Re: Tuning 12 strings from low to high.
jodeen wrote:
The one in the picture is a 10 string and is tuned in 4ths Low B to Ab.
I would be surprised if that 10 string Warr Guitar is tuned BEADGCFBbEbAb from a bass B.
The highest practical pitch for common plain steel strings on a 34" scale is D4, 6 semitones below the claimed Ab4.
Octave 4 Plus, who develop special plain steel strings for very high pitches, have as their highest pitched 34" string a .007 capable of F#4, 2 semitones below the claimed Ab4:
http://www.garrygoodman.com/Plain%20Steel%20Strings.htmDo you know if that Warr is using O4P strings?
What is the source of your information and are you able to confirm the tuning?
10 strings in 4ths is certainly possible but only if it starts from a lower pitch like F#0 a 4th below bass B, using perhaps a .145 which hopefully passes through the hardware.
12 strings in 4ths is possible on certain instruments. Non-custom strings up to gauge .266 are available from Kalium Strings that can add the extremely low C#0 (17Hz) and G#00 (13Hz). There are several extended range basses with 12 strings in 4ths.
However the huge gauges of the C#0 and G#00 strings would probably not fit through the ferrule, body hole and saddle gap of a Warr Guitar, and it is unlikely modifications would make it possible. The problem is the through-body stringing.
Whereas F#0 is a practical and usable string, the C#0 and G#00 strings below that may be too low for you to consider worth having.
And yes, a Warr can be tuned 6 + 6 with non-inverted bass strings.