Great to see this progress, it's a good looking instrument!

It's a sweet looking ride, as my work compatriots say. Then again, two of them are young enough to be my son's!

Her name is Poly. Now let's see what I can learn...

You can check the intonation as David noted above.

As far as position, it's really more about how your arms and hands relate to the fretbaord, less about where the pickup / controls end up. I think many of us end up setting the volume all the way up and never touching it. You might also try using a separate belt for the Stick.

A 50mm (2") webbing 'work belt' does a good job as a Stick belt. If you use one with a quick release buckle you can set the length just right so all you need to do is clip it on & slot in the Stick.

If you play seated you can either use a belt or try a lapbar (bought or home made). If you search the forum for "Stick stand" ideas (either stood up or seated), be prepared for a long read...

I may have to look into both ideas (belt and a seated bar). Studio time almost always dictates playing seated (with bass and guitar, anyway), while live playing has almost always denoted standing.

Re: tuning down a half step: I had my older Stick tuned down a semi for several years... by accident! (I tuned it looking at a manual for a 36" scale Stick, which allows for an extra semi lower). It works, but recently I tuned it back to "proper" tuning. It's subtle, but the intonation is better, the string tension a little less slack, and the tone more consistent between strings. I miss the low C but prefer the overall sound of the instrument tuned at proper pitch. Your mileage may vary!

Well, I thought the same until I realized the scale length too!
I've found (so far) that tuning by tapping the 12th fret gives my tuner (Strobostomp HD) an easier go with tracking the note; the open string, being muted also tended to be a bit sharp, causing me to tune flat! LOL

So, the latest development in getting this Stick up and running; fixing a belt to it that works for me.

I ended up (for now) modifying a regular guitar strap to work with it. I simply attached the strap ends to the belt hook ( the ends have quick release clips).

A perfect solution? No, not quite yet. Still contemplating a seated position bar or similar.

Worst thing is trying to reconcile my bass guitar forms for Stick positions (in particular, the left arm).

One pic is a mirror image, as I'm actually a right-handed player.

Baby steps...

I find the simplest belt solution is simply another regular old pants-belt, sitting just under my belly/above my hips, just above my actual pants belt. Cinch it nice and tight. Others use weightlifters belts and such.

As for the bass positions.... oddly enough, since it's already "backwards" and in a vertical position, my left hand eventually stopped trying to do bass fingering. Plus, if you focus more on bass-note-plus-voicing, (ie, root-3rd-7th, in major, minor and dominant variations) your left hand will focus on "new things" instead of trying to struggle with "old things."

Good luck!
Dylan