Tres Cubano Beginner Series No.3: Traditional & Modern Setups Explained | How To Tune Octave Pairs

This is the third video in my ‘Tres Cubano Beginner Series’. In this one I discuss the difference between a Traditional and a Modern setup for the Cuban Tres. I get at least ten questions every single day about this so I thought a video would be useful.
I should note that my points in the video are general statements and there are many exceptions. There’s modern players that use a Traditional setup like César Hechavarria Mustelier, and there are Traditional players that use a Modern setup like Gabriel Garcia of the group Changüí Majadero.
The one thing I neglected to mention in the video is: in Cuba a Traditional Setup is called ‘Tres Macho’ and a Modern is called ‘Tres Hembra’. For us gringos that’s essentially male and female.
It’s my first time doing a voice over on a video. I don’t have the greatest gear for this so it’s not perfect but I think it gets the job done. Please tell me what you think.
In the video I play two songs:
‘Chan Chan’ written by Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Telles (Compay Segundo).
The chords I’m playing are:
Dm / F / Gm / A / Dbdim
Dm / F / Gm / A / A7
The second example I play a small portion of the tune 'La Sitiera' written by Guillermo Portabales.
The chords I’m playing are:
Am / Bbmaj7#11 / Am / Abmaj7#11
I realize these are not beginner chords, however I wanted to demonstrate where a Traditional setup wouldn’t work.
I buy all of my strings as singles at my local music store. These are the string gauges that I use:
Traditional:
E course: .011 & .026
C course: .016 & .016
G course: .024 & .009
Modern:
E course: .011 & .011
C course: .016 & .016
G course: .024 & .009
Hopefully I’ve answered all of your questions, if you have more please leave them in the comments section or email me personally: [e-mail]
#TresCubano #CubanTres #Tresero
My channel is not monetized, so I do not make money from my videos. If there are ads running on this video it's because the content is copyrighted and the owner of that copyright is receiving the revenue from the video views.
The song at the end of the video is the classic tune ‘El Reloj De Pastora’ played by the incredible ‘Septeto Trio Los Dos’ who have graciously given me permission to use.
I make and sell Tres Cubano Conversion Kits for Baby Taylor Guitars. The kit can be installed in under 30 minutes with no luthier experience required. They cost $200 (USD) with free shipping worldwide.
You supply the Baby Taylor and I send you everything you need to turn it into a great sounding Cuban Tres.
To order one check out my website:
www.treskits.com
My Links:
Instagram: / canadiantresero
Facebook: / canadiantresero
Twitter: / canadiantresero
Gmail: [e-mail]
TresKits Links:
Website: www.treskits.com
Instagram: / treskits
Facebook: / treskits
Gmail: [e-mail]
Thanks For Watching!

[@gepmrk]

This is musical pedantry but, It's better, that is it makes more sense to think of the chord at 5:14 as C13 or C7 add 6. It's a movement from Am to the relative major C but because the third chord is actually F major7 without the root, the preceding C chord becomes a secondary dominant chord. The fourth chord: E7 #9 is the dominant chord leading back to Am.

[@fartwrangler]

Actually, I prefer the sound of the traditional setup in both examples.

[@nabeelahmed6803]

Hi great job man I can't figure out which strings to use the top string is an E string in a normal guitar the next one is the d string in a normal guitar couldn't find the right way to do this I'd appreciate it if you could help me out thanks, buddy

[@papawhisky2935]

Hi there - I'm really impressed with your channel. Thank you for uploading quality content. I want to convert a guitar to a tres using your kit. Quick question - what's the cheapest guitar you'd recommend for that conversion? I'm really talking about el cheapo. I really wouldn't want to mess up filing the bridge with baby Taylor. Thank you

[@TresCubano]

Jack Lumber Hi Jack, Greetings from Canada. Thanks so much! I really appreciate that. My kit only works with the Baby Taylor... But the good news is I’m just in the process of changing it, completely eliminating the tailpiece so you no longer have to drill holes in your newly purchased Baby Taylor. The strings will be anchored using the bridge pins instead. The other great part is that it’s now completely reversible Incase you ever wanted to go back to a stock guitar. I’ve eliminated the tailpiece but I’ve added the all important ‘Taylor Truss Rod Wrench’ which didn’t come with my previous kit. So all in all it’s much easier to install, way more convenient and much cleaner looking too. I’m just now shooting the new video for my website, and everything on there will be changed in the next few days to reflect the new kit. Let me know if you’re interested. My wait time is only a few weeks right now. Thanks for your interest! Cheers.

[@papawhisky2935]

@@TresCubano Thanks for the update - I'll keep an eye out for used baby Taylors on eBay, I'm sure I can find a bargain. Keep up the good work!

[@kaisarabuqura356]

Hi. Many thanks for your videos. I recently just bought a tres cubano with the traditional strings. so: octave, unison, octave the only difference between mine and yours is is that mine has the two thick strings on the edge of the board (on opposite ends/extremes) the problem is with the last string in the very bottom (see 1:19 for reference) sounds strange. Even after tuning it, it sounds strange I am thinking of converting it to modern rather than traditional. my question is, since I don't live in a country where tres cubano strings are available. is it possible for me to use the strings made for regular acoustic guitars as thin strings in the tres cubano? would this work?

[@juliena6575]

Hello thanks a lot for the video. Do you buy normal strings for folk guitars?

[@TresCubano]

Hello, I use normal steel guitar strings purchased as singles. For the wound strings I’ll get bronze or phosphor-bronze and the plain ones are just normal steel strings. My standard traditional set is: gG9/24 cc16/16 Ee26/11 (Caps are wound strings, lower case are plain). My standard modern set: gG9/24 cc16/16 ee11/11 I hope this helps. Thanks for taking a look! Cheers.

[@juliena6575]

Thanks a lot!!

[@angelluisjuarez1636]

Poner en español

[@oswaldosuarez7431]

Please to Speak in spanish I dont understand

[@TresCubano]

Sorry... I don’t speak Spanish😉