Hi All,

Just busted out the NS/Stick for the first time in a while. It felt pretty good to tap around a bit, but something has been plaguing me since day one: I can't really dig any of the tunings I've tried.

On a lark, I tuned some of the interior strings to be a perfect 5th apart. In this circumstance, I had an A string followed by E followed by B. What a difference!!! This may be the tuning for me.

My question is two-fold: are there any 5ths tunings (such as crafty tuning made famous by Trey Gunn) that you have experience with, and, if so, where can I get some strings for this?

Best,
~Nick "Klaus" G.

That's a bold move. I hope it works for you - you seem really excited by it!
Where to get strings? You might have to design a set yourself. As I am not as familiar with guitar and bass gauges as many of you out there are, my question might seem a little ignorant, but would it be simply a matter of lightening the gauges of the strings tuned in 5ths to compensate for the additional tension? I'm just throwing the thought out there.

You can use the custom tuning page to order any set of stings you want:

Fill out the info on this page and you'll be taken to the form.

http://www.stick.com/instruments/tunings/custom/

After you provide the specific info about your instrument you can request a custom tuning.

For the NS Stick, if you start on an open low Bb you can have this tuning, which is the same as the "crafty" tuning. you have a minor 3rd and a 2nd on top, which will give you some intersting chordal possibilities as well.

low to high:

8. Bb
7. F
6. C
5. G
4. D
3. A
2. C
1. D

The high D is probably the thinnest you would want to go (this is the same pitch as the high D on a Classic tuned Stick)

I hope that helps.

Emmett will set you up with anything you need - the right strings, the right tension. D'Addario is his string manufacturer and they are the ONLY string to use. he set me up for DBR on the Ironwood after i explained what i was doing. no problems.

That's an intriguing idea, to go all fifth! I have mirrored fifths on the bass side of my Sticks but never actually tried it on the melody side. But I play a lot of cello, which is "non-mirrored" fifths, and I'm finding that tuning quite creative! Looking forward to hear about your impressions if you go ahead and try it out on the NS!

I study with Trey, and it was not until I tuned to 5th's that things really started to happen in my development…. I played that way for two years… There is a lot you can do with that tuning. However, I have since changed to MR and am quite happy. there are pro's and con's. Greg knows a lot about this, and really helped me a lot. I say GO FOR IT!!

I too like MR! Went with it from day one when I started out playing the Stick. I appreciate that it provides both 4ths and 5ths in the same instrument.

All 5ths would be really interesting on the melody side. I think it would lean towards a four finger approach based on my experience from the mandolin. I really like the mirrored tuning. I would order a set of mirrored 5ths today for my second Stick. Now, if only I had a second Stick!

Rob

Thanks for the replies, folks!

I sent in my custom form about a week ago. I'm still waiting to hear from the good people at SE, but I'm sure they're just super busy (it's never taken more than a few days in the past). Anywho, I'm definitely very excited about the sonic options this should open for me.

Once I get a reply from SE (and once I get the strings for that matter), I'll keep everyone posted on the results!

Best,
~Nick "Klaus" G.

...agree 150%,...and, to have "4ths and 5ths in the same instrument" is a big advantage....
...IMHO...