OK I'm caught up. What everyone says / + my own 2 cents (pence?). Yeah, I'm not a guitarist I'm a BASSIST and I want to play the stuff the guitarist THAT IS NOT THE LEAD GUITARIST in the band is supposed to play, but is too whizzed off because he's NOT the lead guitarist, and never learned how to be the rhytym guitarist. You know, comping, GROOVE, things like that. (When I told my band in the 80's I was buying a Stick our guitarist threatened cutting the Melody strings off...he didn't) I found out SamAshNYC had a Stick in the shop ('85) I drove like a maniac up the New Jersey Turnpike and the salesman handed it to me and said, "Good luck". I didn't even plug it in just mucked about then handed over my cash (1,200US). Those days-no internet, YouTube, Skype lessons, just Emmett Chapmans "FreeHands" and I WANT THE TONY LEVIN SOUND. But...I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston MA for 2 semesters, they weren't teaching me what I wanted (my music has "No Commercial Potential") & I wound up working in the food bizniz fulltime & a band part-time. Also I became a full-time drunk, so, not much Stick-playing (requires effort, study), but could slog my way on the bass. Got sober in '09, got another Stick (12-string) that I've tried every tuning on, but I'm back to what I started with on this one, which is Dual Bass Reciprocal. Even though the tuning seems "redundant" the low end of the melody side sounds different than the bass 5ths side, I play "crossed" and "uncrossed" when & however I feel like it, I play "across-the-board" grabbing notes where they lay to fill out chords or lines, etc.,etc.,etc. The thing is, whenever I put any effort in something on the Stick, (especially "things I can't play", but hear) I get back SO MUCH MORE. So, bass players out there, if you're hearing more than just a bassline, and you want to compose (write tunes), GET A STICK (and stick with it). Oh, one more thing for now, I don't miss the higher melody string too much.