Don't own a stick but am lurking and thinking about it. I have a thought about which tuning to select and I'm leaning towards Matched Reciprocal. There's a reason why, and I'd like to bounce it off those who actually know what they're talking about.

I'm an experienced bassist of modest talent. Standard cover band guy (I can hold a groove and am good enough to not get fired), learn and play by ear, can find my way around the fretboard of my 5-string but not strong on chord construction or theory (the Stick will change the latter for sure). Reading skills are at kindergarten level ("sound it out... you can do it...").

Being a bassist, when it comes to playing an instrument I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. I think in terms of bass lines and grooves, not chords and harmony; this is a whole new world. The mere thought of hand independence makes my eyes cross. Anything I can do to keep my head from exploding is therefore worthwhile to me.

I'm thinking of Matched Reciprocal because I believe it'll be easier to orient myself and find my way, especially in the beginning. The string pitches are recognizable...EADGC, familiar territory. But more importantly, the notes for a given string are on the same fret, both sides. I won't have to add an extra bit of mental gymnastics to compensate. A is going to be on the fifth fret of the E string, period.

The ability to more easily find notes would simplify the learning process a bit, methinks.

I know that eventually it will all become ingrained the way it is on my own bass so this won't matter. I'm long past the "Where was the F# again? Let me count frets...." phase on my instrument. But picking up something totally new and radically different, I'm back to square one (more or less).

Hey welcome! I'm an avid advocate for MR tuning for the reasons you listed and more! Coming from years on guitar and bass, it took me about 6 months to start thinking in 5ths on the bass side and after that it's been just one constant safari adventure on the instrument.

One of the things I like about MR as well is how itn helps unify the quadrants denoted by the inlays. It makes finding shapes so simple and quick across all the strings, it's brilliant!

That had occurred to me as well, although the 5ths/4ths tuning means different shapes for right and left hands. Just being able to quickly find the notes relative to the markers is (in my addled mind) a big thing for learning.

Still trying to wrap my head around the "backwards" pitches on the bass side, but I'm an inherently logical/analytical guy. I'm sure I won't have trouble there once I figure out the interval relationships.

Keeping my eye open for a used Railboard while I poke around. I've been taken by the Stick ever since I first saw one at a guitar show in the very early 80s. There was a booth... and who knows, maybe it was manned by Emmett himself, but what did I know? I picked it up, put on the headphones and totally by accident hit a really sweet-sounding chord.

I've revisited the idea off and on over the years, and recently ran across Kevin Keith's funky bass grooves. Now I can't get 'em out of my head.

As someone who agonised over this for ages before making the jump.... Once you get it I don’t think it matters that much! I started with RMR (whole tone higher than MR) and after 6 months moved to classic, which is also only a whole tone away from RMR in the bass, or a whole tone from MR in the melody side.

Certainly pick a tuning that helps you cognitively get a grasp on where familiar notes are, but there’s enough unfamiliarity in the instrument to bass/guitar/piano that no tuning will assist that much yet enough similarity between tunings such that you could easily change, that I don’t think it really matters what you pick.

I wish I’d really “got” this before ordering one as I wouldn’t have spent so much time umming and ahhing over something that doesn’t matter/is so easily changeable.

Whatever you choose you’ll have a blast!

The neat thing about the 4ths/5ths tuning is that in practice, the only difference in geometry between the two is taking account of the octave flips. One octave of a pentatonic scale will be the same shape on either side, however you'll just need to account for which side is ascending and which is descending.

Each side will passively, and at times actively inform the other

Here's an example of what I mean:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156395976105211&id=565845210

I'm working on "unison" scales playing the 4ths shape on the same frets on the same side.

My advice is for you to get a Stick or Railboard,
then figure out your favorite tuning later.
Borrow one if you can, but get one.

I play Classic on my vintage Stick, and RMR on the Railboard.
I alternate back and forth between the two instruments with ease.

Once you start noodling around with these instruments,
you'll figure out what you need to create your unique sound.

I try not to copy anyone, but pick up ideas from everyone.
I do my own thing and it's a blast. A fantastic way to chill out.

Okay, related question: how sensitive is the instrument to retuning experiments? Say, from MR to Classic?

There’s an extra dimension with the Stick. Not only are there different string gauges, but tailored sets for each tuning. This suggests that experimenting with a nearby tuning (e.g. MR to Classic) is more of a deal and more of a commitment than just retuning.

I'm a bit more fussy than most when it comes to strings. I make my own custom sets from a company that hand winds them in the UK. If you are just starting out, I suggest that you buy them from Stick Enterprises.

I'd say start with medium gauge and reassess in a few months. Switching tunings will require some intonation adjustments, which can be tricky without experience or the guidance of someone with experience.