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 A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass" 
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Post A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
Hi guys,

I'm considering the purchase of a Stick Bass with all bass 4th's tuning.

A while ago I considered this but my focus was "what this would bring in addition to the 10-string classic that I already have" and the most common question was "nothing" since everything could also be accomplished with the 10-string.

Then, after having a closer look at the tunings and options. My 4/5/6-string basses have always had 4ths tuning and one of my guitars also has this approach. Therefore, an SB8 with 4ths tuning would give me the range of a 6-string bass and a guitar with the same chords and scale relationships. The way I see it, this would give me a 5-string bass on strings 4-8 and a 6-string guitar in strings 1-6 from the 7th fret and still allow two-hand tapping and play both parts simultaneously.

This could be theoretically done on my 10-string, but since there is no "official" straight 4ths tuning for the 10/12-string models, this would also not be possible without repeating strings. Of course, I could do strigh tuning on 9 strings and have strings 5 & 6 identical in order to bridge both groups, but my older Poly stick does not have an adjustable bridge (and cannot be installed) meaning that intonation would be an issue, plus the strings holders are small enough to fit the classic tuning strings so thicker strings would not fit on the 8-9-10 slots.

Also, I believe all 10/12-string models have a "group spacing" larger than the "string spacing", while the SB has uniform string spacing. Can someone confirm this? This would make sense as three of the recommended tunings are straight from the 8th to the 1st string. The interior MR and classic would not make sense to me on the SB8 as I can already have them on my 10-string. However, dual bass reciprocal becomes now a possibility if I want to take advantage of the 4ths & 5th tuning on the stick. This is, of course, possible on most 10/12-string models, but my older Poly stick is not able to fit bass strings or any string much thicker than classic tuning.

What do you think? Any of you play(ed) the SB8? What is your experience?
Have you tried straight tunings or DBR?
Any comments and answers would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Walter

P.S. PM me if you live in Zürich and you want to jam.

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Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:56 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
In my humble opinion (also being a bassist) forget the 4ths on the Stick bass and go with the Dual Bass Recipricol. Why? You already have basses tuned in 4ths. Do something different that is going to take you outside your comfort zone and will ultimately give you a whole new dimension in your playing. You will definitely increase your creativity by approaching your lines in a new way. The internal 5ths tuning will force you to think and play differently!! I say, forge ahead with something new!! by the way, I'm saving up for a 10 String Grand Stick, that will have that same Dual Bass Recipricol tuning. I was going to go with the SB8, which is a fine choice, however, Greg Howard brought up the 10 string Grand. It will give you a wider range with the two extra strings, and the spacing between strings will be a bit wider. My plan is to have a Roland GK3 installed so I can trigger acoustic bass patches. Oh, my first Stick years ago was an SB8 tuned in fourths... I regretted having had that 4ths tuning, as I was just playing the same old stuff, only tapping. Also, just think of all the new neurons and neural connections your brain is going to make by learning something new!!! Best of luck to ya!!


Wed Jun 19, 2019 6:13 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
rclere wrote:
In my humble opinion (also being a bassist) forget the 4ths on the Stick bass and go with the Dual Bass Recipricol. Why? You already have basses tuned in 4ths. Do something different that is going to take you outside your comfort zone and will ultimately give you a whole new dimension in your playing. You will definitely increase your creativity by approaching your lines in a new way. The internal 5ths tuning will force you to think and play differently!! I say, forge ahead with something new!! by the way, I'm saving up for a 10 String Grand Stick, that will have that same Dual Bass Recipricol tuning. I was going to go with the SB8, which is a fine choice, however, Greg Howard brought up the 10 string Grand. It will give you a wider range with the two extra strings, and the spacing between strings will be a bit wider. My plan is to have a Roland GK3 installed so I can trigger acoustic bass patches. Oh, my first Stick years ago was an SB8 tuned in fourths... I regretted having had that 4ths tuning, as I was just playing the same old stuff, only tapping. Also, just think of all the new neurons and neural connections your brain is going to make by learning something new!!! Best of luck to ya!!


Thanks for your reply!

I may have made a mistake, I had basses, now I have only a guitar and a 10-string stick. Therefore the need to have a bass/stick that will allow me to play bass (and guitar simultaneously), I can also do that with the 10-string stick tuned in 4th/5th with classic tuning. As you say this challenges me and helps me think in different ways, which I love because I can concentrate on the notes and relations and how to build chords instead of just moving over the same old known positions.

At the moment I'm focusing on getting to know my 10-string, so having an additional stick with 4ths tunings may be comfortable for playing familiar songs, as I don't own a bass anymore and keep my guitar for parts in which I need to play the guitar. I guess that after I get to know and learn to take advantage of the 4th/5th tuning I can change the SB8 to dual bass reciprocal, which will still have a side like a 4/5-string bass.

I guess this makes sense and makes me think that getting an SB8 in addition to the 10-string will be a complement and not a redundancy.

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Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:05 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
waltschwarzkopf wrote:
Therefore the need to have a bass/stick that will allow me to play bass (and guitar simultaneously),

It sounds like you want a full range instrument, Dual Bass Reciprocal doesn't do that.
A single region tapper seems more of a complement to your 10 string than another dual-region 4ths/5ths instrument.

If you ever want to use a very different single-region tuning there is the Robert Fripp/Guitar Craft/Touch Guitars 8 string tuning BbFCGDACD, 6 strings in fifths plus minor 3rd plus major 2nd.
This has the largest pitch range possible using SE strings.

The SB8 has uniform string spacing yes, as it is designed as a single region instrument.


Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:39 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
ixlramp wrote:
It sounds like you want a full range instrument, Dual Bass Reciprocal doesn't do that.
A single region tapper seems more of a complement to your 10 string than another dual-region 4ths/5ths instrument.

If you ever want to use a very different single-region tuning there is the Robert Fripp/Guitar Craft/Touch Guitars 8 string tuning BbFCGDACD, 6 strings in fifths plus minor 3rd plus major 2nd.
This has the largest pitch range possible using SE strings.

The SB8 has uniform string spacing yes, as it is designed as a single region instrument.

My idea is to have straight 4ths, as this would be a single region tapper and would complement my 10-string better. I agree with you, this is what I meant. DBR was an idea, but then I realised that there is full overlap of both regions. Meaning that my range would be smaller than the bass side of my 10-string.

I've read about Fripp's tuning in 5ths and wanted to try it in my guitar, I just never got to do it for being afraid of not being able to play my guitar. But now that I think about it, it would have forced me to learn it in order to play. I guess I'll keep on my 10-string with classic tuning and straight 4ths on the SB8 (if I get it). Ultimately if I find that the range of the SB8 too limiting (which I doubt) I can attempt to try with Fripp's tuning.

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Wed Jun 19, 2019 12:01 pm
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
I have always been troubled by the value of the Stick-bass. If you want a bunch of strings tuned in 4ths to function as a bass guitar, why aren't you looking at the NS/Stick? Yes, there is a tonal difference between the two instruments, but when you can tap, pluck, strum, pop and slap with eight manageable strings that is a lot of function. I love my Grand for its range and chordal function. I love my bass for being a bass (5-string fretless).

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Wed Jun 19, 2019 1:06 pm
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
sagehalo wrote:
I have always been troubled by the value of the Stick-bass. If you want a bunch of strings tuned in 4ths to function as a bass guitar, why aren't you looking at the NS/Stick? Yes, there is a tonal difference between the two instruments, but when you can tap, pluck, strum, pop and slap with eight manageable strings that is a lot of function. I love my Grand for its range and chordal function. I love my bass for being a bass (5-string fretless).


I had met a couple of guys when I lived downstate in Michigan that owned SB8’s. For many bass players, they want medium to heavy gage strings that the NS doesn’t provide. For some their choice is for optimized tapping without having to learn mirrored tunings. Such heavy-handed players have no use for a hybrid instrument as fingerstyle is preferred on a standard bass. I play bass with a light touch so the NS works for me. The SB8 is a good solid easy to learn dedicated tapping instrument for those with a heavy touch. Not a big market, but they are out there. Nice that Emmett gives them a choice. Without seeing how the OP plays bass I can’t comment on whether an NS or SB8 is a better choice.

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Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:00 pm
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
MichNS wrote:
sagehalo wrote:
I have always been troubled by the value of the Stick-bass. If you want a bunch of strings tuned in 4ths to function as a bass guitar, why aren't you looking at the NS/Stick? Yes, there is a tonal difference between the two instruments, but when you can tap, pluck, strum, pop and slap with eight manageable strings that is a lot of function. I love my Grand for its range and chordal function. I love my bass for being a bass (5-string fretless).


I had met a couple of guys when I lived downstate in Michigan that owned SB8’s. For many bass players, they want medium to heavy gage strings that the NS doesn’t provide. For some their choice is for optimized tapping without having to learn mirrored tunings. Such heavy-handed players have no use for a hybrid instrument as fingerstyle is preferred on a standard bass. I play bass with a light touch so the NS works for me. The SB8 is a good solid easy to learn dedicated tapping instrument for those with a heavy touch. Not a big market, but they are out there. Nice that Emmett gives them a choice. Without seeing how the OP plays bass I can’t comment on whether an NS or SB8 is a better choice.


I love the NS/Stick for just that: you can tap like a Stick but do everything and more that an 8-string bass can do. You can tune it straight 4ths across (like I do) or play with guitar tunings, or whatever. And it sound just amazing. I love the sound of the NS/Stick and the playing, especially on the lower strings.

I myself don't see much of a need for the SB8 but your needs and mileage will vary! I can definitely recommend the NS/Stick as having the best of two pretty awesome worlds: a Chapman Stick and a Ned Steinberger 8-string bass.

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Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:05 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
I'd say the SB8 is the most underrated Stick model we make, especially if you want the feel and sensation of playing a Stick but with a bass guitar type tuning, Even better might be the Dual Bass Reciprocal (DBR) tuning across the 8 strings. The low B is then the common string at the 5th position, serving both sides (bass 4ths on the "melody" side and bass 5ths on the bass side).

You'd have highest G at the 1st position (toward the player's left when "worn" for playing, followed by 2nd string D, 3rd A and 4th E, all in descending 4ths. Then down another 4th to low B at the 5th position, followed by 6th string F#, 7th C# and highest "bass" string G# at the 8th position, all in ascending 5ths. The concept is 9 strings on an 8-string board.

I feel this is a bass instrument to contend with. You'd have Jaco's melodic bass lines in the right hand and The Stick's more structural patterns in the left, not to mention Tony's pioneering two-handed bass work on just the 5ths.


Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:13 am
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Post Re: A penny for your thoughts on the SB8 "Stick Bass"
BSharp wrote:
I'd say the SB8 is the most underrated Stick model we make, especially if you want the feel and sensation of playing a Stick but with a bass guitar type tuning, Even better might be the Dual Bass Reciprocal (DBR) tuning across the 8 strings. The low B is then the common string at the 5th position, serving both sides (bass 4ths on the "melody" side and bass 5ths on the bass side).

You'd have highest G at the 1st position (toward the player's left when "worn" for playing, followed by 2nd string D, 3rd A and 4th E, all in descending 4ths. Then down another 4th to low B at the 5th position, followed by 6th string F#, 7th C# and highest "bass" string G# at the 8th position, all in ascending 5ths. The concept is 9 strings on an 8-string board.

I feel this is a bass instrument to contend with. You'd have Jaco's melodic bass lines in the right hand and The Stick's more structural patterns in the left, not to mention Tony's pioneering two-handed bass work on just the 5ths.


I couldn’t agree more! I think that sometimes less is more, that’s why I’d be more interested in an SB8 than a Grand Stick.

As a former(occasional) bass player, I think that having an SB8 on Bass 4ths tuning would be great for me. It would allow me to play bass and lead lines simultaneously and move the shapes and patterns around. I would like to try DRB or even mirror 4ths on my 10-string too, but one thing at a time...

Thanks, Emmett. The SB8 seems like what I need!

BTW, Tony is the reason I know the Stick. It was all thanks to my brother showing me a video from Liquid Tension Experiment and I was instantly hooked on that “thing” that Tony was playing and I knew that I wanted one. I even re-strung and re-tuned a guitar to learn to play Universal Mind with two handed tapping!


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Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:59 am
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