String Gauges
Mobius Megatar offers two different stringsets. One is optimized for the BassBottom tuning we recommend (tuned like a Standard Bass), and the other is optimized for the Inverted-Fifths tuning that is popular among Chapman Stick players.
Because we offer our instruments with the Buzz Feiten Intonation System installed, we do not offer multiple weights of strings.
Why? Because whenever you change the weight or tension of your strings, your intonation must be reset if you wish to play in tune. Normal guitars are only set to ‘standard intonation,’ and while this is very nice, it does not produce the superior ‘in tune’ sound that’s provided by the Buzz Feiten system.
Therefore, we provide a single optimized set of strings for the two standard tunings, so that you can keep the sonic benefit of the Buzz Feiten Intonation System on your Megatar, and sound more ‘in tune’ than normal guitars.
BassBottom Tuning (tuned like Standard Bass)
This is generally our recommended tuning. It's the easiest to learn, clearest while playing, and most powerful when playing music.
In this tuning the standard melody strings are in straight fourths, ascending in the normal direction used by guitar and bass-players. Because of the long neck, these strings cannot be tuned quite as high as guitar (without breaking!) and so they're pitched lower by 1.5 steps (3 frets). But since Mobius Megatar instruments have 25 frets, instead of 22 as in most guitars, you can still play as high as on a guitar. You've just got yourself some extra low melody notes!
In this tuning the bass strings, are tuned exactly like a standard 6-string bass, which means that any bass-player in the world can pick it up and immediately know where the notes are. In addition, you can now place your left hand on bass strings just above fret two, and place your right hand on melody strings just above fret twelve, and the notes beneath each hand are exactly identical. (The melody hand is now two octaves higher, and you can play the same shapes across each string set, and this means you can now train both hands simultaneously for fastest learning speed.)
Melody String gauges: .009, .011, .012, .016, .029W, .040W
Bass String gauges: .025W, .035W, .050W, .065W, .085W, .100W
"Inverted-Fifths" Tuning (tuned like Chapman Stick)
In this tuning the two string sets are tuned completely differently. Although there are some relationships between the two string-sets, the melody strings ascend in the usual direction, but the bass strings ascend in the opposite direction. The intervals between strings are also different. The result of all this is that you must learn two conflicting sets of scales, two different sets of chord forms, and maintain two conflicting models in your head while playing.
While this can be kind of interesting, and challenging, your audience will clap no louder because it was difficult. This particular tuning was developed for a certain playing technique 30-40 years ago, and very few musicians around the world use this particular technique because there are so many others which are more powerful.
In the Inverted-Fifths tuning we have the same standard melody tuning as in BassBottom, but the bass strings are tuned in fifths rather than in fourths. And the bass strings ascend in a direction opposite to the way that the melody strings ascend. This works out fine for playing left-hand chords, and for certain left-hand repeating patterns, although it is confusing otherwise and difficult to play ordinary scales with both hands.
Melody String gauges: .009, .011, .012, .016, .029W, .040W
Bass String gauges: .095W, .080W, .060W, .030W, .016, .010
"Bi-Melody" Tuning
Here we install two melody-string sets on an instrument. The melody strings are tuned in the standard way, and ascend in the direction expected by any guitar or bass-player. We'll call these the 'Hi-Melody" strings.
For the "bass strings," we'll install another melody-string set. We'll call this set the "Lo-Melody" strings, and it will be tuned one whole step lower (two frets). The benefit of detuning the "Lo-Melody" strings is that we've created the same relationship for your two hands that we had in the Bass Bottom tuning --
Place your left hand on Lo-Melody strings just above fret two, and place your right hand on Hi-Melody strings just above fret twelve. Now the notes below your two hands are exactly identical all the way across each string set, and with any pattern you play with either hand, you're playing the same the same series of notes. Your two hands are now playing exactly one octave apart. You can train both hands simultaneously, for increased learning speed. You need only maintain one model in your head. You learn only one set of scales, one set of chords, and one set of hand movements. Once learned, you can play these patterns all over the fretboard, because they repeat themselves over and over.
the Bi-Melody tuning basically permits you to play guitar duets with yourself.
Hi-Melody String gauges: .009, .011, .012, .016, .029W, .040W
Lo-Melody String gauges: .009, .011, .012, .016, .029W, .040W
Dual-Bass Tuning
If you have a need for two basses on one neck, then we can install two sets of bass strings for the two sides. Normally they'd be tuned identically, and you could use any combination of one hand low and one hand high which you chose. Although we can supply strings for "Inverted-Fifths" bass if you wish, normally these are provided for bass in fourths as follows ...
1st set Bass String gauges: .025W, .035W, .050W, .065W, .085W, .100W
2nd set Bass String gauges: .025W, .035W, .050W, .065W, .085W, .100W
Other Tunings
Although we do not normally maintain stocks of all possible string gauges, we can create instruments with many other tunings, such as Daniel Schell's "Mirror Fourths" tuning, the "Teed Rockwell" tuning, Ricky Wade's "Dropped-Bass" tuning, the "Crafty" melody tuning, etc. For most of these we can install the Feiten Intonation System. Please contact our factory if you are interested in one of these variant tunings.
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