A while ago NightOwl put up a two part tutorial on how to play Amazing Grace and I learned it on a 3 string. This guitar is a 3 string with an additional bass string, one octave lower than the lowest of the three normal strings. You can easily adapt any three string piece to work with the extra bass string. If anyone wants to see the amp settings there is a picture in the first (oldest) of the comments.

I'm afraid that the video is a bit over exposed. The camera was set to manual and I shot quite a bit. This was taken from later in the recording and the light levels must have risen a bit.

Because there is a lot of interest in NightOwl's excellent tutorials here are the links:
Amazing Grace cbg tutorial Part 1
and
Amazing Grace cbg tutorial Part 2

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Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 9:50am

Hi Kevin.

That's really kind of you. Many thanks.

All the best.

John

Comment by peter robert lee on September 7, 2011 at 9:44am
O  !  THAT IS NICE
Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 9:20am

Hi Sammy.

Thank you for the comments. Very kind of you. I'm not sure I deserve all that praise.

It's difficult to say how long it took to learn. Probably only a day to memorise it as it isn't a long piece (I played two verses). After that you then spend time adding your own little bits to it. Here are the links to the two part tutorial the NightOwl recorded, although I encourage anyone to listen to the other things that she has posted.

Amazing Grace cbg tutorial Part 1

Amazing Grace cbg tutorial Part 2

All the best.

John

Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 9:12am

Hi Dan.

He just beamed down. It couldn't be hair-envy talking could it?

Talk to you soon.

John

Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 9:09am

Hi Moedecker and Paul.

I really appreciate the comments. Thank you very much.

All the best.

John

Comment by Sammy Lloyd on September 7, 2011 at 9:08am
John that was sensational. Just love that bass that adds a wonderful richness to your playing. As a matter of interest as a newbie. How long did it take you to learn how to play Amazing Grace after you'd studied the download. Also where can I see that download, is there a link to it anywhere? Well done again John. Love that sound and style, and all the support you readily give to other contributors. I guess you are what this website is all about. cheers
Comment by Dan Sleep on September 7, 2011 at 9:06am
How did you get Leonard Nimoy to come over and play it for you?
Comment by neanderpaul on September 7, 2011 at 8:59am
Yeah man! Nice instrument. Nice tone. Nice playing.
Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 8:16am

Hi Kidd and Eric.

Thanks for the feedback.

Eric.

No problem with the aluminium necks at all. Very easy. I will put up some more photos showing details in the next few(ish) days.

I love the MicroCube, but Pyno was here on Saturday and he pointed out that I might get an even better sound from the bass string with a more suitable amp. The Cube only has a 4" speaker after all. I think it does remarkably well considering, but I'm sure there is room for improvement.

All the best.

John

Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on September 7, 2011 at 8:11am

Hi Belinda.

Thanks for the comment. The bass string is a .075 if that helps, which I think is the middle from a set of 5. The necks are just aluminium tubes that I bought on eBay. I left them at the length they were, accept for a little trimming to get the ends square and make sure that both were the same length.

The bass string isn't the problem. It is the three guitar strings. Because it is a long scale for a guitar but a short scale for a bass it means that the bass string is quite floppy, but the guitar strings are fairly tight. The scale length is 680mm (26.75") so it falls in between normal bass and normal guitar length.

All the best.

John

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