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Any suggestion on 4 string open Gmaj7 tuning baritone CBG?

Hello there,

I was thinking about building multiscale (28"-25" (fanned frets)) baritone CGB with 4 strings, tuned low to high G-B-D-F# ,

with string gauges G1-0,078 B1-0,072 D2-0,065 F#2-0,056
instrument is intended to be played in lap-steel fashion as an acoustic (no pickup, just some metal resonator bowls).

So I was thinking this way, if I play low three strings (GBD) its open G, and so on trought lenght of the neck, and if I play high three strings (BDF#) its open B minor, and so on.., all four strings would give me open Gmaj7 chord, there are other possible chords combinations but this would be interesting enough for start.
So if anyone has any suggestion, ideas or anything at all to say about this I would be very glad, and of course I will keep you updated on progress, for now its only an idea, so there is no sketch jet,but I promise it soon.

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 23, 2017 at 1:08am

For overlong scale four-string CBGs I ended up with a similar tuning but with a flat third and flat seventh (D-F-A-C) which allows for very narrow patterns for most chord types. Whether you prefer G-7 or Gmaj7 depends too on the tonality of the music you want to play on your CBG.

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Permalink Reply by Dejan Nišić on March 23, 2017 at 7:40pm

Hello Moritz, is that D-F-A-C low to high? Do you have any audio or video of this CBG, it seems to offer few more possible combinations than my intended tuning, it may be a right answer for my CBG-baritone project, So if I use G as starting low point in my case this would give me G,A#,D,F, and broken in open chords its G,A#,D - Gm; A#,D,F - A#; and all four strings G,A#,D,F, is Gm7, and A#6, I would love to hear this in action.

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 23, 2017 at 9:12pm

Dejan hi, yes it's low to high, G-bB-D-F in your case. I'm not used playing with a slide, so open chords were not relevant for my decision, rather the possibilities this tuning offers for narrow chord patterns on the low frets of a very long scale. To compare different tuning options I'm used to compile kind of chord books to find the flaws of a solution. Sorry, I'don't have audios or videos. As said, your decision will depend on the tonality of the music you are playing, it's blues that sounds in my ears...

You're planing to try a neck with fanned frets? With a saddle or a zero fret? In the second case start with a movable zero fret, or one for the lower and one for the upper strings, a nail or the like, to optimize the intonation on the lower frets. My CBG with the best intonation, built by a friend luthier, looks like this, with the other frets not corrected:

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Permalink Reply by Dejan Nišić on March 23, 2017 at 11:19pm

Yes I already seen this zero fret config in one of your posts, and I think of incorporating idea of string separator behind the nut (zero fret), but otherwise Im not putting there any more frets (just fret markers) kinda like fanned fretless lap steel baritone, it is unusual, but could be interesting in its final form, also its fanned not for intonation but to keep even tension of strings, and to add a little bit of more natural position to my way of playing, by the way lowest string has a scale of 28" like a baritone, and highest one is 25" like a guitar

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on June 15, 2017 at 6:49am

Dejan hi, some news about your project? Did you notice the video Mr. Speal did about an F7 tuning?

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/jazzy-f7-tuning-for-4-st...

For the opportunity to play major and minor chords with simple patterns I still prefer F-7 with a flat third. With which tuning did you finally end up?