Well, actually it came Nov. 21 but this season has been crazy!

Jeff at SE has been really communicative and wonderful to work with.

Grand Railboard in Deep Matched Reciprocal (I've already changed up the tuning, lol, but more on that later...)









The action came *amazingly* low from SE. I seemed to do pretty good (at least not mess it up) with the setup when I did the string change.

Love how there's no weight on the hands or my shoulder whatsoever. It feels very comfortable to play--though chording with the left hand is going to take some getting used to!

Beautiful. One dad you'll love this tuning in 5ths for the left hand. When we write for Big Band we call this voicing spread voicing.

Looks beautiful.

What did you change the tuniung to? That low bass string still looks pretty thick.

PS. May we know the serial number?

Serial # 7503.

So I originally ordered in Deep Matched Reciprocal, but just changed it over to Dual Bass Reciprocal.

Yes string 7 on Deep Matched Reciprocal is a Beast! I didn't have a problem with the thickness, though. My original reason for the tuning is I wanted to keep some bass overlap on the interior of the instrument, while keeping some high range in the melody side. I also wanted at least part of the instrument to parallel my N/S, since I'll be switching between them in gigs--so I wanted at least *some* familiar cross-over between the two.

After a week of playing, though, I felt even the DMR tuning didn't have the overlap I was looking for, and I felt there was more high end in the tuning than I really needed (I do anchor the bass in our trio--OK perhaps there was less Bass than I wanted, rather ). I figured there still was a high Bb string on the Bass side at least in Dual Bass Reciprocal. Now after just a few days with the tuning, I'm seeing a lot of possibilities with it, and the heavier gauges (still "Medium," but the caliper gauges don't transition as quickly as they do in DMR) feel better to me.

Some pictures of the instrument during/after the change:







Black Cat Assisting with the Black Stick Re-string:




If you're wondering, a re-string is not necessarily a difficult process (I referenced Greg's excellent video tutorial, Bless his Soul). But it does require patience--allow a good full evening and Beverage of choice. .

BTW as a DBR player, medium gauge, I have found dropping the bass side a half-step aligns the notes better at the fret markers, and the "difference" in the center of the string sets doesn't throw me off. And a half-step drop doesn't feel loose in the bass tuning. Enjoy the adventure.
Another BTW: I'll be ordering my next DBR
set w/ a set of Melody Deep Matched Reciprocal because I want to try the higher string. Again. I did this before with the whole 12-string set but didn't like the gauges on the bass side. ESPECIALLY the 7th (lowest) string.

Thank you.


I agree totally. If you don't feel a tuning quite suits, then adventures await...

Hmm...seems like that would put the X-Fret notes in more familiar territory...worth considering.



I totally respect and get your feelings on that 7th string. Only reason it didn't really bother me is I used to be a double-bassist. Honestly, though, the DBR 7th string does feel better.

That DMR Melody side happens to match the top 6 strings on the N/S Stick "Standard Fourths" tuning. It *is* nice to have the high Bb--I just have to decide which tradeoffs I can live with. In a month or so I'll have a better feel if I'll stick with DBR - if you haven't ordered strings by then I may have a nearly-brand-new DMR Melody set for you.

@zaubertuba as I have a Grand Railboard on order as well, I have to ask what was the turn-around time for you on this instrument?

I ordered mine March '22. Received November '23, so a good 20 months.

Z.- it wasn't the thickness of the string, it was the tonality. The fundamental and the overtones just weren't as pronounced as the DBR 7th string. A lot goes into picking the right gauge with tapping strings. The upright (when I used to play) was not a problem for me. I was an animal. I broke strings when I switched to fretless electric. The tapping is much more natural to me now, rarely "touch" the basses these days. (pun, haha)