9 string guitar  

Thanks so much for the information! It is definetly out as far as crafting my own... I'm like Jerry Lewis when it comes to things like that. I would get it so screwed up no one could make anything of it!!

Thanks for the sites! They are very insightful and helpful!

I don't recall where she said she purchased her instrument. I did think she said it was made by Alvarez; but I've had no luck finding one like it there!

Thanks again!

Alvarez are a well known and respected classic guitar maker. I have seen a 9 (or 10) string classic guitar many years ago in a shop window but I don't remember when or where or who the maker was, whether it was a special display or anything more about it! The instrument I saw was exactly like any classic guitar but had a wider neck.

Lutes were not infrequently built with more than six courses and lute music (which is often written on a tab stave, showing the fingering for each string) can certainly be had for more than 6 courses. I seem to remember being told that the guitar on display was made so that a guitar player could play lute music.

Wow!I am going to have to do much more research! I did check out the sites you sent. They had some very interesting information. I enjoyed the sound tracks they contained as well!

Thanks for sharing.

I still wasn't clear about what instrument you saw until I read the response below. It seems that the one you saw had six courses but with the three bass ones doubled (octaved?).

The instrument I had in mind above had nine courses, all single, with the top six tuned either as a classical guitar or as a lute and the lower strings tuned in various ways but lower than the bottom E (the actual tuning often depends on the key one is playing a piece in and will usually be a low tonic-dominant combination ... in the key of C, for example, you might tune the lowest three C-G-C or C-F-G below the normal E bass. Not only do they give the occasional bass note below the normal range but they also act as sympathetic strings and enhance and enrich the harmony.

Another way of using nine strings is to double some of the courses - for example the three bass courses - either in unison which gives more power to that range or in octaves which lends fullness to the harmony.

I play a mandola tuned very similarly (four courses, 8 strings, with the bass two courses octaved and the two treble courses in unison). My instrument has the same pear shaped body as a flat-backed 'Irish' bouzouki, a Portuguese guitarra or an English guitar but with a shorter neck than a bouzouki and is tuned an octave below the violin (G-D-a-e, the same as many tenor banjos) with the top E at the same pitch as a guitar. The fact that the two lower courses are octaved (Gg and Dd) makes it less easy to use the full range for melody but, on the other hand, makes rhythm work much more satisfactory than a standard mandola or tenor banjo (I used to play with a band playing mainly Irish and Scottish dance music).

whoa!! How cool is that? I loved the sound of the one I played. I was thinking the lady wo whom it belonged told me it was tuned like a 12-string, only minus the extra three top strings like on the 12-string.

I'll have to look up more information!

Ah! So the one you saw had octave courses on the three bass strings (so still only six courses). That would make sense, too, and would give a marvellous sound, though, given the lower tension on a classical/nylon strung guitar could also give problems with buzzing and fret noise. It would take a very experienced lutenist to make a successful instrument.

Tuned like that of a 12 string, would only make proper sense to me.
Octave-wise, it would be a bit of an adjustment...but probably no more less than another learning curve, I'd imagine. No doubt it would take some getting used to.

I once owned a 12 sting about 20 some odd years ago...Epiphone it was; solid spruce top, rosewood & maple neck...verrrrry nice! I've got to admit...I really enjoyed the tonality of the instrument, moreover than that of the 6-string. There's just something about that "sound", if you know what I mean?

cdrxo

If you're interested send me an email:

mnmostmuscular at yahoo dot com

wow!!! I wouldn't even know what to offer.....

i have one also.if anyone interested.hit me joemillwood75@yahoo.com.its very rare.im trying to find an exact value.e mail and ill let u know what i find out