i have a well made flamenco guitar, will it do any harm instead of tuning E t E, it's tuned F to F or even F# to F#? thanks n advance........

Generally, I would say it's OK. But with the usual precautionary provisos.

Tuning up a half step to full step is roughly the equivalent of going from medium to hard tension strings. Half step is a little less, whole step a little more.

The proviso is that very good Flamenco guitars are very lightly constructed, lighter bracing and thinner front than a Classical guitar in particular. Too much string tension might cause bellying of the front. So keep an eye on it, and if you feel that the increased tension is too much go back to standard tuning or drop to a lighter tension string set.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

broadly similar advice, with the addition that if you were going to do that a lot, then starting out with a lower tension set would probably be a good idea

hi,

i'd suggest using a capo. they make them for nylon-string guitars (extra wide necks) and it works perfectly. you won't miss the one or two frets you sacrifice, and i've even come to like the ease of fingerings that the closer together fretting enables.

cheers,

d

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"Patsy had the drug tolerance of Keith Richards and the moral rectitude of Brian Jones." - Dr. Walter Bishop, "Fringe"

Quote dubbmann:

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hi,

i'd suggest using a capo. they make them for nylon-string guitars (extra wide necks) and it works perfectly. you won't miss the one or two frets you sacrifice, and i've even come to like the ease of fingerings that the closer together fretting enables.

cheers,

d

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+1 really.

Even though it might be ok for the neck, I myself wouldn't really take the risk. In addition strings breakages are more likely... A capo is a quick, safe and easy option really...

Out of curiousity, what Flamenco guitar do you have? I myself have been thinking of getting one myself....

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney

+1 for the capo why risk it ? you wont know its a bad idea till its too late.

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Strictly an amateur with some nice toys,

The guitar was made by juan Perez.

Re: capo - I get a good sound and playability up to the 5th fret, after that everything deteriorates. There is a piece I'm working on that I want to try higher, hence tuning up will give the equivalent of a capo at the 6th or 7th fret.

Thanks for the replies

I know there are low-tension strings out there that ought to be able to handle going up a full step.

But going up SEVEN frets...?? Wow. If I had that sort of project before me, I'd begin by seeking out a half-decent 3/4-scale student guitar. If the project proceeds, you could consider shopping for quality, such as a Charlie Hoffman piccolo (22.5" scale): http://www.hoffmanguitars.com/PICCOLO.htm

While a Hoffman is worth every penny, you may be best off finding a passable student instrument, then having the bracing & bridge modified for the higher range. Guitars are (supposedly, at least) physically made for their tonal range. A guitar that's made to emphasise a full range will not be ideal half an octave higher. And many inexpensive student guitars I've inspected were clearly intended for standard-tension strings, which would be much softer in the short scale. At the very least, you should probably get a new nut.

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resident troublemaker, http://forum.frugalguitarist.com/

i THINK, you misunderstand Tony, i think the OP wants to tune up say 2 or 3 frets, then put the capo on to get the equivalent of having a capo on 3 frets higher up, but maintain the playing feel and tone he gets .... as he feels it deteriorates badly if the capo is placed further along than about the 5th fret.


of course it might be me that has the wrong end of the stick.....

Nope, you have a firm grasp of the correct end of the stick mate.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

No, I believe it's me -- blame the Nyquil.

But I remember the first time I tried an antique "parlour" guitar, an 1890s Washburn (steel string, probably converted in the 1920s). Just a lovely sweet tone I couldn't have got with a full-size instrument -- top resonance, bracing, & so on. So my (less-addled) thought was that you might find something in a terz-sized classical, rather than just swapping strings.

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resident troublemaker, http://forum.frugalguitarist.com/

i can confirm your sticks are held correctly!

....i just type 'piccolo guitar' into google...

i've tried tuning up a step today, worked very well. in fact i capo'd on the 6th fret and got a clean sound too - must be the extra tension? however, the soundboard had a slightly bigger hump so i tuned back down. I currently have medium tension strings that are a bit elderly so I will try again with new light strings as suggested, to see if that's less stressful.

i often capo my acoustics and even electrics at the 5th fret, sometimes the 7th. of course, i tune to dadgad so it's a bit off but i love the result in any case. i do lots of chord inversions and "contrapuntal-light" finger picking, and don't miss the lower five frets too often. i've watched video of segovia closely and the master would often play an entire Bach suite just using four or five frets - ie, no flashy jumps from the 3rd fret up to the 15th fret and back again a la steve howe or lesser guitar riff hogs ;-)

cheers,

d

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"Patsy had the drug tolerance of Keith Richards and the moral rectitude of Brian Jones." - Dr. Walter Bishop, "Fringe"