Jeff M.
Kenny - that 8 stringer looks like a blast to play!
The fretboard looks pretty massive - like an airport runway 
Must be a real mindset change with the extra 2 strings!
I have a 6 string bass - which I like a lot - but I spend more time on the 4 stringer cause it's 2 less things to worry about 
Hi Jeff,
Someday I would Love to get a hold of a 6 string Bass .
Back in the mid 80's I had an Ibanez 5 string and loved it .
A Yamaha 4 string bass is what I have now ...When I play it (every so often ) , I certainly enjoy playing it .
Yes, It is true , going to an 8 string from a 6 or 7 string guitar is a mindset change .
I'm working through that learning curve in bite sized fretboard explorations.
The neck and fretboard is fast and wide just like an Airport Runway .
Just like a real Airport , I've found myself stuck in The TSA line trying to figure out where I'm supposed to be and where the gate is for all the chords and guitar licks I'm trying to play are
In spite of some of that ,
I'm really surprised at how much fun and creativity this 8 string guitar has brought into my musical life so far .
In my case , the main blast is , I'm able to reach for things and find them on this config much more easily than I was able to find them on a 6 or a 7 string ....
Even though I certainly don't my way around the neck regarding all the note names (added 2 Low strings ),
I'm still able to transfer what I knew from having played a 6 for most of my life ...
On a 6 string guitar , once you get up to the B string from the lower strings all the fingering changes due to the B string being tuned to a Major 3 rd from the G string as opposed to the lower 4 strings which are tuned to a 4 th above the next lower string on a tradition guitar and tuning .
On the 8 string with the Low F # tuning , I have 6 whole strings tuned interval wise exactly like a regular guitar tuned in 4 th's would be tuned (just like the low strings are on a 6 string guitar ).
All the chord fingerings and note relationships are uniform and the same .
Once I hit the 3rd string the G string the B string on this goes back into regular guitar territory as it would on any guitar .
I'm probably rambling here , but the cool thing I notice is , if I flatten my left finger on the 5 th fret and play the bass note A on the 6 th string 5 th fret ( found exactly where it would be on a six ... two strings higher on the 8 from the lowest string )
I can play 11 chromatic tones lower and wind up with my left hand on the 5 th fret of the low string and have a low B ..
If I move 2 frets lower down the neck I would be playing my octave ( A) ..in the same octave as the A string on a 4 string Bass .
That would be my 3rd fret on the 8 strings lowest string ...IMHO , a very decent range for a guitar .
So even in a traditional fingering such as position playing on a guitar one finger per fret , I get 11 more notes with out having to move around .
What that means is , I can find and play guitar chord shapes I'm familiar with and play hipper bass notes or even full on Bass parts all at the same time while staying in a consolidated space on the fretboard ....
Getting good at that type of thing and playing is gonna take a lot of time and practice . I'm OK with that .
all the best,
Kenny