural standard tuned pitch, so there's no risk of damage to the instrument.

For the permanent conversions, I did the string calculations for the correct gauges and tensions, had the nut widened to accommodate those strings, and used a high B4 string from http://octave4plus.com .

alnico5 · #8 02-09-2010, 07:34 PM

Capo at the 12th fret. Copper only has two chords IIRC, D and G.

Extra free hint: get a D harmonica and an around-the-neck holder to pedal that "bagpipe D" thru the song.

MTGuitarSlinger · #9 02-09-2010, 08:23 PM

thanks y'all, i sometimes forget that people have jobs these days, must have been unemployed too long. i'm not trying to sound exactly like a mando, just not exactly like a guitar so to speak

i've been working with a 5th fret capo and it sounds pretty cool to me, so it probably isn't very good

i may try tuning the top 4 strings in GDAE and see how that works for now. may also try the nashville tuning.

akivisuals · #10 02-10-2010, 12:19 AM

You could always try a Veillette Gryphon like the one I have for sale in the AGF classifieds!

MTGuitarSlinger · #11 02-10-2010, 01:24 AM

i'm not in a situation to be buying any new toys right now, i have 10 dollars to my name and can't find a job.

Jack Orion · #12 02-10-2010, 03:09 AM

I have tuned an acoustic to DGDGAE before in order to fill out a song of mine that was written on mandolin (it's called 'Life Of Sin' on my myspace - see sig).

It allowed me to play 'almost' mandolin chords, but it still sounded like a guitar, but with mandolin phrasing...

mikelhenry · #13 02-10-2010, 09:06 AM

I've been known to capo my 12 string on either the 5th or 7th fret and use choke chords up the neck, playing only the highest strings to get a mando sound. The resonance of the dread body means it will never sound exactly like a mandolin, but with the right picking technique I can make it sound pretty convincing.

MikeD · #14 02-10-2010, 10:57 AM

Nashville tuning (with appropriate string gauges) and a capo... that's about the only thing that will kinda'-sorta' sound like a mandolin. Then there's simply getting a mandolin and learning to play it... which is what I did.

Minotaur · #15 02-10-2010, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTGuitarSlinger

is there any way to tune a guitar to sound very close to a mandolin? can the guitar be capoed up high on the neck or something similar? i'm playing Copperhead Road and i thought of this idea that me and 2 buddies can play our guitars and one of us be playing up high for the mandolin part to add something new to the song.

This lesson for Losing My Religion suggests capoing @ 5th fret to simulate the mandolin.