A day's progress

What a day. Learning this will be a big project. My first observations are as follows:

• It's not just a free bass, it's a converter, so I will be able to play tunes that use a Stradella bass, too. 
• It is heavy and I need better straps. It seems to aggravate my left shoulder. 
• The action of the treble feels very solid. A few sticky keys on the bass. 
• The arrangement of the free bass is that of a Reversed, Russian, or Bayan free bass system, depending upon who you talk to. The other two bass set ups are B-Griff and C-Griff, which is apparently most common (see image below, Rubin is of the Bayan system on the right). The treble is a B-Griff treble layout.
• The major scales seem to finger quite naturally for the right hand, but the left is very awkward. I am not sure if the Russian/Reversed system is just awkward or if it is that I am not left handed. In any case, the learning curve will be steep indeed. 
• The instrument gets a nice big sound, especially in the lower registers. The higher notes seem relatively mousy.

I successfully can do scales on each hand, but am nowhere near running both hand simultaneously. I think the next step is determining some fingerings for the scales. There will be three sets for the right hand, to accommodate scales with notes starting on each of the rows. For the bass I am not sure. The free bass system has more rows than the treble, so I may be able to incorporate some alternate fingerings that are more comfortable.

There isn't a lot on the web about the reversed bass system, maybe there is, but it's in Russian and not showing up on my searches.

Tomorrow, I will work on the fingerings.

Image, below, of Free Bass Systems.