Achieving "Just Guitar"

Well whoever is reading this has endured my writing about "Just Intonation" and the "Harmonic Code"...wait a minute, have I mentioned that? Anyways, I think I've made a breakthrough, (at least for now) with my 57 Martin.

For one I took the frets off a couple weeks ago and continued my harmonic tuning of the instrument. 1/1 , 3/2, 2/1, 5/6, 3/2, 2/1 . I think is how it would described in ratios but I may still be off on that here's an image of a diagram from Partch's book to demonstrate the obvious need for a paradigm shift to appreciate ratios in music:


Actually I can certainly say I am off on those ratios so I'll put it into standardized "music theory" language (Sorry Harry).

E String : Drop Db
A String : Ab (tuned to the "5th" harmonic on the low D) that's located roughly over the 7th fret
D String : Db up the "octave" match 5th fret and 12th fret harmonics
G String : F (matched with the harmonic 3rd found near the 4th and 9th frets
B String : Ab (up an octave from the low Ab)
E String : Db (up an octave from the middle Db)

This gives us a most beautiful "Major Chord" that is Justly Intuned. Monphonic in the sense that each open string is tuned to a naturallly occuring harmonic found on the 1/1 or the fundemental tone, in this case a Db. really the chord structure is the same as what is supposed to be heard when we pick up a standardly tuned guitar and strum a standard "E chord" on the guitar. (of course to be from the same fundemental you'd have to tuned your guitar down to Db)

The difference, however, between a justly tuned chord and a bastardized, distorted evil tampered chord is more than astonishing.

So now with a Just Chord to begin with and no frets to force the ratios out of wack, I can play with total freedom.

I'm going to try to take some pictures and maybe play a few samples for next time