Have you ever wanted to achieve the unique sound of a 12-string guitar but don’t actually have a 12-string to hand? Or, perhaps you often find yourself wanting to add unique guitar parts to your recordings to help create something a little bit ‘different’. Well we may just have the solution for you. Allow us to introduce you to ‘Nashville Tuning’.
In a nutshell, 'Nashville' Tuning (aka 'High Strung' tuning*) takes the octave strings within a 12-string set and puts them on a 6-string guitar. This particular tuning is quite unique as the guitar is still tuned as normal (E, A, D, G, B, E) however, the bottom 4 strings (E, A, D and G strings) are all tuned up an octave with the top 2 strings (B and high E-string) remaining tuned as normal.
Nashville Tuning and High Strung Tuning
People often interchange these two terms and whilst they are very similar, technically there is a slight difference between the two. ‘High Strung’ tuning describes a guitar where the thicker 3 strings are tuned up an octave, whereas Nashville Tuned guitars have the bottom 4 strings tuned up an octave.
