A good setup should help substantially, yes.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I too own a Schecter Stilleto Studio 8, and of the three 8-string basses I have owned it is by far the most comfortable and easiest to play. I'll attribute some of that to excellent design/execution on Schecter's part, but a good setup from my tech guy definitely took that bass from This Is A Cool Bass to Holy Crap This Bass Is Awesome!
Strings make a huge difference in playability, too.
When i got my Fernandes 8 string it had Daddario steel roundwounds xl170 on it.
I found them very stiff and hard to play, and the tension seemed to choke notes all over the fretboard.
I had to have a new nut cut for the bass, and had it restrung with a Kalium balanced tension hybrid metal set. Made all the difference!
When i got my Fernandes 8 string it had Daddario steel roundwounds xl170 on it.
I found them very stiff and hard to play, and the tension seemed to choke notes all over the fretboard.
I had to have a new nut cut for the bass, and had it restrung with a Kalium balanced tension hybrid metal set. Made all the difference!
A Good setup might be the place to start. Mine seems ok. Not wild about the bridge or tailpiece, but I can live with it. I believe they ship these from the factory with a set of Ernie's. Other string gauges are out their, might be worth a look. This would be in regards to the Stiletto 8.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
an 8 string will be a little harder to play because each time you play a note you are pressing down more than one string, but it should not be very high effort. It does need a setup, truss rod, bridge, nut, and maybe a lighter set of strings.
Like others have said, a good setup (I have a local luthier who I've handed my setup duties over to) will help quite a bit. I also swapped strings to a combo set of Stringjoy strings for the lower octave and D'Addario strings for the lightest ones. I used tension calculators for them, and balanced them out after finding some of the lightest gauge strings I could.
It plays much better than it did, but as has been noted, not as easy as a good setup on a 4 string.
It plays much better than it did, but as has been noted, not as easy as a good setup on a 4 string.
Yes, an 8-string will be a bit more effort.... but if it's set up right it can play very well. As I've mentioned before in this thread, i had my my LTD FB208 set up as low as i could without fret rattle but it was still was pretty hard work. After having a good luthier do a fret level, a properly cut nut and a shim, it played ten times easier and had stayed that way for a few years now.
Thanks for the input, everyone. The strings on it are GHS bass boomers. I will look into the Kalliums. If there was someone local I trusted to do a better setup than me, I would have them do it. I'll have to take a look at it.
That's one side benefit of owning an 8 or 12 string bass - pretty much everyone who actively plays one has learned to do their own setups or has a good tech already. Just comes with the territory.
I've been struggling with my 8 since I got it. Partly because the TV Jones is odd to me , the tone control sounds really odd and its 30". The only shorty I've ever owned and they have their own odd traits. So last night I got a little closer to "normal " with playability. I used a med scale set of LaBella 100-40 and boomers singles on the high set
40,30,20 &18. I may experiment some later but for now it's going in the right direction. So I tracked it. Sounds like
Nu8
40,30,20 &18. I may experiment some later but for now it's going in the right direction. So I tracked it. Sounds like
Nu8
Thank you, sir. Groovin' down on it with a Sunday mornin' wake'n'bake.
hehe.
I can do basic setups, neck relief, intonation, action height and shims but I've not yet learnt to do any fretwork/levelling or cutting nuts so on the rare occasion I need these done I've taken it to a pro.
I'd like to learn but the tools required, and the cost of them, always stop me. If I only had one fretboard/fingerboard radius I'd probably invest in a radius block, but I've currently got at least four different radius necks and to get 4 blocks from StewMac would cost me more than $250 NZ. Then I'd need fret crowning tools, nut files etc etc..... and finally I'd have to learn to do it well, which is generally by making mistakes first.
I think I'll continue to just take it to a pro for those necks that are worth the effort and cost.
Hey you wouldn't happen to know the control layout on these, do you? Master vol (pull for active) and blend are obvious, but not so much the other two. Doesn't seem to be bass and treble, so maybe a passive tone per pickup?Thanks for checking!
I couldn't tell you. My 8, 10 & 12 are all v/blend/T/M/B and always active.
