Just got my SB8 (tuned in standard bass 4ths) and it somehow works for me much better than the classic tuning(which I tried around 10 yrs ago and didn't gel with at the time).

Couple of questions:
1. is there anyone here who uses that tuning? From what I understand it's a de facto standard tuning for SB8 and NS/Stick - correct?
2. I'm having difficulty to maintain the same volume when tapping close to the nut, i.e. it's obviously harder to tap a longer string, so it doesn't come out as strong as it does further down the neck. Is it a matter of practice or is this is something that can be (and should be) remedied with a compressor?

Thank you in advance for your help and glad to be back here!

Hello, welcome back!

Yes I think the straight 4ths is the most common tuning for NS/Stick and SB8, this is what I used the few years I owned in NS/Stick. I like bass in 4ths so much it turned into the mirrored 4ths tuning I've been using on Grand Stick the past 20 years.

I find there is always a little bit of a volume drop tapping the fret closest to the nut, but you can improve this by making sure (via the truss rod) that the neck is perfectly flat without a back bow. Once this is set, you can also tweak this further by slightly raising the nut height if the string is too close to the first fret.

Interesting, so basically for mirrored 4ths I just need to restring the bass side so that the lowest string is in the middle - correct?

Do you still play an NS?
I'm thinking of getting another instrument (as a backup and just in case) and was toying with an idea of NS/Stick, though I'm not sure if it's too similar to SB8 and maybe I should aim for variety instead (regular 10 string).

On the side note I feel that tunings in a way reflect the intended role of the instrument in your performance (whether you want to use it a solo instrument), the only potential issue that I see with straight 4ths is that "in theory" it's not very well suited for left hand chords, but rather for the pure bass function.



Awesome, I will look into that, thank you!

I no longer play the NS, it got traded for a Grand when I decided to focus more on solo music - I think the two region instruments make it easier to do full arrangements. I don't recommend mirrored 4ths on anything less than 12 strings, for the left hand at least 6 strings is desired for a full bass and chordal range (I'm currently playing a custom Grand with 7 bass strings and 5 melody strings, which I think is ideal for mirrored 4ths).


If I had an SB8 I'd be tempted to keep it in straight 4ths but invert the strings like they are on the bass side of my Grand, as I've developed a left hand chord/accompaniment style that depends on that string arrangement. With inverted strings, typical chord voicings allow the left hand fingers to be more naturally outstretched and to reach more strings/frets. When I briefly tried parallel 4ths the left hand fingers tended to be more scrunched up and limited in movement when playing chord oriented accompaniment.

Just to be clear Rob, was that crossed or uncrossed parallel, i.e. bass on the "normal" side (crossed) or bass on the side where the melody usually is on a Stick (uncrossed)?

It was a crossed arrangement. The video examples in the article I wrote for stick.com help clarify the ergonomic advantages I found with the inverted bass strings, particularly video 5 and 6:

https://stick.com/method/articles/mirrored4ths/