mudcat.org: Guitar as bouzouki

sj

Post to this Thread - Sort Descending - Printer Friendly - Home

Guitar as bouzouki

Related threads:
Irish Bouzouki Strings (15)
Stefan Sobell Bouzar (20)
Bouzouki - What brand is best? (73)
Instruments: what strings to use (6)
Guitar or Bouzouki? (16)
Irish bouzouki (11)
Too many strings on a guitar? (44)
Help: Bouzouki chords needed (17)
non irish or greek bouzouki (16)
Stefan Sobel Guitar/bouzouki (22)
looking for a Bouzouki (25)
Help: Irish Bouzouki (11)
Bouzouki - GDAD or GDAE? (24)
Converting Guitar to Bouzouki Tuning (7)
Bouzouki playing styles (8)
Bouzouki advice (2)
bouzouki A strings detuning - arrggghh! (21)
Advice needed - playing the bouzouki (5)
Bouzouki mixing nickel and bronze strings (1)
Bouzouki - pickin' and strummin' (7)
buying a bouzouki - dilemma (7) (closed)
R.I.P. My Old Bouzouki. (9)
New Irish bouzouki instructional video (2)
Help: Strap peg on a 'zouk? Yes or no? (10)
Bouzouki, Banjo Digital pick-up? (4)
Help: Guitar/Bouzouki kits (8)
Bouzouki Backing/Tuning ? (2)
Flute Whistle Bouzouki Workshop/Concerts (5)
String up my bouzouki (3)
Tunes played on bouzouki. (11)
Thanks:Irish Bouzouki (3)
Help - Irish Bouzouki (12)
Buying a cittern or bouzouki (1)
Irish Bouzouki (12)

Chip2447	19 Mar 03 - 11:00 PM
Cap't Bob	19 Mar 03 - 11:29 PM
GUEST,Billy	20 Mar 03 - 02:15 AM
Chip2447	21 Mar 03 - 11:56 AM
Harry Basnett	21 Mar 03 - 08:31 PM
Bee-dubya-ell	22 Mar 03 - 12:19 AM
Chip2447	22 Mar 03 - 02:08 PM

Share Thread

Lyrics & Knowledge Search [Advanced]
DT Forum Child
Sort (Forum) by:relevance date

DT Lyrics:

Subject: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Chip2447
Date: 19 Mar 03 - 11:00 PM

Recently there was a thread about tuning a guitar as a bouzouki (CGCGCG), for the life of me I have not be able to find it again. I have one question about this tuning; what gauge strings would you suggest for this endeavor?

Thanx in advance,
Chip2447

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Cap't Bob
Date: 19 Mar 03 - 11:29 PM

It may be useful to check out the following website. Its mainly about how to convert a guitar into an octive mandolin however there is some mention of changing the tuning to make it sound more like a bouzouki.

http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/mandolin.htm

Cap't Bob

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: GUEST,Billy
Date: 20 Mar 03 - 02:15 AM

The bouzouki gets its sound from the pairing of strings (courses) and Greek bouzouki players I've met (3) seem to tune them as GDAE like a mandolin. Or rather, an octave mandolin.
Your CGCGCG sounds more like a Cittern tuning and getting the 1st string (normally E) up to a G is likely to be a big problem. Try A-E-A-E-A-E. A lot depends on the instrument's intonation. Try (strings 1-6) .012 plain, .016 plain, .032 wound, .042 wound, .053 wound, .065 wound.
I found a pair of 5-up machine heads in a flea market and converted a cheapo (Lotus) classical guitar to a five course guitar/cittern by redrilling the holes in the head to accomodate the machine heads, adding four more holes in the bridge and refiling the nut and the bridge for ten strings. I tuned it EE-AA-EE-AA-EE. Depending on the strength and construction of the instrument you plan to convert, you'll have to experiment with string guages, but use no more than .009 on the high E strings and no more than .030 on the low E strings to begin with. The width of the fingerboard on a classical guitar also gives you room to accommodate ten strings.
I later acquired a bouzouki which I tuned AA-EE-AA-EE and two years ago I got an octave mandolin (AA-EE-AA-EE) which has a much fuller and louder sound than the guitar/Cittern or the Bouzouki. This tuning gives a natural key of A major and sounds very modal (Celtic). I've also found Phosphor/Bronze strings give a nice bright sound.
To change keys, capo 3 is C major, 5 is D major, etc.
Hope this helps.

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Chip2447
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 11:56 AM

Refresh...

Thanx folks, I was quite positive that I wasn't hallucinating, but, that seems in doubt now.
Maybe, with this one refreshment someone will be able to prove my SANITY (no jokes about lost causes please).

Chip2447

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 08:31 PM

I used CGCGCE tuning for quite a while....fun to play around with and worked fine with medium guage strings capo'd second fret onwards...found it slighly restricive and now end I play in double dropped D for singing...but, as I said, CGCGCE is fun for some tunes..

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 12:19 AM

Chip,

I'm probably the one who mentioned the CGCGCG tuning. I do have a guitar that I keep in that tuning exclusively.

For strings, I use a regular medium gauge set except that I change the first string to a 10 gauge instead of the 13 that is the norm for medium sets. 10 is the same gauge as used for the treble G string in 12-string sets, so it'll go to that high G with no problem. It wouldn't hurt to change the sixth (bass) string to something a little heavier than the medium gauge set's 56, but many music stores don't carry anything heavier than that.

Bruce

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Subject: RE: Help: Guitar as bouzouki
From: Chip2447
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 02:08 PM

Whooo Hoooo, I can now relax about the halucination thing, thanks Bruce.

Chip2447

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

Share Thread:

Reply to Thread

Subject:	Help
From:

Preview Automatic Linebreaks Make a link ("blue clicky")

Mudcat time: 27 August 6:57 AM EDT

[ Home ]

All original material is copyright © 2022 by the Mudcat Café Music Foundation. All photos, music, images, etc. are copyright © by their rightful owners. Every effort is taken to attribute appropriate copyright to images, content, music, etc. We are not a copyright resource.