tuning for a 8 string

[dtapper]

can i get some input from ya'll? i'm converting a 8 string bass (a true 8 not a doubled 4) into a tapper so i keep trying to think of a good tuning. i plan on splitting the neck so to say into a bass/melody neck. my thoughts are uncrossed melody with piccolo string e a d g & bass either B E A D or E A D G. i thought of running 5ths but i've played bass to long to go that way. any other thoughts willing to consider all. thanks!:D

[Tom Drinkwater]

If you want to stay low you could go from low B and ascend in 4ths or do B-E-A-D B-E-A-D. The highest note would be a step lower than high E on guitar. Is your bass a Galveston?

[dtapper]

yeah, i hope there isn't a problem? 1 other thought is running B to Bb but inverting the strings so it would have some of a uncrossed feel.

[Tom Drinkwater]

No problem with Galvestons. They have adjustable saddles. With adjustable saddle you can string it however you like without modifying your instrument. How does it sound?

[dtapper]

i like its sound though i'm planning to try to find a way to set it up with 2 seperate inputs, down the road, but it sound pretty good. the active preamp is good & not bad passive either. for the price i think the gal was a great buy. (i never say cheap just value, unless something is junk though 1 man's trash is another mans treasure) boy that was long winded.:D

[lwclaypool]

I have my 8-string Austin Douglas set up in ascending 4ths from D below bass E. Works for me, allows a fretted bass E, and covers the bulk of the guitar range. I have a new Warr 8-string on order that will be tuned in ascending 4ths from B below bass E to get the lower notes.

[dtapper]

do you have crossed hand issues with your 8? oh by the way congrats on the coming warr!

[lwclaypool]

Straight 4ths, mono. Crossed or uncrossed - sounds like a simple question! It's funny how we can approach the instrument from different perspectives. On the 8-strings I see them as a big guitar that goes down low. My hands are often working together, are sometimes crossed, sometimes uncrossed. If I'm playing a bass line and a guitar line or chords, it's generally, but not always, crossed. Most often, though, it's more like one big hand! To your question "any issues" - no, works for me and my approach.

The 10-string in "stick tuning" is, of course, crossed. When I pick up the 10-string I most often see it as two instruments. My hands often still work as "one big hand" but are also working independently on the two sides of the instrument. Yet sometimes I do see the 10-string as a single instrument and, when I do, I treat it as such and am generally focusing on extremely wide chord voicings and a single tone. All of these views are equally valid to me and are dependent up on the musical situation.

Re: the new Warr 8-string, I'm very excited. I chose the mono setup because that's how I conceive of the 8-string AND the 3-band EQ on the mono setup is pretty amazing to me. One of my favorite 8-string players is Bill Burke and he is a stereo guy. So there you go. My instrument will be tuned in 4ths from B below bass E. The strings will be relatively light. The body will made of mahogany with a thin walnut laminate and a figured maple top. The five laminate bolt-on neck will have maple mains, two strips of mahogany, and a middle strip of walnut. The fingerboard is pau ferro. Very PRS kind of wood approach.