Hi All,

I had an Alto for a couple years, and it REALLY sang well and played very comfortably/dextrously, but there was simply too much "soprano" voicing for my liking. This came as no surprise to me - I am a bass player by musical trade.

Sadly, I am not terribly keen with the sounds from my other sticks (NS/Stick or my Classic Ten String). They're just not fun anymore, and I will likely unload them rather than let them collect dust.

Then I had a crazy idea: a guitar-scale stick (Alto or Stick Guitar) in a DBR style tuning. This, conceptually, seems to carry all the benefits of DBR, but in a "baritone/tenor" range. Plus, it allows me to fit into a tonal sweet spot that I love (I play a five string bass tuned EADGC, and I rarely go below the low-G on the deepest string).

I would like to gauge people's thoughts on this idea (literally, any thoughts - tell me I'm a total dweeb for thinking this is a good idea if that's what you think...)

I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Best,
~Nick "Klaus" G.

You're not the only one who's thought about that. If you could retain the way the two string groups flow into each other I think you'd be on to something. All that remains is for someone to figure out the best feasible range,key and string gauges for an SG-12 and give it a shot. Anybody tried this?

This is definitely possible, and would be easy to try if you had an Alto or SG12.

If you based it on the low G, your whole tuning for Alto would be:

Ab
Eb
Bb
F
C
G (lowest note)
D
A
E
B

In my opinion this tuning is too low, it's an octave below the normal Alto melody range. Also, you're not going to like the way the lowest string sounds above fret 12 or so, it's just too thick to tap well as that short length. So it's function as a common string is not as great.

A nice choice might be a low D (like a guitar drop D tuning). overall that would be:

Eb (half-step below guitar high E string)
Bb
F
C
G
D (lowest note)
A
E
B
F#

The big advantage of a tuning like this is that the low common string will play and sound great all the way up. You have tons of overlap between the string sets.

When you get to the SG12, your limiting factor will become string 12. It can't be higher than the A above the F# in the tuning I just described. Which means the highest common low string would be a Bb above bass low E. I think low Ab would be a good compromise:

Eb (half step below guitar high E)
Bb
F
C
G
D
A (lowest string)
E
B
F#
C#
G#

So this is basically the same tuning for the first 6 strings as the second one for the Alto, with strings 7-12 in 5ths starting a 4th lower.

If you are interested in using a high bass 4th (and I think you should consider it), that will let you raise the whole instrument up a whole step:

F (half step above guitar high E)
C
G
D
A
E (guitar low E)
B (lowest string)
F#
C#
G#
D#
G#

Since you have common string 7 to extend the 4ths, this tuning makes the most sense to me for the SG12, as you can gain a little higher range for the melody side...

If you were to use the low G for the SG12 you would have:

Db (below guitar high E)
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
C
G (lowest note)
D
A
E
B
F#

I hope that helps.

Another option that isn't really DBR-like but might be useful to consider is using mirrored 4ths on an SG12. I start with what many consider the lowest practical note which is G1. (Middle C is C4 for this.)

1: E4
2: B3
3: Gb3
4: Db3
5: Ab2
6: Eb2
7: G1
8: C2
9: F2
10: Bb2
11: Eb3
12: Ab3

Because of the scale length of an SG12, chords don't sound muddy with this tuning. You still get very nice bass tone with heavier strings and maybe a little modeling. I use a 96 on string 7. I have also trimmed the damping material under string 7 and frequently use the open Gb1. I love the sound of this.

The melody side is tuned for the least amount of hand clashing while being as high as possible. This is my favorite tuning on my favorite Stick. I've tried most options on long and short Sticks and this works best for what I want to do. I play many styles of music including jazz and rock in addition to the classical music I last shared.

I know this is not what most people will end up using, but I think the option should get discussed once in a while and enter the archives. The few of us who have gone to a mirrored 4ths variation tuning really love them. A 12-string instrument makes this a good possibility. It really doesn't work on 10 strings. It's especially nice on the SG12, which may very well be a different instrument from what most consider to be a Chapman Stick.

-Eric