Tommy Emmanuel Talks Guitar String Care and Tuning Techniques | Reverb Learn to Play 

Did he keep the same gauges on all his guitars or did anything vary? I've known guitarists who might like to go heavier with open tunings. Also, does he lean toward 12s or 11s?

That's fascinating.

That is amazing

HELLO CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT GAUGE STRINGS TOMMY DOES USE ON MOST OF HIS GUITARS? THANK YOU SIR.

@@JB-fh6pt light gauge.012. I hear he has a signature custom set out now, if you search for that. Surprisingly, as hard as he played, with Avery rigid plectrum, he rarely broke strings but I saw his break two at once and before I could get out on stage with a new guitar he had retuned and finished the song- ON FOUR STRINGS. ( ps and I even saw him several times restring while continuing to play and talk! There’s a myriad of reasons why he is who he is.

What a lovely story

Cuz 2 dollars had more value that time

awesome. ww2 daddy. even more awesome.

Aditya Makhija two dollars in 1940 was roughly $35 and considering a decent lack of strings nowadays runs for $15 with the increased popularity he still got much more than he paid for

The Kaveman have

Nam Giang amen

Nam. Yep he's done the hard miles, no substitute for experience.

Amen

Well said 👏

right!

a tip: watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies these days.

@Uriel Jeffrey yup, been using Flixzone} for since november myself :D

This. A planetary treasure.

Well he's Australian and you cant have him! Lol. But I agree.

What does that even mean?

Grant international I assume

Did you find out a way to fix this?

Youre being a phoney, and no one wants to hear such bullshit! Why should Tommy have to hide his face with fake makeup? GTFO

@@T.R.U.T.H.. you do realize that he's talking about the fact that he HAS makeup on his face right?

Dont Lie Tell The Truth hate to break it to ya, mate, but he is wearing makeup. Most artists do. Look at the difference between his neck and face. And look at his forehead where his hairline is; You can see the difference in color. It’s also unnaturally orange. I don’t know much about makeup, but know that it should at least match colors.

raceface_m i wouldn’t say he is wearing makeup cosmetically for himself, id say reverb producers probably made him apply makeup for the type of lighting there trying to achieve in the video

@@XxNolliesxX Correct. Back during acting in my High School Drama club I vehemently opposed wearing makeup the first time I went on stage ... Until I saw photos of myself from that night. The oils on your skin will reflect all stage lighting, making your face glow whiter than a ghost.

Where do you live.?

A little bit of 'Fast Fret' before and after playing would be a good idea also... just saying.

wipe the strings and neck of the guitar AFTER playing. every luthier i've met does it. your strings will retain tone noticeably longer. EDIT, clean, dry, preferably purpose-made cloth.

@@figjam9530 also he left out if you really cannot afford new strings and they are not frayed, one can wash them,some boils them etc -I have found Andy handy with water and a good rinse and an immediate drying works wonders to revive the tonal value ,one thing for sure a clean instrument and playing hands is paramount.

Francis Rossi !

In his style defenitely 😉

No such thing, best is in the ear of the beholder.

Have you seen PDL play? That said, I LOVE Tommy Emmanuel"

Hands down

7:27: Definitely going to try. No wonder, at times seems like guitar can still be out of tune, even when tuned up. Very interesting insight. Thanks Mr. Emmanuel.

30 years and still butchering the spelling of his name? Lol

@@shutitup68 Tommy told that story about some guy that wanted to introduce him to his wife. He told her about the 30 yrs and then mangled his name. I just thought that was so ridiculous. I had to slip it in somewhere. I think a lot of people know that story. Who would have such a ridiculous name as Enamal? People are crazy sometimes.

Do you know the name of intro song in video?

Yes! Absolutely correct! a few other tweaks - If I won't be playing an open E chord much, but maybe will be playing the G chord, will make sure whichever frets I' ll be using will be in tune, so may tune that low E a tiny bit flat for some songs so the low E string sounds good when playing the open G chord! As for the B, amount of flat I can tolerate somewhat depends on how many A chords vs open E, C9, Asus4, and D chords are in the song. Which ever is prominent needs to be more in tune...so I may tune a tiny bit flat for the B string.....or bit more. of course for all of these, if E and B are flat, will bend these up when playing other notes (ex, a G chord), so it sounds good. Mostly I find, the third of a chord must be tuned down or de-ephasized in some way (not hit hard with strumming hand, to hide it), or it'll be sharp and unfixable while playing and sound bad to me. Where as fifths and octaves in a chord that are tuned flat can be fixed by bending with fingers on left hand, so the priority is always tuning down strings that have the thirds in them...I suppose if I were playing a song with a lot of E-bar chords, I'd have to think about tuning the G string a bit flat. I'll have to check into that... All the Best -

Always had trouble getting sweet sound at guitar stores, then realized that guitars need to hit "running temperature" before you can expect a good result. Wood expands with temperature as well as humidity, don't underestimate the effect of sitting on your lap. New strings should be pulled in short sections up and down from the bridge even above the nut. They can relax wit a little stretch lengthwise AND in short sections, just don't overdo it, the unwound will tolerate more and require more to stabilize. New strings seat over frets if given time, I dont like playing new strings until the frets have left their impressions on the underside, you can observe this effect if you look real closely .I don't change a good set often and enjoy a lot of stability. Also, the impact of the stress on the neck needs consideration, as the neck will bend when tightening a string, and the result is all the other strings go flat a little, and need firming up to place the whole into a good temper. See "the well-tempered Clavier by Bach which deals with the tendency of harpsichords to be in tune in some keys, but flat or sharp in others, An experienced harpsichord tuner will "temper" the instrument to sound good in all keys, and you should check your tuning in many keys before you are happy. I sometimes will pull a string that is sharp until it seats into correct tune, this tends to help with uneven stretch over the nut, violins tune from the bottom as well as the top, you can approximate this by pressing above the nut or pulling to flatten, just hold down on the lower string and lift the upper to flatten tone a bit. Keep em clean, before and after playing, a very little cooking oil helps the glide. A really good tuning that is 'tempered' will sound good barre-ing all the way up the neck, in different keys, and resist shifting when capoing and un-capoing. The harmonics will self reinforce sympathetic strings and the whole effect is sweet and sympathetic. See Berta Rohas tune onstage during performance, takes forever, and is revealing of the effect of bending neck as the tone is raised, on classical.Having a great ear is a big help.she doesn't use a digital tuner,and lastly, I read that age will alter your perception as will experience. Older performers tend to percieve the tone as being high in general. I am alarmed to hear some older folk work by dylan et al, where the mouth harp is sour, and usually the b is flat, chords now sound sour to me.....

Sorry, Berta ROJAS, session with a $16,000 Yamaha, two fast waltzes then the tuning, then "La Cathedral", if you search for her La Cathedral,and see the two Waltzes, you will see her tuning routine, very detailed, informative...

@Kaptain Kid I'm sure you know how much of a pleasure it was hearing from such an accomplished musician as you surely are . One who takes pains to spread light liberally. I return the accolades and I'm glad you are in receipt of my ignorance. I'm sure you could make Rojas look bad. A tout alors, ici, PS the Rojas tuning will translate exactly as I said, it was very instructive to one who is more interested in learning than making inflammatory insults. Are you a Trump supporter? I forgot how many assholes there were out there, how do you block ignorant assholes like this?Perhaps you can enlighten me to that extent, since you are so free with your advice? Adios , el Kapitan

I love that man!

I know yours is an old post, but maybe you'll see this. Are you sure your guitar is properly intonated?

B#....aha! heres lies your problem😉

Yeah, I would agree with you. There is something in your theory as well.

Doesn't that mean it's only the player himself who is desensitized while the guitar actually still sounds good?

It would. A different example would be when mixing music. If you don't take breaks your ears get used to nuances, brightness and bass to the point where you can't make relevant decisions properly. But as with Tommy Emmanuel, or any player of course, even if changing strings might benefit him more than the listeners it would still be relevant for him as a player if that makes him more inspired from the sound.

If the guitar sounds dull to YOU it's your brain making the call. But I think it's useful to say the guitar gets used to it, even being aware it's you. You are part of the equation. How you feel about the sound your guitar makes influences your desire to play and play well.

It is true that your ears get used to the sound but me being a person that builds guitars can see the logic in what he is saying. Alot of acoustic guitars have tenced bracing. Thats where the braces are glued on in a way to add tention to the top or stiffness which if done correctly will add brilliance to the sound. The downside is that in theory the tention will give away through time. And the guitar will get used to the tension. So it makes sense that if the certain brand of strings vibrate a certain way the guitar will get used to it just like your brain. Of course this is very slight.