Adapting a "normal" guitar for touch/tap

[rjgoos]

I notice on the tapguitar.com web site, among the pictures of the various European seminars, people playing "normal" six-string electric guitars via a touch style (you can tell by the position of their hands, and the "muffler" stuck under the strings at the first fret.

My question is...what does one have to do, to adapt a normal six-string electric guitar for tapping?

1. You need to put something under the strings at the first fret...a tissue paper or something, to muffle the "open" sting, I get that.

2. Does one tune the guitar lower in pitch?

3. Does one lower or raise the action?

4. Does one use heavier or lighter strings than normal?

5. If one has a reasonably nice guitar to begin with (say a Stratocaster), can one end up with reasonably nice touch guitar?

Just curious.

Thanks,

RJ Goos

[Jersey Ray]

I think any decent quality 6 string will do. For best results, I would reccommend active electronics, and a s low action as possible. Some choose lighter gauge strings, or, tune the guitar down a whole step for essentially the same effect.

A mute can easily be fashioned from a wrist-sweat band. However, I have noticed that some 6 string tappers choose not to use a mute, to exploit open strings. You can then mute with your hand if you need to. Sometimes the mix of open and fretted strings, in the hands of a good player, gives subtle effects that we (who play dedicated tapping instruments) don't get.

I believe that Stanley Jordan has a nice discussion about this on his web page - stanleyjordan.com. I think he's a much more experienced authority on this matter than I am:)

[Tiptannick]

You can see an example of mixing standart guitar playing and two-handed tapping technique on 6 strings guitar on my website: http://www.tapmag.fr.st
Click on "Bonus" at the left side, then click "Videos" on top and select "Sylvestre Planchais".

[Jersey Ray]

everything you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask:


http://www.stanleyjordan.com/Technique/starting.html

[rockola]

I went to Belgium in 2002 with a 6-string. I just retuned it in 4ths (in other words, retuned just the two highest strings) and put in the Rubbermaid(TM) damper. The action was rather low to begin with.

The experiment was interesting, and sparked my interest in tap guitars with just one region of strings - preferably more than six, though.

Jesus Aunon, a veteran of the Belgian tap seminar, uses the standard guitar tuning (1/2 step lower) and has no damper - his style is not 100% tapping, he uses open strings a lot. His flame maple capped PRS certainly was "reasonably nice" as a tap guitar, and in general as well. (I know Jesus is a Tappistry.Org member - are you out there, Jesus? Perhaps you could tell us more about your instrument and style.)

[rjgoos]

rockola wrote:

>I went to Belgium in 2002 with a 6-string. I just retuned it in 4ths (in other words, retuned just the two highest strings) and put in the Rubbermaid(TM) damper. The action was rather low to begin with.

The experiment was interesting, and sparked my interest in tap guitars....<


Since specifically-designed tap instruments (Stick, Warr, ADG, etc.) are rare, the only way most people would ever try tapping is to take an electric guitar and adapt it as rockola did. Most people interested in tap guitar aren't going to do what I did (send a stranger $1000+ for a used instrument without having ever played one before).

Maybe it would be helpful if there was a web page out there, with pictures, on how to convert a guitar to a tap instrument? Just a thought.

RJ

[Jesús Auñón]

Hi Ola & everybody:
I use no damper because I want to keep all the technics I used on guitar before tapping. So I can pluck, use a pick, slap and everything I want depending on the sound I need. As Ray said, using open strings is something you can't do well with tap guitars, you have too much strings to damp while tapping. Normaly I stop strings from unwanted vibrations with the left hand index, using it as a barre. You can use other fingers depending on the situation.
There are also lots of interesting technics you can get mixing tapping & pull-off (sometimes to notes held by the left hand, sometimes to open strings, sometimes to harmonics).
Of course the "piano like" technic you get on tap guitars is more limited on standard guitar, but Stanley Jordan use it in a very complex way, it seems unlimited except for the range.

Jesús Auñón

[traktor]

Hi, Jesus,

Another tapper of skill who uses no damper is R.O.B. (Robert Turley), who plays the 10-string Santucci TrebleBass (4 bass strings and six melody, tuned as standard bass and standard guitar). He has worked out the technique for damping unwanted strings with his hands as he plays, also.