Posted by Rand Moore on September 15, 2011 at 12:49am
Here's a shot showing the whole instrument (with a banjo thumb pick to give a sense of scale). Notice I "painted" the neck in alternating black and brown. This was done to mimic the colors of a piano keyboard. I tuned the instrument (at least initially) to G-C-G'-C', so the black fret positions correspond to the black keys on the piano (the accidental notes), and the brown fret positions correspond to the white keys on the piano (natural notes). The purpose of this fretboard color scheme and tuning is to help me make the transition from diatonically fretted instruments to chromatically fretted ones. I can still play all my favorite diatonic tunes by focusing on the brown fret positions, and I can focus on pentatonic tunes (noodelings) by playing just the black fret positions, and some day I might be able to play some chromatic tunes arranged for this G-C-G'-C' tuning.
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It is still a bit crude, but for a instrument designed to help me transition from diatonic to chromatic instruments, I think it will do fine. It sounds pretty good, but I think the string spacing is a bit tight. My next 4-string chromatic will have a wider neck to allow a bit more space between the strings. Right now its 3/8" between strings (like strum sticks and ukes).
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Thanks, Wes.
It is still a bit crude, but for a instrument designed to help me transition from diatonic to chromatic instruments, I think it will do fine. It sounds pretty good, but I think the string spacing is a bit tight. My next 4-string chromatic will have a wider neck to allow a bit more space between the strings. Right now its 3/8" between strings (like strum sticks and ukes).
-Rand.