Paul Simon on high-string guitar, 1993

"My guitar parts are usually a combination of guitars: a six-string and a high-string [a guitar with the bottom four strings tuned an octave higher than standard]. The high-string adds just a shimmer on top....

"From Simon and Garfunkel through probably every record I've made, I'm playing high-string. On the Rhythm of the Saints tour, most of the guitar work I did was on the high-string. I've got three guitarists in the band who are incredible, so what am I going to play, you know? I've got to basically put an acoustic, shimmery top on top of Ray Phiri's picking, or Vincent Nguini's fingerstyle picking, and the high-string has the percussive sound of a six-string but it has all the overtones of a 12-string, except there's no midrange--you're only on the upper strings. I use it all the time."

From the book Rock Troubadours.