High Strung Guitar (Nashville Tuning) - The case for cheap guitars

I like nice, expensive guitars as much as everyone else, but sometimes multiple inexpensive guitars are the better choice.
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D'addario High Strung (Nashville Tuning) Strings
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[@DanielHolter]

having a Nash-tuned acoustic around the studio is a favorite hiding-in-plain-sight production weapon, I love it so much... "we need a Mando but not a Mando" 😂 ... nice stuff, Jon

[@JonMeyer]

yea, Mando but not a Mando is a good way to describe the sound.

[@andrewchristian7004]

This is the way

[@tymime]

I've always found that a cheap guitar's imperfections give them more character, and that an expensive guitar, more often not, can potentially sound boring.

[@baneverything5580]

I agree.

[@Jeronimo365]

Always a pleasure Jon. Love Nashville tuning, it sounds like snow looks when it’s glinting in the sun, completely magical. And yes, mine hangs ready strung on my old, much loved but beaten up Martin, ready to play when the inspiration strikes. Everyone should be fortunate enough to have a Nashville strung guitar hanging around, it just makes the world a better place. 😉😎

[@JonMeyer]

Snow glinting in the sun is a good description!

[@Jeronimo365]

@@JonMeyer Thanks. 🙏❤️

[@rightfromtheart]

TRIVIA - It was Chet Atkins who suggested to Ray Edenton to try expanding the octave up for all 4 of the "bass" strings, and not just the "G", or "High 3rd Tuning", as it was labeled by Ray back in the fifties ... ;-)

[@janislusens4540]

I use to have cheap nashville tuned guitar some time ago but sold it for unknown reason, you made me think of buying one again.

[@JonMeyer]

I love mine, as you can probably tell!

[@charliebrown6927]

I watched this video and decided to put my little Martin LX1 (basically Martin's version of your baby Taylor) in Nashville tuning...and I have barely put it down since. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

[@botzees]

I love to play Bach pieces in this tuning (same fingering), They become really magical.

[@alonzogarbanzo]

Upside-down arpeggios and all! True.

[@officialWWM]

I have an old acoustic that is permanently tuned like this. It sounds great for recording. Play the part on a high strung guitar and pan it hard left, then play it again and pan it hard right. It sounds amazing!

[@guasonbcn]

Thanks for your info, cheers from Argentina!

[@jamessidney2851]

I’ve never found a cheap guitar that sounded great. I’ve come across plenty of very expensive guitars that don’t sound great, but never the other way around. And I think that’s kind of a law of nature. Having said that, there’s a difference between how guitars sound in a room and how they record. I have come across some lesser quality guitars that translated exceptionally well when recorded with a certain mic in a certain position. I currently have one of those cheap Taylor GS mini guitars that are about 500 bucks. I don’t like it very much, it sounds thin and has no character. I use it for playing at the beach, etc. but it’s never been particularly satisfying. Now you have inspired me to buy a set of Nashville strings for it! Can’t wait.

[@teddybullard941]

That's a you problem. Expectation bias. Beyond some very very very basic consideration, which pretty much every guitar sold in the shop meets, There is zero correlation between price and quality. For expensive guitars youre just paying for the name. You're paying for the price. If you want to deprogram your brain , double blind testing or bust

[@alonzogarbanzo]

I was given a Takamine 12 that had next to no low end for a dreadnought. I removed half of the tuners and had the nut re-cut, and that guitar has been my permanent Nashy for about 15 years now. I (almost) never gig with it but I've written a bunch of songs with it. Fingerpicking in this tuning keeps yielding pleasant surprises that can be inspiring.

[@chriswilliamstunes1]

awesome!!! Inspires me!!

[@JonMeyer]

So glad!

[@piano9051]

Been playing guitar all my life and this is the first I've heard of Nashville Tuning ! Can't wait to try it out !

[@KingYahtzee]

Same here. Acoustic guitar player for 21 years and had no idea about Nashville Tuning!!! Exciting :)

[@ronniboi312]

Been playing guitar for 51 years (I'm 65) and only discovered Nashville tuning last year... Really useful in the Studio (got an old Yamaha Acoustic strung up with these) and it really rings... Friends are saying "What's that sound".?

[@Bbendfender]

I had a nice Takamine 000 size guitar that I changed to Nashville tuning. It worked great for what I was doing. Great video.

[@mtnwest]

Huh….bought these strings by accident for my $80 used Yamaha I travel with. Thought they were Bluegrass strings. I just put them on anyhow and wow. It’s like a whole new instrument. Instead of an otherwise boring $80 guitar. Fun! Thanks for the video.

[@baneverything5580]

Jon, I bought a backup Ashthorpe acoustic/electric brand new for 79 bucks. It sounds amazing and is a joy to play but sounds bright and is easier to play than my dark sounding Dean koa wood acoustic. You know that feeling I`m talking about. However I have to be careful to be gentle with it due to the cheap tuners or I`ll knock it way out of tune. I want to have my old Samick I learned on and played for nearly 2 decades repaired but that will never happen so I may take the nice tuners off it and put them on the Ashthorpe. I`m not into anything fancy and just love to play and sing. I was a singing drummer for a long time and switched to acoustic guitar. Cheap guitars are my favorite. I never felt right using expensive Martins when I got a chance to play them but I wish I had the Taylor my nephew brought to a birthday party in 2007 but later sold. But someone would have stole it from me. It sounded so amazing.

[@RichieDadams]

Niiice! I have a Big Baby Taylor and I’m gonna try this. Very informative. Thanks 👊

[@brentgilbert4208]

Great info! I have to try that. I’ll be looking for an inexpensive smaller body guitar now. New subscriber!

[@JonMeyer]

Welcome! I love having my baby Taylor strung up and at the ready.

[@iainprendergast8311]

Thanks for the advice on the guitar strings just bought them now saves me money buying a set of 12.😊

[@wferrell54]

I love playing with alternate tunings as well. My standard tuned guitar is a Taylor Jars of Clay Signature Model. I also have a Taylor nylon string guitar in standard tuning. I have a Taylor 8 string baritone that is tuned from B to B. I have a GS Mini that I keep in Nashville tuning. My latest one is a Baby Taylor that is tuned A to A, like a standard guitar with a capo on the fifth fret. I used strings from a 12 string set, but not where they were intended to be, to get it tuned that high without overdoing the string tension and breaking the guitar or the strings. As you can tell, I love Taylor guitars.

[@brendanhilgeman1395]

I have an Irish Bouzouki from Hora. Its the cheapest brand that makes them for a couple hundred dollars in Romania on ebay, and Ive come to find that my bouzouki is: very bright, almost thin in comparison and rather small bodied. The finish was not all applied correctly so the last layer on the neck has been peeling off in last couple years i've owned it. I made the mistake of not getting electronics on it, so I jankily installed a cigar box guitar magnetic pickup to it myself, gluing it in place. But I love the sound of my bouzouki, it has an almost banjo like quality adding to the octave mandolin character of it. People are always intrigued when they realize they havnt seen what instrument im playing before. I love cheap instruments that do their job faithfully, like my Squire Strat that is probably my most dependably set up guitar at the moment.

[@stephenm5481]

More than 20 years ago I made my vintage Fender Mustang an always-high-strung, studio, secret weapon. Now it's no longer a cheap guitar (I paid $150 in the 80s) and I'm thinking of recommissioning it to standard and getting a new cheapie. But that Mustang works SO well in Nashville.

[@synapse2121]

Took your advice and just picked up my own little Baby Taylor this weekend here in Richardson - it's even the Taylor Swift model. Fun! D'Addario Nashville string sets are ordered as well. Thanks, John!

[@cynthiawigington1236]

I love your philosophy of good enough is good enough. I ended up by chance with a Guild 140 by chance, needs a setup, but it's in perfect like new shape with a like new gig bag. It is smaller bodied and I could tune it down a step. I bet Nashville tuning would sound great on it. What do you think? I can't wait to play it that way, and tuned down a step. Very exciting indeed.

[@JamesThomas-zl9er]

Good thinking… you know it would sound better, but whether it’s noticeable to the human ear is a different question. I’m going to try these on my Taylor LKSM - I never play it so it’s a good reason to get it off the wall…

[@Dykstra1979]

Shit bro, baby Taylor is a cheap guitar? See my collection lol. Old goodwill saves and a ton of First Act ! Someones gotta love em !

[@aaroncrawford5638]

I put Nashville tuned strings on my used fender acoustic guitar. Put new life into a rarely used guitar

[@michaelsnyder1492]

My Luna gypsy parlor mahogany sounds great in this tuning. The guitar already didn't have much low end so accentuating the high end is an amazing sounding and playing alternative that stands out from the rest of my guitars!

[@derick-smith]

Taylors (even the cheapest of cheap ones) lend themselves to Nashville strings beautifully. That brightness really shines through. Great explanation and video, I'll check out more of your content as well.

[@jacklandismusic]

I love this kind of thing! My first guitar was an $80 guy off of Amazon. Works like a charm, sounds just fine. But I’ve gotten a better guitar since then, and my old guitar has been restrung with nylon strings. I don’t use it nearly as much as my steel-strung guitar, but it’s a nice thing to have around to add a different sound to a recording. It’s warmer, softer, and just gives a song a different feeling when it’s there. And I love that.

[@joeface03]

No it is not obvious that a bigger bodied guitar would play higher frequencies better.

[@ElegantMule]

I have a 50$ yamaha that is getting Nashville strings.. I love her sound be her nut is 11/36 and my hands never got used to that. I'm hoping this is her second act :)

[@ElegantMule]

I also started on nylon. and it took me 25 years to get back... And i spent like 125$ on the cheapest crossover i could find and I'm so happy. If you're getting older and just want to play on the couch nylon is so much better.

[@schance1666]

Awesome, just bought a set of them. Such a cool accent to have on hand! By the way, what's up with that white MS-20 synth!? I have an old original, never seen a white one!

[@fishpotpete]

Ok, I'm sold. I've got a $60 student Samick I found at a thrift store a while back. It's a shorty also - I've got it tuned to standard E, but three frets higher (like a normal guitar with a capo on the 3rd fret). It's a blast to play around with. But after watching this video, I'm thinking I'll try to the Nashville approach on this. I double track most of my guitar parts anyway - this will be an interesting approach! Thanks for making this video!

[@emilmuff4760]

I guess I'm not selling my mini Martin after all. Thanks for the perspective!

[@JonMeyer]

Excellent candidate for high strung!

[@hughanderson7285]

You paid $125 for that, but it isn’t a $125 guitar. The viewer can’t count on getting one for that.

[@101wut2]

Great video! I high-strung a guitar once as I was helping a friend with a cover of Comfortably Numb. I fell in love with it, so it's definitely a tuning I revisit from time to time. At the time, I was using a dreadnought and I found that there was a fair bit of low-end whooshy noise that we had to EQ out in the mix, so there's probably an argument that Nashville tuning actually sounds *better* on a smaller guitar!

[@alonzogarbanzo]

I think the argument can be made either way. My experience was different, seems like. My dreadnought Nashy has a bit of bottom end that is welcome in balancing out all that "glistening snow" of those high strings. Chacun a son gout, as they say in France!

[@jimsanger]

Its a beautiful sound, I'll have to try it with my Taylor gs mini sometime

[@JonMeyer]

curious to hear how the GS sounds.

[@jessefillmore]

I have a Martin D-35 , Martin MMV , Martin LZ1E (Little Martin) , Alvarez Regent & 12 String , 1969 Harmony Classical . All come in handy . But right now you can find used Martin MMV's online for under or around $1k . That is a deal I don't see sticking around . These guitars are all USA made and sound great . They sound more like a D-18 . They sit in the mix well , like a nice Gibson . Some didn't like when for a few years Martin used "richlite" for the fretboard and bridge but the went back to making them with ebony the last few years before they discontinued the model .

[@Neil-Aspinall]

I have a Nash guitar now. It's just fun to have a different sounding guitar. Also, if you hate tuning 12-string guitars, this makes your life so much easier and you can pan the 2 guitars as you like to make a big spread. Just do it, you won't regret it.

[@derekdowns6275]

As far as other cheap instruments, look into building a PVC six-hole flute. The air is what is vibrating here, so the material that causes it to vibrate, whether wood, glass, clay, plastic, silver or gold is (no pun intended) immaterial. Also a great hard-to-damage, robust instrument that is lightweight and easy to toss in a backpack or trunk of a car.

[@bassaniobrokenhart5045]

Great video. Beautifully explained. I hear Pink Floyd (David Gilmour) used this tuning for Hey, You (The Wall).

[@BryanOdeen]

I’ve got a $130 Samick jumbo that I really like. The pickup is not great, but it’s such a nice guitar for busking and campfire playing. All laminate, so I don’t have to be precious with it, and I like how much sound it puts out.

[@BenBrossMusic]

I picked up a Baby Taylor for ten bucks several years back in an antique store. The headstock had broken off right at the zigzag seam. A simple fix and many gigs later, it's the best guitar investment I've ever made.

[@jerrymckenzie1858]

I find the High Strung guitar works great in a mix when you want the jangle and sparkle of a 12 string without competing for space with the other instruments. I was able to get an entry level Breedlove for cheap. It needed some setup work and $30 worth of Gotoh tuners but I got a cool guitar out of it!

[@hakanaxlund4316]

Thanks for great video. I myself have what I call “a super great crappy guitar”. Bought it from a friend 15 years ago for around 100 bucks. It is a Fender or at least that what it says on the headstock. It is as much a fender as my kitchen table meaning it is a sloppy build in a “100 brands factory” in Indonesia. I wonder how many guitars just like mine bears the logo of some other brand. 😉 But I doesn’t matter!! It sounds and plays great!!! 😊

[@jameslifetimelearner]

I’m using a White Korean made 00 size for Nashville tuning. The G sounds best with.017 plain string for me.

[@tanukibrahma]

I think it’s worth getting a slightly better guitar for this, even for layering, but especially if you want to use the Nashville on its own - as you suggest. Strung like this, the Baby Taylor sounds a little cheap to me.

[@JonMeyer]

Yea, I’m sure I can improve the sound. Half of the sounds you are hearing were recorded with my on camera mic, which didn’t help. But yea, I see your point.

[@tanukibrahma]

@@JonMeyer In that case disregard my comment. If it was a camera microphone, I don’t know what it would like for recording music with a good microphone.

[@nicw1826]

You need to research how to pronounce D'Addario.😂.

[@JonMeyer]

Ok. Will do. Thanks for watching.

[@jason-windsor]

I have an older guitar high strung in DADGAD, and it sounds great with full strums, and sounds really bright and sparkly for a dreadnought.

[@HBCrigs]

for some reason this sounds so familiar.. it sounds? don mcclean? maybe? idk it just sounds like a sound locked deep in my memory

[@HBCrigs]

aaaaah its like an autoharppppp.. yeah like joni mitchell and such

[@HasseC]

"Ready to go" is the main religion in my studio! Thanx for another great video! PS - sometimes I just let the Nashville tuned guitar shimmer through the reverb with the direct sound from my regular tuned guitar. There is so many funny options, haha ...

[@markharwood7573]

This is engaging stuff. Thanks. Today I thought, try a Nashville set on the 6-string banjo. So I ordered two sets, one PB & one nickel. Then I thought, been dabbling in open G...what about open G Nashville style? I can't find reference to that on the 'net, so I'll just have to find out how it goes.

[@flouisbailey]

Thanks, I have a YellowWood pawnshop guitar that has become my go to. I like it’s sound and it’s already nicked here and there but it’s nice sounding. Next set of strings they go on they were only $5.00 set so I got two.

[@fredrodnick2881]

I think it's a little too high for me,but I can see myself occasionally using this tuning.

[@JIMMYLEGS_]

You sir... you are a beautiful human being. I wish we all were more like you. I've got a cheap cajon that sounds amazing.

[@dkendall77]

just found your channel. I'm a professional audio engineer and very amauter guitarist. love almost everything I've watched so far. And this restores my hope in my Taylor Baby that was thinking of trading away. Keep the content coming!

[@Ira88881]

I’m converting both a Takamine G Series acoustic and a Tele Partscaster to Nashville tuning. Strings arrive tomorrow. (Thank you, Amazon!) There are a lot of songs that simply work better in this higher register, and I can’t wait to take a capo real far up that neck!

[@Ira88881]

Well, it’s been 10 months. Love it!!!

[@TheBookerstein]

I’ve used Nashville tuning for many years. I have a Seagull parlour guitar and agree, the small body guitars sound great high strung.

[@stantchev1]

Hi jon, thanks but what is the name of your Taylor please?

[@ianfreddy3804]

Jhs sent me.

[@johnkk7863]

I always tune the low E to an A , makes for a lovely medieval sound

[@georgefenning4844]

Very interesting - good video - Can you high string a nylon classical guitar ? Ps Im going to breathe new life into my travel guitars .

[@sonidojamon]

This is like splitting a 12 string in half! 😂😂 I love it!

[@dafingaz]

Nice

[@johnnybongshow5257]

heard about this nashville tuning so i took the low strings off the twelve string and it sounded so much better don't know if it's the twelve string headstock for more tone

[@kevinbarry7055]

You have a great style of presenting

[@Olli3_Morris]

Love this video Jon! You’ve made me decide to buy some strings and get my first acoustic guitar (tanglewood) setup for Nashville tuning

[@JonMeyer]

Glad I could help. You will love it!

[@Herschli]

Very instructive and entertaining, thanks very much, Jon! 🙏Benno

[@franksanta3119]

Hi Jon! great vídeo! thanks so much

[@lotuswebteam]

Do you need to replace or shim the nut if you go this route?

[@JonMeyer]

I did not, but I can’t speak to whether or not that will help

[@Herfinnur]

I've known about Nashville tuning for at least twenty years and I've heard many examples, but this is the first time I got why it's worth trying

[@JonMeyer]

It's one of my favorite sounds. I've used it on countless tracks, if only in a very small role.

[@Herfinnur]

@@JonMeyer of course, because you're doing two things differently than what I've heard so far: 1. instead of playing solely to fatten up a normally tuned guitar, you're playing soft picked close harmonies which - gosh, golly - actually plays to the strengths of the tuning and sounds great on its own; 2 the choice of a baby Taylor or a parlor is so obvious, yet no one else seems to have thought of it. I'm a lefty, so I don't have too much choice vis-à-vis cheap guitars, but I've found a B-stock mahogany Baby Taylor, and I think I'm going to go for it

[@spookydirt]

​@@Herfinnur as a lefty, if you're looking for a smaller acoustic it might be worth trying the Vintage travel guitar LH VTG 100N if you can find one secondhand. spruce top, 57cm scale.

[@Herfinnur]

@@spookydirt oooh, nice! Edit: hmpf, plenty of listings but all out of stock

[@spookydirt]

@@Herfinnur I think they might be discontinued, I got mine years ago, you might find a good secondhand one with luck

[@chipstick1973]

I have an Eko ranger 6 strung in the high strung Nashville tuning

[@gotonkar]

Nice work on setting up the comparisons in various scenarios.

[@ShiningHourPop]

Warren Huart recommended buying a cheap acoustic do this so I bought a second hand Yamaha for £50. I bought the D’addario Nashville set too. I’m going to try this with an electric guitar even though I have both acoustic and electric 12 strings as it is such a lovely sound.

[@JonMeyer]

I need to try it out on electric guitar. Thanks for watching!

[@billmimms]

I appreciate your video. I don't even know where to begin. I was reading about this tuning while learning about Jumpin Jack Flash. It's interesting to me how musicians will stray away from standard...anything. It then becomes a game with the "experts" to "reveal" what the musician ACTUALLY did on the recording. For me, and my inability to focus, it unleashes MANY hours of practicing... A video like yours will usually land my spaceship. In the process, I just learn about ANOTHER aspect of guitar that I have to ruminate about over and wonder if I really DID miss anything? Again, thanks for the video.

[@JonMeyer]

you're very welcome!

[@xoundboy]

I bought a set of Nashville high strung strings by mistake and put them onto an electric guitar. I got very confused when I saw them and thought they must have made a mistake in the factory. I'd never heard of "high strung" strings before. Anyway thanks to this video I was able to solve the mystery. I put them onto an old dreadnought that needed new strings anyway, tuned them up high and started playing....and wow! What an amazing sound... so inspiring. I can't wait to start making music with this "new" instrument. Thanks for this brilliant video.

[@alonzogarbanzo]

Yeah, this is great on a dreadnought, as it lends just a bit of boom otherwise completely lacking in such high-pitched stringing.

[@chipstick1973]

I have this set up but have changed the bottom E string for a top e string and I’m able to now play hey you by pink Floyd as pre the original recording.

[@chipstick1973]

As per

[@RockAndDoubleBassWithAaronJoy]

I used to have a Washburn bass that I'd paid some money for. Nothing crazy, but I was pretty broke. I joined a band and decided to leave it at the rehearsal space, which was ours, and then I'd buy a super cheap bass to practice at home with. The commute was an hour on two NYC trains. I bought a cheap Arbor bass for around $100. I loved that thing INSTANTLY. OMG. It was so great I dumped my washburn never playing it again. For me, a guitar is like a woman. You don't need one with lots of make-up and expensive dresses to be happy. Maybe sometimes. But, other times a more simple woman will work.

[@SB-uf4yw]

Excellent video!

[@west4coast77]

Nicely done! I was going to put a set of high strung on my Epiphone parlour but also have a Taylor Mini and will heed your recommendation. Good idea. Thanks for the advice!

[@howlinhobbit]

I just got a cheap guitar (that came with a bunch of accessories, including a stand, cleaning cloth, tuner, etc.) specifically so I could put it into Nashville tuning and layer it in my recordings. the whole thing was not quite $120. watching your videos where you simply fingerpick it and get that lovely shimmering sound makes me extra happy I made that choice. thank you!

[@Tonetwisters]

We used these at Sweetbay Studios, Tallahassee FL in the early -to - mid '70s. It was called "Nashville Tenor" back then.

[@FreddyJ120]

Great video - thanks! Just came across this. I’ve been using the two-guitar method the way you demonstrated it - Nashville panned to one channel, standard panned to the other. It really gives you so many options to fill out the sound in my songs. It’s now my go-to for my acoustic recordings. Love that sound! 👍🏻

[@claudiofornaroMusic]

Great stuff!

[@richardmclaugfhlin65]

How much of a Truss rod adjustment is necessary? A bunch or a little?

[@michaelparsons5352]

I recently strung a dean a/e in Nashville tuning. Just a slight truss rod adjustment. No big deal

[@brooklynboy1000]

or just capo up high on the same guitar and use a different mic

[@ErickvdK]

That will not do the trick. Ordinary picking patterns sound different in Nashville tuning, capo just moves everything up.😊

[@Chef_Francisco]

Great video !

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Thank you 🙂, sounds good !

[@ronrobins3513]

Dude...you seem to get caught up in how expensive or not things are. Who are you trying to convince? The track either sounds good and it works or it doesn’t. I know I don’t care what it was played on, most listeners don’t care either. It’s the song...it’s the song...it’s the song. Remember ☺️🙏🏾

[@stephenstarr6388]

I call it "half 12-string tuning"

[@Chrisjude100]

Per la verità, intendeva parlare degli argomenti a favore delle chitarre economiche (custodia!!!!!!!!!)