Hi everyone,

Can someone please explain how the fretboard dots line up in Emmett’s classic tuning? (Either 10 or 12). I sometimes hear this comment that “the Classic tuning lines up on the fretboard markers as Emmett originally designed it,” whereas MR and others don’t do this. I’ve never understood this remark and I wanted to know what it means exactly. What lines up? Is there some logic here that I’m missing?

Thanks all

The note names match two inlays apart, if you look at this chart, the bass notes at the first inlay match the melody notes at the third inlay:

https://stick.com/instruments/tunings/12/classic_66/

Here's another illustration of the same thing, but with each inlay fret fully annotated: Classic 12

To compare that with a similar view of other tunings, start from Touchboard Maps.

A really handy page in the original Free Hands book puts it into perspective.

PS: Support the company. Buy the book.

PPS: If the isolated image below violates forum rules/copyright, please delete and slap me on the wrist.

Thanks all, this makes sense now.

I’m playing DBM which has a similar pattern - the bass notes at the first inlay match the melody notes at the second inlay.

@DavidWS that’s a neat set of fretboard diagrams, very useful. I’ve bookmarked it. I have a couple of suggestions if that’s ok?

* Please can you add MR10 and RMR10 and DBM10?
* Can we have a return link on each page back to:
http://www.david-wright.co.uk/music/touchboard_maps/

(Emmett favoured RMR for the Railboard; DBM10 is the inner 10 strings of MR12.)

Your thoughts & suggestions are appreciated.


Yes. I'll organise that as soon as I can. As you observe the 10 string sets are mainy subsets of 12 string tunings so they should not take much preparation.

I originally started doing these maps as aids to my adventures in custom tunings, so I was initially just doing those tunings that were relevant to those adventures. It's only recently that I expanded the 12 string sets to include (almost) all the 'retail' variants (I've not included the 'High Bass 4th' variants, yet). It makes sense to expand the 10 string sets too.

Maybe some day I'll get around to adding the Alto tunings & the 8 string ones too?


Yes. For my initial, personal use only, versions there were no links, then when I decided to 'publish' I added the basic footer that you've already seen. I've now modified that footer to include a link back to the Touchboard Maps home. Multi-file search & replace is a wonderful tool, so that's already in place.

I hope that helps & is of use.

Thanks David, appreciate this. It’s a useful tool.

I saw this on your site just now…



…and I was wondering if it’s worth organising the tunings into families (as you observe, they’re mostly related). This may be helpful to others - perhaps the explanation is useful?

So for example:

CLASSIC family - 10 strings

Classic 10
Emmett’s original tuning

Baritone Melody
Inner 10 strings of Classic 12

MATCHED RECIPROCAL family - 10 strings

Matched Reciprocal (MR)
Melody strings of Classic dropped by a whole step

Deep Baritone Melody (DBM)
Inner 10 strings of MR12

Deep Matched Reciprocal (DMR)
As MR10 but a whole step lower

Raised Matched Reciprocal (RMR)
As MR10 but a whole step higher

Full Baritone (FB)
Inner 10 strings of RMR12

…etc?


It’s interesting to note that Classic (10 & 12), DBM10, and FB10 all have fret marker note alignment as we were discussing above.

Another suggestion (this may hurt your head…):

It would be great to compare two tunings side-by-side on one page! Similar to what you see on Dell and Apple product pages. It means having two drop-down lists at the top of the page so you can select tuning-A on the left and tuning-B on the right. The two tunings would display on the page in left and right columns respectively. You can then compare their note placement side by side, so you can actually see how they differ or match. Viewing a 10- and 12-string tuning together is also useful. Just a thought?

Thanks again, it’s a very useful gadget.

As some stage I may rearrange, or sub-divide the Touchboard Map home page since it's grown quite a bit. I'll consider, but might not use, your ideas when I do. Thanks for desrcibing the intesreting concept.


If you look at my custom tunings I often include comments about the inlay relationships. The patterns of those sort of relationships were significant drivers along the exploration path. Among the standard tunings that sort of comment is currently only on the Mirrored 4ths page, & it's there mainly because that was the starting point for my explorations. Such comments might get added to other standard pages over time.

On the 10 string pages I'll be including comments such as "Highest 5 of each side of Classic 12" & "Inner 10 of Classic 12". Those two comments are already in place on the Classic 10 & Baritone Melody pages.


No pain experienced at all. Side by side comaprison can be handy. I can also be achieved quite easily with the existing pages. Just open up the pages you want to comapre in different browser windows & put those windows side by side. Here's an example I just set up & took a screenshot of.



That simple process seems like an adequate solution to me?


I've leveraged some html & css knowledge I have from the days when webpages were coded by hand, to build static maps that I find useful. I have no desire to make the maps any more sophisticated than that, but I'm happy to share them and I hope others may find them useful too at the level they are.

If someone wishes to pick up the ball & run with it. They are welcome...

Scronk: It may even be that when I do re-arrange I offer more than one way of approaching the maps, one of which might be based on your 'family' idea?

There's a Gaelic saying that translates to "He who lives long will see many things". I hope we both get to see lots & like what we see.

Now added MR10, RMR10 & DMR10 (they were a good 'set' to work with, DBM will need to wait till next time).

I've also increased the text notes about the tuning on most the standard tunings, e.g. RMR 10