- Jun 2, 2010
- 21
- 1
- Disclosures
- Director of Public Relations and Special Projects, Stick Enterprises
Great thread. Interesting opinions, all, even those I hope are open to some evolutionary thinking.
Things have changed a lot since Emmett first started making The Stick for other players (1974).
1. Different pickup options.
There are 3 pickup options for most Stick models, the Stickup, which is the original design, and has an edgier, more articulate tone. Chapman made custom pickup modules almost since the beginning using pickups by Bartolini and Lace (I had a dual Lace module in the early 1990s).
In 1998 he introduce a stereo active module with EMG-FT pickups on it. Check out this video with Kevin Keith to see what that sounds like:
YouTube - Kevin Keith - Chapman Stick Video - ejeband.com
Then in 2001 he introduced a 4 pickup passive module with Villex pickups. I really like Rob's "Differential" as an example of this sound:
YouTube - Rob Martino - Differential (Chapman Stick)
and I have a few videos with this pickup module on an instrument in a tuning called Dual Bass Reciprocal, which has a group of strings in 4ths and one in 5ths all in the bass range:
Invalid Link Removed
2. Different string configurations.
There are four 36" scale instruments available from Stick Enterprises:
12 string Grand Stick
10 string Stick
8 string Stick Bass (8 strings on the 10-string width fretboard)
Ten String Grand (10 string on a Grand width fretboard)
3. You can use any tuning you want.
Since 1991, all Stick hardware is fully adjustable for intonation and string height at both the bridge and nut.
Within the confines of physics, and string behavior when it comes to tapping, you can put any tuning you want on the instrument. The extremes for "open strings" are A below B on a 5-string bass and D just below the high E string on a guitar. It's possible to have strings that go higher and lower on a bass (ERBs) but they don't work so well for tapping as the tension is too great.
The recommended tunings shown on the Stick website are just that, recommended, based on the experience of players who have put the time in (like Rob) to show the musical basis for the tuning they like to use, and why it works so well for tapping (as opposed to playing techniques where your two hands work together to make one part, as on the bass).
But you can request any custom tuning you like when ordering, and if you don't like it, you can change it easily, without having to replace or physically alter any of the hardware on the instrument. It's a very experiment-friendly design as far as that goes.
Is it a legitimate instrument or a gimmick?
It was only a few decades ago that electric guitars and bassists were shunned by purists (a shame that our collective memory is so incomplete). New styles of music grow up around new instruments as their capabilities allow.
I've been playing The Stick for over 26 years now, and it never ceases to amaze and inspire me. You can call it a gimmick if you want, but the world is a big place and it's never been easier to find your audience as a result of online connectivity. Anything can be a gimmick when taken as an end rather than a means of expression (think slappin' and poppin', for example)
I've been teaching Emmett's Free Hands two-handed tapping method for over 15 years. There are many things you can do with it that are simply not possible through other means. Whether or not they are musical things, I'll leave up to you.
Tone Def
Most of the problems created in the tonal sphere have to do with people thinking all you have to do is plug the instrument with the passive pickup directly into an interface and hit record. Anyone who has spent any time in professional studios knows this isn't the best way to get a decent sound. Preamps for direct recording and putting a mic on a great-sounding amps will always give you better results. It's just as much a problem for people with acoustic transducers on their uprights or piezos under their acoustic guitar saddles.
I hear a lot of Stick music that sounds great to my ear, and a fair amount that sounds like the player didn't really care about tonal considerations. The ratio is probably about the same as it is for any other instrument. Having no desire to embarrass people by posting links to videos I think sound terrible, I'll let you recall your own experiences in this realm.
The other component having to do with tone comes from basic technique. The Stick is not "automatic." The more energy and soul you put into it, the more you get out. I like to play very physically, which requires a certain amount of control, and which takes some practice (just like anything else).
I'll leave you with a link to the video I'm thinking about these days, from a live performance in 1999 in Tokyo. It was made with a standard Stick pickup in a 5ths and 4ths tuning. I don't use a lot of compression on the bass strings, just a little limiting. I hope it doesn't offend your ears:
YouTube - Goodbye Porkpie Hat - Chapman Stick - Two-handed Tapping
These are truly brutal times for the Japanese people, who have always been a great audience for music of all kinds. I hope it gets better for them soon, for all of our sakes.
Happy Tapping,
Greg
Chapman Stick player Greg Howard's Web Site
Things have changed a lot since Emmett first started making The Stick for other players (1974).
1. Different pickup options.
There are 3 pickup options for most Stick models, the Stickup, which is the original design, and has an edgier, more articulate tone. Chapman made custom pickup modules almost since the beginning using pickups by Bartolini and Lace (I had a dual Lace module in the early 1990s).
In 1998 he introduce a stereo active module with EMG-FT pickups on it. Check out this video with Kevin Keith to see what that sounds like:
YouTube - Kevin Keith - Chapman Stick Video - ejeband.com
Then in 2001 he introduced a 4 pickup passive module with Villex pickups. I really like Rob's "Differential" as an example of this sound:
YouTube - Rob Martino - Differential (Chapman Stick)
and I have a few videos with this pickup module on an instrument in a tuning called Dual Bass Reciprocal, which has a group of strings in 4ths and one in 5ths all in the bass range:
Invalid Link Removed
2. Different string configurations.
There are four 36" scale instruments available from Stick Enterprises:
12 string Grand Stick
10 string Stick
8 string Stick Bass (8 strings on the 10-string width fretboard)
Ten String Grand (10 string on a Grand width fretboard)
3. You can use any tuning you want.
Since 1991, all Stick hardware is fully adjustable for intonation and string height at both the bridge and nut.
Within the confines of physics, and string behavior when it comes to tapping, you can put any tuning you want on the instrument. The extremes for "open strings" are A below B on a 5-string bass and D just below the high E string on a guitar. It's possible to have strings that go higher and lower on a bass (ERBs) but they don't work so well for tapping as the tension is too great.
The recommended tunings shown on the Stick website are just that, recommended, based on the experience of players who have put the time in (like Rob) to show the musical basis for the tuning they like to use, and why it works so well for tapping (as opposed to playing techniques where your two hands work together to make one part, as on the bass).
But you can request any custom tuning you like when ordering, and if you don't like it, you can change it easily, without having to replace or physically alter any of the hardware on the instrument. It's a very experiment-friendly design as far as that goes.
Is it a legitimate instrument or a gimmick?
It was only a few decades ago that electric guitars and bassists were shunned by purists (a shame that our collective memory is so incomplete). New styles of music grow up around new instruments as their capabilities allow.
I've been playing The Stick for over 26 years now, and it never ceases to amaze and inspire me. You can call it a gimmick if you want, but the world is a big place and it's never been easier to find your audience as a result of online connectivity. Anything can be a gimmick when taken as an end rather than a means of expression (think slappin' and poppin', for example)
I've been teaching Emmett's Free Hands two-handed tapping method for over 15 years. There are many things you can do with it that are simply not possible through other means. Whether or not they are musical things, I'll leave up to you.
Tone Def
Most of the problems created in the tonal sphere have to do with people thinking all you have to do is plug the instrument with the passive pickup directly into an interface and hit record. Anyone who has spent any time in professional studios knows this isn't the best way to get a decent sound. Preamps for direct recording and putting a mic on a great-sounding amps will always give you better results. It's just as much a problem for people with acoustic transducers on their uprights or piezos under their acoustic guitar saddles.
I hear a lot of Stick music that sounds great to my ear, and a fair amount that sounds like the player didn't really care about tonal considerations. The ratio is probably about the same as it is for any other instrument. Having no desire to embarrass people by posting links to videos I think sound terrible, I'll let you recall your own experiences in this realm.
The other component having to do with tone comes from basic technique. The Stick is not "automatic." The more energy and soul you put into it, the more you get out. I like to play very physically, which requires a certain amount of control, and which takes some practice (just like anything else).
I'll leave you with a link to the video I'm thinking about these days, from a live performance in 1999 in Tokyo. It was made with a standard Stick pickup in a 5ths and 4ths tuning. I don't use a lot of compression on the bass strings, just a little limiting. I hope it doesn't offend your ears:
YouTube - Goodbye Porkpie Hat - Chapman Stick - Two-handed Tapping
These are truly brutal times for the Japanese people, who have always been a great audience for music of all kinds. I hope it gets better for them soon, for all of our sakes.
Happy Tapping,
Greg
Chapman Stick player Greg Howard's Web Site
But once you get passed the tough part of the curve it becomes entirely addictive.
