I'm making an 8 string acoustic bass guitar; that's 4 courses in octaves.
Normally (eg; on a 12 string) the octave string is physically above the main one - which is OK if you use a pick downwards because you hit both strings. But if your style is to pluck upwards with your 1st finger, unless you're pretty forceful, you'd only hit the low string of the pair, the thinner octave not actually being plucked directly but struck by the low string instead and getting a softer "ring" to it.
I first noticed this problem when fingerpicking 12 strings. The E and A sounded OK - they were plucked by the downward action of the thumb, but the D and G pairs plucked upwards by the fingers often sounded like single strings, but this never happened when using a pick.
My idea is to reverse the low/high order and have the octave string physically below the low string so that both are struck when plucking upwards with the finger.
So my first question to Mudcatters, apart that is from inviting comments on the whole notion of an 8 string accoustic bass; is does anyone see a flaw in the logic of string placement?
My second question is related to the build. I'm having problems sourcing a tailpiece. Does anyone know where I could get a "blank" tailpiece I could drill out to my requirements, or from whom I could order one fabricated?