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| Octave guitars - General Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Will Approved 
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While it's possible for some cutaway body guitars to play above the 12th fret, it may be feasible to try out an instrument that is already tuned that way. I know of three different instruments that qualify for the description "octave guitar": Broko Octave Guitar: This solid wood instrument is made in Germany by Broko. It has the same size as a concert ukulele, and has 6 thin steel strings tuned one octave higher than a guitar, very closely spaced on a neck that's perhaps a bit wider than a concert uke neck. It also has a zero fret (fret wire right in front of the nut). I own one of these instruments. It has a nice sound, and is loud when played with a pick, but the very closely spaced strings and small frets make it a challenge to play. It's priced below that of a solid wood concert uke at about $170, from Lark In The Morning. http://larkinthemorning.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_GUI001_A_Octave+Guitar_E_  Goldtone GM-6 Six-String Mandolin: A standard mandolin body with a 6-string guitar neck, tuned one octave higher than a guitar, designed for the guitarist who wants a mandolin-like sound without the steep learning curve. Sells for about $285.http://www.music123.com/Goldtone-GM-6-Mandolin-i126011.music Here's a sound clip from Goldtone's web site: http://www.goldtone.com/audio/scott/GM-6all.mp3  Giannini GCSM7 Cavaquinho: The cavaquinho is a Brazilian rhythm instrument used in samba music, descended from the same Portuguese lineage as its cousin, the ukulele, except the cavaquinho uses steel strings and is tuned to a high-octave open G (Dgbd); it can also be tuned Dgbe. Some players re-string them with ukulele strings and play it like a concert uke. Sells for about $160. http://music123.com/Giannini-GCSM7-i159286.music Carlo Robelli USG30 Mini Guitar: Although not an octave guitar, this mini guitar (sometimes called the "uke-shaped" guitar due to its small body) sold by Sam Ash is a neat, inexpensive way to experiment with a higher than usual guitar tuning. About the size of a baritone uke (it fits easily into a baritone uke bag) with a 19" scale, the strings should be tuned higher to ADGCEa because in regular guitar tuning, the steel strings will be too slack and will not stay in tune, which will give you a "C" chord using the regular guitar G chord shape. With a capo on the 7th fret, this alto guitar will play like an octave guitar, one whole octave above a standard guitar. I own one of these and John, our mandolin player, remarked that it sounds somewhat like a mandolin. The fretboard is flat (not curved) and headstock is slotted, like a classical guitar, but without the wide neck width. There is also a similar instrument made by Mahalo, except that instrument has 6 nylon strings. http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?itemid=26987&sourcetype=singleitemsearch Carlo Robelli USG30 Mini Guitar $29.99  Last edited on Thu Dec 7th, 2006 01:49 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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VintageFL Approved
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I've been intrigured by these small scale guitars as well. Sometimes they're now sold as 6 string ukuleles. They aren't tuned an octave above but tuned to regular guitar pitch. Here are a couple more in addition to Will's examples: 1.KoAloha DVI - tenor scale http://www.koaloha.com/KoAloha_Products/DVI.html 2. Vineyard - baritone scale (laminate instrument) http://tinyurl.com/yx3bfq
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Will Approved
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Actually, most 6-string ukuleles that I've seen don't have all their strings spaced evenly as do the guitars. Rather, the extra strings are spaced closer together as "courses" as you would see them on a 12-string guitar, mandolin, or other double-stringed instruments. So, a 6-string uke has 2 single strings, and 2 courses of doubled strings. 8-stringed ukes have 4 courses of paired strings. There are a variety of tunings for the extra strings. Sometimes they are the same tuning, or they may be octave tuned (one octave lower). Here's an example of a Kamaka 6-string tenor ukulele:  Last edited on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 04:39 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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VintageFL Approved
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Will, take a closer look at the two I've linked. The picture of the Koaloha clearly shows the even six string spacing and they say, "The D-VI 6 String Ukulele is a unique ukulele. It has a Tenor Ukulele body and gloss finish. It also shares the same sound as the Tenor, however it can be tuned just like a guitar (regular or Slack Key Relative Tuning). This model is currently being used by Daniel Ho!" I know someone who bought the baritone and he says it's spaced like a guitar, only with a narrower neck than a guitar. I agree with you that there are six string tenors set up the way you've mentioned, but these two are set up like guitars.
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Will Approved
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Very interesting... this instrument seems to have a wider neck with the evenly spaced strings. Thanks for pointing that out. I've never seen a 6-string uke that didn't have strings in courses. The "baritone uke" is kind of like a miniature classical guitar  Last edited on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 02:08 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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VintageFL Approved
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For just a little more input on these two, the KoAloha costs about $1000. The quality of their instruments is truly amazing. I have one of their PIneapple Sunday ukuleles. I really do think KoAloha is the "Martin" of ukuleles in our time, so I have no doubt this little tenor/guitar uke is fantastic. I hope to try one sometime. The Vineyard is made in China and they are quite inexpensive but very well made and good sounding, particularly for the money. I have one of their cutaway solid-spruce-topped tenors and was blown away by how good a $200 tenor uke could sound and look. This mahogany baritone is a laminate instrument, so I don't know how good it would sound comparatively, but this is priced really low and would probably be a good "travel guitar" for someone so inclined. I'll see if I can get some more feedback from my friend who just received one of these. Last edited on Tue Dec 5th, 2006 11:56 am by VintageFL |
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Will Approved
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About 17 months have elapsed since I started this thread, and lots of things have changed. As many of you know, last year, Music123 was bought out by Musician's Friend and their common corporate master, Guitar Center, so a lot of the links posted above are no longer valid, because the Goldtone instrument is no longer carried by Music123 or Musician's Friend. Lark In The Morning no longer carries the Bruko octave guitar, and Sam Ash no longer carries the black "uke guitar." I just bought the Goldtone GM6 six-string mandolin, clearance priced for $199 (now sold out) at Woodwind & Brasswind (also owned now by Guitar Center). This octave guitar promises to be easier to play with a 1 3/4" nut width than the Bruko, which had 6 tiny steel strings crammed into a concert uke-sized neck. This mando-guitar hybrid sells for about $300 or so elsewhere: http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/GTM6.htm The Goldtone link below also features a sound clip of the instrument: http://www.goldtone.com/products/details/w/instrument/93/GM-6-GM-6-Mandolin  Last edited on Tue Apr 15th, 2008 07:06 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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wayland Approved
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http://www.hago.org.uk/guitars/soprano/ http://www.niibori.com/guitar/org/soprano_e.html On the second one, I hate the shape, but like the leg-brace and the scale length. But I don't own one. 
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Laura Voorhis Approved 
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Greetings! You can also use a Martin Backpacker for higher tunings. The have the reputation for not sounding very good in standard tuning, but in octave and Nashville tuning, they sound great!  Laura
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > General Guitar > Octave guitars | |
