Okay, so a few years go I thought "wouldn't a cool tuning for bassists be 4ths and inverted 5ths with a common low B string?"

Dual Bass Reciprocal was officially born (though it turns out that Bob Shrum was also working with this concept, too).

I setup my 10-string, which wasn't ideal in terms of having unmatched pickups, but it became clear to me that this was a pretty cool tuning, and would serve the tapping bassist in a unique way, putting all the different vocabulary of Tony's signature two-handed bass in 5ths together with tapping bass in 4ths.

You can read the original article about it here:

http://www.stick.com/articles/howard_dbr/

So earlier this week I received a new wenge Ten String Grand in Dual Bass Reciprocal, up a half step to low C.

No only is this a great tuning for tapping bassists. It's a great tuning for Stickists who want to be the bass player.

The 4ths in the right hand take advantage of all the melodic skill a player has developed, but applied to the bass role. The left hand can also play on the 4ths or they can work together to play two-handed bass in 5ths, 4ths or any combination.

I can pluck, bend, and the harmonics really pop out. I went with light gauge strings for more flexibility closer to the bridge, especially on strings 5 and 6. The extra spacing on the Ten String Grand makes plucking easier than on the standard 10-string. I'm still keeping the insturment mostly vertical, and plucking over the frets not down by the bridge. Maybe i'll get a stand for it and explore that later.

I chose to get no inlays so I could experiment with finding the right reference points. I think I'll end up with half lines, split at the middle and offset by one fret, with the normal positioning on strings 6-10, and one fret higher on strings 1-5, which will mimic the Classic melody string relationship to the inlays. Maybe dots under strings 3 and 8 instead of lines. We'll see.

I have a couple of videos I need to finish up before making a demo of this instrument and tuning, but a few choice tunes have already presented themselves and I'm working up arrangements of them.

The PASV-4 is a great pickup for this tuning, especially the dual pickup in-phase setting with maximum filter on both sides. Very meaty.

So I'm happy to finally have a dedicated instrument to prove out the concept. It was worth the wait. Special thanks to Grace and the rest of the folks who worked on this instrument.. it's a beauty and plays like a dream, as I would expect.

Sounds like the prog rock dream machine !! Very interested to see your vids...and hear the PASV-4 put through it's paces this way.

Yours is the 10 string grand in the Hot Shots gallery I presume...a very elegant instrument for sure...stunning:)

Very interested in seeing/hearing the demos. Looks like a great concept.

WTF?!?

Yeh i think that guys is a computer thing.

Hi all,

Messing around with this instrument a few days ago, I had an idea for a tune, and I wanted to see if indeed it wasn't something someone else had already written. So here's a little demo. I can't really play it against the repeated bass notes as well as I'd like yet, but I'm sure it will come along:

"Bass a Deux Modes"

This is bad. I have found myself looking around on SE like I could even swing having two sticks, but that demo makes me want one for sure.

I could never let go of of having my 10 string MR tuned stick, but wonder what would have to change in regards to the setup for me to try this tuning? I am currently set up for medium gauge strings, but would be interested in experimenting with this tuning.

Nice work Greg. It will be interesting to hear how things progress.

Steve

Thanks, Steve.

To change to the tuning I used, you would not need to alter your bass strings at all. You would need to get a set of strings for the 4ths. In the low C version of DBR, they are just over two octaves lower than Classic 10-string (Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F). I recommend going with lights so the strings don't sound clunky as you get up to higher pitches. If you want to tune your current bass strings down a half step to B, then you would get a 4ths set that was exactly 2 octaves below your current MR set (C, G, D, A, E)

You would need to lower the bridge screws and lengthen them to correct for the intonation.

Remind me which kind of pickup you have....

I hope to have some vids up soon with this instrument. On this tune I tried to play the bass pedal on strings 5 and 7 with my left hand. These notes are a whole step apart, and it's possible to get a nice over-ringing bass groove. Something to practice for sure.

My next Stick will be another DBR - completely frettless (Im not that good, just crazy) Ill find a nice piece of wood and let Emmett go to town. Linnear fret markers in the usuall places - I dont need much refrences. But that will be after my Detective Story is published. And delivery of my Dodge Magnum. (gotta have something to schlep my equip. around in)

"The present day composer refuses to die!" -Edgar Varese

Peace, m-

I have the PASV4. I have recently been in that two handed bassist mode for that last month or so and really enjoyed your clip and the possibilities that that tuning would offer.

Looking forward to the videos...

Steve