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Tune like CHAPMAN STICK (Inverted Fifths)
There is more than one way to tune a Megatar. Our second most popular tuning is to tune the instrument exactly like the Chapman ‘Grand Stick.’ For any musician who already plays in this tuning, you can now upgrade to an instrument with new features, and still keep the tuning that you know ...
- 'Inverted-Fifths' Bass Strings
Popularized by Emmett Chapman, the inventor of the Chapman Stick, this tuning is identical to the 'Grand Stick,' and would be immediately recognizable to any Stick player.
The melody strings are the same, tuned in straight fourths, similar to a guitar, though slightly lower. The bass strings are tuned in fifths, ascending in the opposite direction.
In this tuning, your left hand just above fret 2 and your right hand just above fret 12 will still find that the notes beneath your two hands are identical in name, but as you play across the strings moving to your left, the melody strings are ascending (as usual) but the bass strings are descending!
Now, if you already know how to play in this tuning, and you like it, then we are happy to provide it. And your Mobius instrument will have the Buzz Feiten Intonation System installed, so that your playing will sound more ‘in tune’ than normal guitars or basses or tapping instruments. And that’s great!
However, unless you have already learned to play in this tuning, we do not recommend it for someone just starting out to learn two-handed tapping.
We think it adds needless complexity, uses less of what you may already know as a guitar or bass player, and makes for slower learning. As a child, you probably can remember the first time you tried to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time.
It's difficult because operating the two hands in a contradictory manner is inherently clumsy. A human just isn’t designed to operate that way.
Learning scales on the Inverted-Fifths bass tuning is somewhat like tapping your head and rubbing your tummy, because the strings ascend in different directions and the fingers must move in a completely different pattern to play the same ascending scale. This needlessly complicated approach can slow your progress, and the simple clarity of identical string-sets and hand-motions is lost.
Further, we do not believe the Inverted-Fifths tuning provides any true benefit to warrant the additional labor. Specialized techniques can take advantage of the Inverted-Fifths, and it opens some unique possibilities. But it's kind of like learning to play a keyboard with one hand, and a trumpet with the other -- it can be done, but why?
But remember that although, in our opinion, the Inverted-Fifths bass-strings tuning is not as simple to learn nor as powerful in use, many existing touch-style players have already learned it. And if you want the Inverted-Fifths tuning on your Megatar, we can supply it with the Buzz Feiten Intonation System installed so that it will sound more in tune than you've ever heard Inverted-Fifths before.
The Inverted-Fifths tuning can be installed on all models except the ToneWeaver.
Click here for more information about the Chapman Stick Tunings, Development, and Design and the Chapman Stick Method
Mobius 'Inverted-Fifths' tuning, includes installation of the Buzz Feiten Intonation System
For more information about tunings, see the 'Mobius Owner's Guide' and our method books presenting the 'Easy Touch-Style Method'. You'll find Owner's Guide, method book, and Newsletter Archive in this website's 'Library' under 'Documents Archive.'
And if you are an existing bass-player or guitar-player or keyboardist, or if you are just starting out with the two-handed touch-style technique, we have included our 'Sermon about the Evils of Inverted Fifths Tuning' for your consideration.
For Current prices, see the 'PRICELIST' Section.
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