Re: 6 strings - why bother?
I suppose I approached the question slightly differently: since I'd started with 6 strings, I was recently wondering if I still needed them any more. When I lift my Martin 6 String dreadnought off it's wall hook (I love having my instruments on the wall!) I certainly feel a few parts of my body protesting at the weight, and I realise what a joy it is to have the tenor and the bouzouki also because they so much lighter. However, six strings can also be light, and it's my fault for buying a heavy one. I actually never used the Martin hard case as it did my tennis elbow and arthritis in. And that's another advantage of four strings - it's much easier on the hands and wrists if you suffer from pains in the joints and tendons. I used to sometimes play DADGAD because I loved the open sound and playing up and down the neck, but it felt like hard work. I was guided towards Irish Bouzouki by a Luthier (if we can include bouzouki as 4 strings...?)and found I could achieve a similar sound with less/no pain.Tenor guitar also has the advantage, as mentioned of offering tuning in 5ths to give that open sound. And yes, going back to standard tuning on a six string can sound a bit muddy by comparison.... But it does give more fullness and depth, and more possibilities for finger picking, including the bass notes you mention, and my DRS1 has such a mellow, liquid tone with lovely sustain and some surprising overtones, there is no comparison really with the tenor's I have played.
I was considering selling the 6 string, but then I played it again, and realised it's earned it's place on my wall. Without going overboard, it's nice to have a choice of instruments, and they look nice together
"What's that funny guitar thing..?"
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