Thoughts I'd share a few pics I took this past Saturday of the Stick after the "Great Cleanup of '23" took place.

It was a little easier than I thought it would be, trying to remove 15+ years of touring and closet grime.

After a few emails back and forth with Jeff at SE, it's been determined that my instrument was built somewhere in 1989, making it the second oldest piece of equipment I own (bested only by my Japanese Boss OC-2 octave pedal! LOL).

So, I have a few rather blurry "before" shots, and a few "after" shots. It cleaned up really well!

So, since today is a work "rain day" (due to weather related migraine heads), I might attempt to string her up and see if she doesn't snap in half in the process!

This leads me to another question - do you think it would be wise to tune the melody side in similar to NST (CGDAE, low to high) or should I just leave it in Classic? I fully intend to leave the bass side in Classic. I have used NST on a bass guitar many years ago, and am actually quite used to it. But I'm not sure about the difference in stress on the beam (remember, NO TRUSS on this instrument)!
TIA

That last pic is money. Good show man.

Leave the Melody side in Classic tuning w/ light gauge strings. Your Stick has no 1) adjustable truss and 2) adjustable bridge. Thus it won't play, feel, or sound properly with a different tuning (or gauge).

All the best!

That's kinda what I thought. Intonation (or lack thereof) combined with the other two non-variables really answered this for me!

So far, I've manage to get the strings on the instrument, but brought any of it to pitch yet (the next step).

Classic tuning it is!

Thanks!

UPDATE: well, the good news is that the instrument DIDN'T snap in half LOL!

Managed to get the strings on, and up to ( I assume) pitch. This became somewhat of a challenge, as while I verified that the electronics worked in my lab, I hadn't brought up my cable from the basement lab! Always a holdup!

I finally got the cable, cleaned a somewhat dirty output jack and began to tune. Therein lies another question - seems a bit counterintuitive that the open notes on each string are muted because of the felt at the neck end. Is this how it should be?

Got the shoulder strap adjusted so far (not quite sure if I'll set it up like Greg Howard suggested; it sure feels cramped that way to me).

Of course, with the belt clip (non-adjustable) where it is, the volume controls are just about at my groin! Not sure that's a good place for them to be. It seems to be awfully low slung. Not sure I felt this way with a bass guitar strapped on for the first time. Then again, I was playing Freewill by Rush in the first few weeks! A fish to water, as they say. This feels COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

I might have to take it upon myself to add those belt clip adjustments like the newer models!

Anyway, here's a few more pics, now that she's strung and tuned...

Fun to see the progress!

There's no "open" note on a Stick. It's best to tune where you'll generally be playing. I typically tune at the 5th fret in the bass and the 13th fret in the melody. Tap just behind the fret and hold it to check the tuning against whatever note it should be at that fret for your tuning.

(Did a quick edit after looking at the tuning charts, my original note about the playable lowest note wasn't correct, oops. The tuning chart does show what note is at the nut, which isn't a generally playable note since it's dampened)

As Claire wrote for general tuning. If you wish to check intonation it's usual to compare the notes at the 2nd & 14th frets.

Thanks for the insight!
I may be dropping the tuning a half step to get the playable C. Then again, I might not!
My other fish to fry is getting used to how it sits (or making it fit me a bit better!).

Thank you for that tip! I might drop it a half step, see how it feels.