I don't have an NS/Stick yet but am keeping my eyes peeled and saving up. I am not sure if I want to go with the straight 4ths or the classic interior tuning, maybe even the dual bass. If the right used one comes along at the right time it won't really matter. But out of curiosity can anyone attest to how difficult it is to set it up in different tunings? Is it something I could change later by myself if I ever wanted to?

ive just posted one for sale. Its in 4ths

Here's a video Greg made showing you how to change a Stick tuning... I imagine an NS is similar:

What is your native instrument? The reason I ask is that as a guitarist / bassist, it took a while to get used to the tuning of the Chapman Stick. When I finally purchased an NS, it was familiar and while I have not tried any other tuning than straight 4ths, I would still HIGHLY recommend starting with 4ths as this will allow you to focus on getting a feel for the instrument and dialing in a nice sound with your amp.

Be sure to get a look at Randy's NS - there is no more respected bassist in our community his NS is a beauty of an instrument and his offer is generous (if it's still available).

I am a bassist. But the learning curve is kinda what is attracting me to sticks in the first place. I want to be able to discover new ways of thinking about bass lines and creating melody, and am afraid if I try 4ths I'll just be board want to change it. I have a little over 8 years of dedicated bass experience and I have played on the same jazz bass that entire time.

If that is the case, I’d go with a Chapman Stick. Forever the most beautiful puzzle you can solve in so many ways.

A couple of things with the NS if you want to change tunings yourself:

1. Start with an instrument that was setup by Stick Instruments. Take string height measurements at the bridge and nut as well as fret to string. That gives you where you were at if you don’t like your modification, you can go back.

2. Do you have experience setting up a bass with and E or B string that has an exposed core or Rotosound PSD string design? If you switch and NS from a “straight” tuning to a mirrored tuning you will have to relocate the bridge and possibly the nut adjustments as the lowest string on an NS is more of an exposed core type string, while most of the others have a standard wrap at the bridge.

3. Neck relief. On an NS you might want more relief for fingerstyle playing vs a straight profile better suited for tapping. For a mirrored tuning, unless you play a bass like Jimmy Haslip with reversed strings, I’m thinking you will be using the NS more for tapping than a hybrid fingerstyle tapping and may need to adjust the neck profile for how you want to play it. Mine is almost straight, I do have a light touch on a bass and typically use RH techniques similar to classical/fingerstyle guitar on the NS, as well as a pick. The older NS I had with standard bass guitar style frets I had more neck relief. I attribute that to frets vs rails as standard bass guitar frets wear more easily that stainless steel fret rails. If you buy used and it’s old enough to have regular frets, keep this in mind.

I’ve owned a couple of NS sticks and have changed them from straight fourths to a couple of interior guitar tunings. I recently went back to BEADGBEA like I had used since 2004. I also play guitar and for whatever reason I can’t get that tuning out of my head. No issue with straight fourths on a six string fretless, but for the NS I have to tune it the way I do. No different to me than setting up a bass, however what is really neat about the NS is the individual nut pieces that allow one to adjust the nut at individual strings. I’ve had Warwick’s before, but those work more like the nut flaps on a standard Stick. With the NS you have full control of nut heights at each string.