This is my guitar. It started life as a 1979 Guild F212
XL (extra large...and it is!) twelve string that I found
on ebay and had modified to my specifications. It
has 11 sympathetic, 2 drone and 5 melody strings, a
sitar-like bridge and macadamia nut fine tuners!
Well, I do live in Hawaii, after all. I have it tuned
down to C in an Indian modal drone. You will notice
if you look closely, that the string order is unique. I
put the bass strings toward the middle and the
higher melody strings on the outside. This allows me
to play a drone with one finger while playing melody
with another in different octaves. I play the guitar in
my lap sitting on the floor, and use a Hawaiian style
steel bar slide.
Hindustani slide guitar actually has roots in Hawaii.
In 1929 a Samoan-Hawaiian slide guitarist named Tau
Moe traveled to Calcutta and taught Indian
musicians how to play lap steel. From there it was
adapted to Indian classical music, a genre that slide
guitar is particularly well suited for.
XL (extra large...and it is!) twelve string that I found
on ebay and had modified to my specifications. It
has 11 sympathetic, 2 drone and 5 melody strings, a
sitar-like bridge and macadamia nut fine tuners!
Well, I do live in Hawaii, after all. I have it tuned
down to C in an Indian modal drone. You will notice
if you look closely, that the string order is unique. I
put the bass strings toward the middle and the
higher melody strings on the outside. This allows me
to play a drone with one finger while playing melody
with another in different octaves. I play the guitar in
my lap sitting on the floor, and use a Hawaiian style
steel bar slide.
Hindustani slide guitar actually has roots in Hawaii.
In 1929 a Samoan-Hawaiian slide guitarist named Tau
Moe traveled to Calcutta and taught Indian
musicians how to play lap steel. From there it was
adapted to Indian classical music, a genre that slide
guitar is particularly well suited for.