three bass strings and four guitar strings.
 
 

Cool. I want one. ;-)

I'd enjoy trying to build one but playing?....I think me head would explode.

Hi,

You can pretty much do a lot of different strings on one instrument that is considered a "Bass", but fits better as much more than that ... and one of LA's best plays it really well, as in Don Schiff.

It's called the Chapman Stick, or just the Stick, and you can see a few pictures of Don, scroll down here a bit, and he is shown playing 2 different Sticks ... and he lays down stuff and plays over it ... and well, too! Part of a group called "The Rocket Scientists" that also features an excellent keyboard artist named Erik Norlander ... and his wife is Lana Lane, also a pretty good singer. In the 199 SF Music Festival in SF, on Saturday opening, this band put on the most professional and tight show of all the bands that day ... they were clean, polished and very good! And too many "proggies" thought this was a bit too metal ... bull ... it was just great modern stuff with magnificent keyboards and a massive bass player on the Sticks!

http://www.pedrosena.com/photos.htm

What do they call that style of fret layout? It's not "tempered"... is it?

And I think I could play that but I'm a little weird. When I used to busk I was constantly breaking strings so if hadn't made enough to go buy some singles at the music store I just play drones and stuff on the remaining strings. Sometimes I'd get down to only two. Forces you to get creative.

Beepster


What do they call that style of fret layout? It's not "tempered"... is it?

And I think I could play that but I'm a little weird. When I used to busk I was constantly breaking strings so if hadn't made enough to go buy some singles at the music store I just play drones and stuff on the remaining strings. Sometimes I'd get down to only two. Forces you to get creative.

"Fan or fanned". Basically two scale lengths by choice and design.
 

Ah yes. That kind of design confuses me. I mean how does it create proper semi-tones all wibbly wobbly like that? Tempered I get... well after having it explained to me for HOURS one night by a very patient dude on another forum. 

Beepster


Ah yes. That kind of design confuses me. I mean how does it create proper semi-tones all wibbly wobbly like that? Tempered I get... well after having it explained to me for HOURS one night by a very patient dude on another forum. 

To the string and fret on a "fanned" layout it is no more "wibbly wobbly" than any other scale-length that is layed out
and intonated correctly.
 
Maybe thinking about them as division markers rather than a functional piece of the instrument may help.

Those low strings look like the poly-summin' strings on my Uke bass. 

I'm kind of visualizing how it works now... I think. Will have to read up more. Cheers.