+1 on this. Single note lines on the 5th melody string I find are fine. But double stops without interfering with the lowest bass string are tricky. It’s probably the one thing I don’t feel the standard 10 string spacing makes that easy.

Steve - do you think perhaps coming from guitar as you did contributed to a preference for 6 melody strings over 5?

"Steve - do you think perhaps coming from guitar as you did contributed to a preference for 6 melody strings over 5?"

Great question.
Simple answer is, no, because when I got my first Stick in 1984, there was only a 10 string model. Grands did not exist. Mid 90's soon after 12 stringers were offered, I got my first Grand. Never looked back. Currently have five (2 half fretless) and another used one on the way.
12 is not harder to play or understand than a 10. But you do have expanded range and voicing possibilities, particularly on left hand 7th chords

Steve

I played on a 10-string for 2-3 years and then switched to a Grand and never even considered going back.

Think of a 10-string as being a subset of a 12-string. A standard tuned 12-string is a standard tuned 10-string with two additional strings. Those two strings give you considerably more overlap in range between the two sides of the instrument.

On the physical side, the string spacing of a 12-string is slightly smaller. So if you have short and/or fat fingers, this could be an issue. That's a big "could" though as the difference in spacing is very small.

With all that said, in my opinion unless there is a physical reason why you find it more difficult to play a 12-string, there is simply no reason under the sun not to go with a Grand.

Yep. Steve has it right when it comes to 12 strings. I started with a couple different 10 strings and tried both classic and baritone melody - both of which I felt were missing one string. The one 10 string I still have is tuned classic MR which is a passable compromise of high AND low accessible range limits on the melody side. Moreover, having 6 bass strings lets you tune the 12th string down a whole step to A. Much has been said about this variation but among other things, it allows you to play chords containing a tri-tone with one hand. There's an easy to finger, straight up minor triad available on strings 9,11 & 12 with that tuning that works well in keys like Eb, E & F around the first marker where the lowest note can still be considered in the bass register. The same chords on a 10 string would be based out of the position 2-3 frets above the 2nd marker - effectively blocking the right hand from accessing what low range you DO have on the melody side unless you play uncrossed of course. My first year of playing Stick consisted of trying all the popular tunings on 10 and 12 strings and there was no point in getting serious until I sorted that out. For me 12 strings tuned MR with a high bass 4th turned out to offer the most available real estate accessible to both hands (crossed) and the most chordal resources for the left hand. The one compromise of using MR is the loss of the 2 highest notes on the highest string because you're tuning that side down 2 frets. I have 12 strings and I use them all - all the time. The more I play, the more I find dynamic equilibrium with 12 strings so 14 strings seems like crossing the line into redundancy. And anyhow with a long scale instrument like a Stick, you have the problem of the tensile strength of strings tuned any higher than they are already. So you could only add lower stings and a 12 string's lowest strings on both sides are pretty damn low for my needs and taste. My 2 cents.

I picked up a grand (12str) for a fairly lame reason compared to what everyone else's is (And their reasons are all true)... but here goes, I had a couple of 10 strings, (I still have the railboard) but the 5 strings per side kind of messed with my mind, I thought that six strings would make more sense -and it did!

The tuning I use (mirrored 4ths) is a lot more playable on a 12 string than a 10. I keep my railboard tuned to RMR....

Lots of interesting comments here.

For many, many years I only played the 10string. Because I tuned it to Baritone Melody, I already had the low melody string of the Classic Grand tuning. Because I learned how to play by not staying in positions, the range at any position was never an issue. I'm really glad I learned to play that way because it enables the player to take advantage of the whole board much more easily. Baritone Melody is a great tuning for the 10-string because there's more overlap between the strings. Also, the pattern of scales and chords is, in my opinion easier to see and feel on a 10-string instrument. Fewer tactile and visual cues make it so. For this reason I still believe you may be better off learning the technique on a 10-string, then switching to a 12-string later, but this is just my opinion.

Here's a video of the 34"-scale 10-string in Baritone Melody in action:



Initially the Grand Sticks were a little narrower than they are today. This meant there was a little less space between the string groups, mainly. My first Grand was this type and I didn't take to it. Then I got a paduak 34"-scale Grand and tuned it to Matched Reciprocal with an ACTVE-2. I liked this tuning, and played this instrument and the 10-srtring in Bari Melody for a while.

Here's a video from the 2003 Montreal Jazz Festival where I'm playing this instrument:



I liked this instrument very much, but switching back and forth between the MR and Bari Melody, where the melody strings have different correspondence to the inlays is a little confusing.

Then... Emmett intruduced 36"-scale instruments. I already lived the Rails from 12-string Grand I mentioned above, and the extra 2" of space and playable low C and low G at the X fret were an explosive addition for me. I ordered a 10-string 36"-scale and fell back in love with 10-strings. This video is from my first ever performance on this instrument, s/n 4965, it was also my first instrument with linear inlays (never looked back on that feature either):



Eventually, I wanted more complex chord voicings in the left hand, which are made possible with the high bass 4th tuning, so I ordered another Grand Stick, this time in Classic with a high bass 4th, so that my melody hand would match the Baritone Melody 10 for fret relationships.

While it may be a bit early in the year for this video, it's the best example yet I've posted that shows the left hand chordal possibilities the tuning gives your left hand.



Since I teach people in a wide variety of tunings, having a 12-stirng is a must. But I have to say again, in my opinion, there may be real benefits to learning on a 10-string. I'm sure people would disagree with me, but since almost all of the accomplished players started out on 10-string Sticks, you'd have to come up with something pretty convincing for me to give up the idea.

10-strings with the Rails, which make playing high notes really easy compared to regular guitar frets, gives you a lot to work with. This video really shows the high range of the Baritone Melody tuning in both hands pretty clearly:



I hope these examples are helpful.

Of topic, but just to say Mingus would be proud of that Porkpie Hat arrangement. Nice, Greg!

My first stick was a 10 string grand. It is incredibly percussive. I love the wild string on the Melody side, sometimes I sound like a saxophone. I can go crazy on the 10 string, and the string spacing is much wider. My second stick was a 12-string Grand, when I go crazy I hit inadvertent notes and they still sound fine. My 10 string has very large frets, the 12 string Grand has the newer small frets or rails. The 12 string makes me play more accurately, with a lighter touch, although I can play that way on the 10 string, but it's more fun to not.
Any instrument made by Mr. Chapman is a work of art. The quality, and workmanship cannot be compared to any other instrument on the market.
Roknrol


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I have two 12-string sticks and am really happy with them. There are two reasons that I went with 12-strings instead of 10:

(1) When I was a beginner, I found it kinda difficult to make linear moves along the fretboard. 12 strings more easily allows I, IV, V, ii chords in the same general position on the fretboard. This was my original reason. Now that I've been playing a few years, the linear moves are easy and this reason does not really apply anymore.

(2) Voicing. One of the things I really like about having 12 strings is that I can more easily have two different chord voicings on the bass side. When I am singing a song, it is nice to be able to change it up from bass-heavy chords to more guitar range chords, say between chorus and verses, etc.

That said, I could be quite happy with a 10-string stick too.

Marty