Chapman stick

[herbbone]

Thinking about getting a Chapman Stick. Looking for insight on perfered tuning. Stick vs. Mobious? Looking to get advice from players not just what I can find on the web.

[harald_rost]

This is a difficult question Mark. Go for the Stick, far better instrument than Mobius. But a lot of tunings possible, different woods, pickups etc.  I prefer standard bass/baritone melody. May be there is a Stick player near to your town?

[senmen]

I also have a 10 String with a baritone melody tuning. As Harald said, there are several tunings available. Depends on, what you want to do. If you want to just go for extended bass playing, then the Double Bass Reciprocal tuning would be the best.
I do also have a NS Stick, a combination of a bass and a guitar and a Chapman Stick. You can tap on it but you can also play conventional on it.
Oliver (Spyderman)

[bluplirst]

Stick, definately.  I use matched reciprocal on a 36 scale 10 string.

[bluplirst]

Also, my current stick is Padauk, more stable than the purpleheart one I used to have.
 
(Message edited by bluplirst on July 24, 2011)

[tubeperson]

I have two Sticks, one Ironwood and one Polycarbonate.  I find it a hard instrument to master, but well worth the effort.  Steve Adelson, a well-known jazz Stickist, has a Mel Bay instruction book that is very handy.  He has a warped sense of humor, but no other Stick player plays walking bass lines as he does.  He wants to replace bassists altogether.  I say the bass sound is too thin for that, besides, one can't really funk it up (no slappy, no poppy)on the Stick.  It is a great way to pursue advanced theory, kind of like a piano and guitar hybrid.  Check Steve out.  He lives on Long Island NY.  There are many others, and Emmett Chapman has a Stick website full of very useful information (www.stick.com).

[thumbsup]

I remember a guy doing a demo at our local music store back in the seventies. Totally blew me away!  
 
Hard to master is an understatement.
However, even a mediochre player would be impressive.
Wish I'd gotten one back then...maybe I'd be mediochre by now! lol
 
This is a very cool instrument!

[harald_rost]

The bass sound of the Stick is very versatile with the new PUs like the Villex PASV-4. So it's not too thin then maybe was with the old Stickup, which is still available. Also Tony Levin never had a thin bass sound on his Stick work.  
But this instrument is not easy to learn.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Second sentence from stick.com - Our designs are based on the revolutionary two-handed tapping method of parallel hands discovered by Emmett Chapman on guitar in 1969 and taught since then to players around the world.  
 
Sorry, Chet Atkins was doing it in the '50s, and he probably learned from someone older.  Interesting instruments, though.
 
Peter

[tubeperson]

Emmett does give credit to those who inspired his decision to create the technique that he furthered on the Stick.  May I suggest you read the stories and interviews on the website as  I think you will see the attribution that Chet Atkins and others certainly deserve and receive.

[herbbone]

Had a couple bids on one on Ebay, went to high. Thing is I can't find one in my area. Would like to play one first.  I think the challange would be fun. I would probably do standard tuning. I have called the factory and they say there is someone in the Pocono's that plays. Hoping to find out. I am more into Prog than funk so I think the instrument lends itself to that genra. I will continue looking.