Hi Andy,

I liked the correspondence to the Bari Melody, and the extra range. The extra range means that you don't have to play as high on the fretboard "most of the time" so it is a little easier because those frets get pretty close together up high, and you always have a little bit more room to go as you go up. The highest fret is a "boundary" just like the highest string and the lowest fret.

Emmett prides himself on making the whole instrument as playable as possible, and rightly so, from the highest to the lowest fret.

Andy,

I would go along with Greg and say that I like the correspondence to the 10-string BM (or in my case, the 12-string Classic) tuning and also the extra range. I prefer to really stretch and go for some high tones that I wouldn't normally be able to get out of the Grand.

Regarding processing ... well ... I still just run it through my regular stereo rig mostly out of convenience. I have some patches that are tailored for the Alto just because my Grand pickup tends to run just a little hotter. I do like to keep the tones on the Alto more unified than I do on my Grand like you said and I have my patches set to essentially achieve that. On the flip side though, I still like the ability to (for example) tone down the delay on the lower strings as compared to the high strings, etc.

Glenn

Hello,

Yes, the alto is a cool instrument, and like Glen said, alto is a very cool instrument for "guitar like" playing.
After more than 1 year on the alto, I consider it like a completely different instrument.
I play only alto now.
I gave up "regular" playing on alto, after I realize that it is not a standart stick.
Less sustain, less range, less playiable area, need more strenght to sound good.
So it is for me a completely different tapping technique that should be developped.
More monophonic tapping, where both hand should play on there own area only and must sound like one.

For example of how I consider the alto today, check my last videos on youtube.
I actually start to study african music, and it is very cool to adapt all guitar and balafon patterns on the alto. It make very good exercices too .

San

Hi San,

You make some great points about your approach to playing Alto, and I have enjoyed your videos very much.
I think you are leading the way in creating music on this new instrument.

One of the reasons I'm attracted to the Alto is to be able to explore melodies freely, without feeling compelled to control the bottom end at the same time.

Cheers,
Andy

Hi andy,
Yes, the alto could become the two hands tapping guitar.
I have a lot of fun playing spontaneous solo on the alto.

The alto has a great potentiel to play rythms guitar, arpeggio and solo. It is the stick reinvented !

Neat! I enjoyed those very much!

Glenn

Yes, this music is so beautifull, I love it!

Does anybody know the heaviest guage string available for the Alto? I'm considering "Bob's Expanded" tuning with both sides down a whole step. The low G would probably have to be at least .090.

Hi Dave,

Because the scale length is shorter, the strings do better if they're slightly thinner than the corresponding gauge would be for the fret #5 pitch on a 36"scale instrument.

Regarding lower Alto tunings, I found a post from Greg on Stickwire (Feb. 05) describing "Classic Alto" tuning:

Melody (same as "regular Alto" tuning):
G
D
A
E
B

Bass:
F
C
G
D
A

Note the much lower range on the bass side and the "Classic" relationship between the hands.

It appears that most Alto players have chosen to go with either higher or more overlapping tunings than this one, possibly more for musical reasons rather than logistical issues (string gauges etc.). I don't recall if this was
one of the original Alto tunings listed on the SE website?

Cheers,
Andy