Hey Big George, nice to see that you are getting another SB8 aswell!

IDK if you saw my post already, but I'm also thinking about fifths tuning on the SB8. Are you gonna tune yours straight or inverted? I get the feeling (IMHO) that chords are easier to play in inverted fifths.

The used SB-8 which I ordered a little while ago will be set up in what is called the Interior Matched Reciprocal tuning, while this new Railboard 8 will be set up in a standard pattern - no divided fingerboard - in the Crafty tuning as previously described.

Only changes being made to this order is it will be instead Black, as that have a Black Railbeam that will accept my custom tuning [thanks yet again to ixlramp for the suggestion !!] which has linear inlays - which was actually under consideration before I picked Blue with dots.... so it will be Black with linear inlays.... so, in a way Cambria made my day yesterday, as she provided a suggestion which would not only speed things up even though there is no rush, it also makes a crucial decision for me as I can't stand when there are so many options available... because I always wonder if the right choice is being made.
Now I know without a doubt that it is

Since much to most's dismay, since I am not a by the book learned player... it does not really matter to me how the strings are laid out as far as playing chords go - well, hold on - I don't want that to be taken the wrong way either, because obviously I am having this RB-8 set up in a specific way for a specific style of playing, where an inverted/divided fingerboard would not work.

Much of the 1990s was spent playing an Ovation Magnum 1 & 2 solid body electric bass guitars tuned C G D A, and this was life changing to me.

In the 2000s, I actually swapped the C and G strings, hence a divided fingerboard using 4 strings, and this wound up being a super exciting tuning, which I ended up applying to all my 5 + 6 string instruments as well.

You should have seen the look on Trey Gunn's face when I showed him my late 1960s Danelectro Coral long scale hollow body electric bass a while back during the 2003 K.C. tour !!
This I converted to an 8 string in the early 1990s - octave strings added - and also [in 2002??] swapped the C and G strings around - Trey could not make heads or tails out of that, but I could tell the wheels were turning because he was super intrigued !!
Only bad thing was I did not have it tuned to pitch since that instrument had dual non adjustable truss rods, and I would only tune it prior to use.

I guess you could say I purchase instruments more like tools, having the right tool for the right job so to speak, although my vintage collection is very satisfying to me as well.

So, the RB-8 will be the missing link which I have always searched for, while the SB-8 will provide a very exciting means of making a whole lot of sound from a rhythmic standpoint...

I'll be back here as things further develop - as I'll be off line spending time with my aging parents.... which is very important to me.

GW, you prefer a single sequence of strings on an undivided RB8 fretboard but in one sense it' would still be divided. There's a bit of extra space between the mid interior pair of strings, strings 4 & 5, for stereo playing with minimum cross-talk between pickups.

If you choose to switch to mono, that slightly wider space remains, of course. If you relegated your RH to strings 1 thru 4 and your LH to strings 5 thru 8, there'd be no problem. OTOH, you'll probably want to run bass and melody lines across that interior space, each hand covering more than four strings.

IMO, the extra middle space is something you can get used to quickly enough and its main advantage is for stereo play, also with separate electronic effects for each output.

Basically, we build it with a 10-string Railboard beam and the SB8's hardware for bridge and nut. The 8-string bridge is then split for the extra separation between string groups.

With this in mind, you might want to reconsider your order or even change it to a hardwood or bamboo SB8 with uniform string spacing all across the board.

OTO,OH, The RB8 can later be converted to the regular 10-string version. We'd normally fill in the 5th and 10th tuner holes on the headstock but we could leave them open for the 10-string option.

Oh Emmett, On the other, other, other, hand, what you are saying is that any 10 string can be converted to an SB-8 with a minimum trouble. Oh the options! ...

.jRj
*jj*
.~

Yes JRJ, as far as I know that I know knowing, any 10-string Stick that has a "Block" module and the adjustable bridge can be re-set up for 8 strings.

Now working on the RG-12, although I really like the 10-string Alto Railboard.

Hi Emmett, I’m just now only able to reply here – yes, with this RB-8… I seek a single sequence of strings – on an undivided fingerboard, what I meant by that is all the strings one after the other in sequence - as opposed to say the Classic Tuning...


When I use the word divided, I used it to imply 5ths going one way, 4ths going the other – meaning where there is a literal division in boundaries between the bass side and the melody, so I am grammatically incorrect I suppose.


Also – I almost always run my instruments in mono – through a Radial A+B combining box, because it just makes things a whole lot easier, so again – no issue with the stereo pickup set up on the RB-8 with the tuning which I have chosen, plus sometimes I will use both instrument outputs [stereo] into say, my early 1970s Fender Bassman head with its 2x12 matching cab or directly into stereo effects if I’m doing something digital where I am recording direct – but live, it’s always mono unless I am using my portable Roland Street amp [2 inputs]….


I also understand what you are saying regarding the construction of the RB-8; that it’s a RB-10 with only 8 tuners [*this I did not know…] and that there is a physical space between the 4th and 5th strings [*this I did know…], and this is not a problem for me, it will not hinder the tuning which I proposed - which Cambria mentioned you have OK’d.


What Cambria did mention was that there is a Black Railbeam on hand, with Linear Inlays… and I wrote her back stating that rather than wait till a Blue one is produced, let’s go with this Black Railbeam.

*Sometimes I like it when decisions are made for me !!

I am not about to convert this to a RB-10, it is going to remain a RB-8 as I have 2 Ironwoods that I love very much, and with this RB-8 I’m going to keep the Crafty tuning which was proposed, and I might dare mention that you may want to include this as a tuning option on the S.E. site for other who might be inclined to go this route.


So, I am thinking this 8 string Railboard will be – for me anyway – a very exciting instrument, which will compliment well the used Paduak SB-8# 1778 which is being set up I believe [I hope !!] Interior Matched Reciprocal, so these will be two very exciting instruments for me for 2020 and beyond, God willing !!

now this info..made my day

now - after sleeping on this, this is now going to be the most difficult choice of all:

"OTO,OH, The RB8 can later be converted to the regular 10-string version. We'd normally fill in the 5th and 10th tuner holes on the headstock but we could leave them open for the 10-string option."

To fill, or not to fill.....

There's something interesting about leaving the holes open which I now find kind of appealing, from aesthetic point of view, I think it would be kind of neat having the 2 extra tuning holes open, but on the other hand... I really liked the way the headstock looked before I knew extra holes where even there !!

On the other hand, I did not know the RB-8 uses the same Railbeam and headstock [*is that a correct assumption??] as the RB-10...

On the other hand, when I first saw that image here http://stick.com/instruments/railboard/8string.shtml of that Black Railboard, I knew that this was definately the path I wished to take, because everything about how this instrument looked and was set up [string sequence wise] was just right to me.

On the other hand, Cambria has mentioned to me that the Railbeam on hand - while Black, as opposed to Blue which I originally wanted - has linear inlays rather than dots, which in retrospect I find even more appealing.

Perhaps the holes should remain open because it is a RB-10 being set up as a RB-8 ??

You know, that's actually not a bad idea, plus the instrument will look even more interesting to those who wonder what it is.

On the other hand, it's what it isn't.... since it will be set up for 8 strings...

*What would Tevye do ??

Then again, this would imply less work since the two extra holes would not need to be filled.

I suppose I should ask the dumbest question of all:

That Black Railbeam with the Linear Inlays, which Cambria ran by me [which I did accept] are the 2 extra holes already filled ??

If they are, then they should remain filled.
If they aren't, then I am thinking they should remain unfilled.

Yes, let's leave the holes open if they are not already plugged.

*Wait - this just affects only the headstock, correct ??

I say leave them open, as it's silly to fill something that could - probably should - remain stock [meaning as is/open...]

There's something about filling extra holes that I did not know existed in the first place that is leaving an unsettling feeling in my stomach, but that might also be my animals wondering why I am writing this instead of serving breakfast.

*good grief, that took 30 solid minutes

So, there it is.............

Emmett, If you are still following this... let's just go with filling the holes in the headstock, because that is how I originally thought the headstock was designed - for an 8 string - not a universal one that could be either 10 or 8...

I say this because I love the way the 8 tuners look on the RB-8 with the holes [*that I did not know even existed !!] filled when I look at these pictures here: http://stick.com/instruments/railboard/8string.shtml


I am also literally ruining my entire weekend agonizing over this.


So, Black Railbeam, with the Linear Inlays, with the crafty tuning as originally discussed:

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

*This is why I am such a huge fan of the old Ironwoods, as the options were almost nil.

Well, the thread is titled 'dilemma'

Thanks to your posts i have only just noticed the offset positioning of the tuners on the Railboard 8, this looks great, and it seems a good idea to have the lowest string tuner positioned further from the nut.