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NS Stick

#2
NS Stick production has been offline for a while. They were redesigning the neck. It will now have a graphite neck. I have an NS Stick on order. I have received a few emails about time schedule - but nothing recently. I called them the other day - got right through and got the answers I was looking for. They are now waiting on delievery of bodies so they can start assembly of orders already in. I am going with a cherry wood body on mine!!
 
#7
Stick Enterprises is a small family business. I wish they would:

1) be more realistic about the time it takes them to build/repair instruments
2) hire another person to improve speed/quality/consistency of communications

I was really mad after I dropped my Stick off in person at SE for a string change and setup when I switched tunings. They said it would be a couple days. Two weeks later they didn't know when it would be done and gave me a bunch of excuses that made me feel like my business wasn't important to them. It took almost six weeks (and a nasty letter to Emmett after unreturned emails/calls) to get it back. It wasn't properly intonated (Greg Howard verified this at a Stick seminar). :spit:

Just curious--are the new NS Sticks still 34" or have they switched to 36"?

As a side note, former Stickist/current Warr player/freak extraordinaire Brian Kenney Fresno has written a song about the instrument war between SE and Mark Warr. Haven't heard it yet but I'm told it's pretty funny.
 
#9
It's all rather sordid. Short story I heard was that a number of Stick players discussed possible improvements to the Stick online. SE didn't want to change its design and Mark Warr made his own vision of what a tapping instrument should be. Certain people involved in the discussion, and the promotion of the Warr guitar were sued by SE. AFAIK all this took place after Chapman's patent on the tuning/string arrangement expired. It looks like Chapman dropped the case after a number of hearings.

Fun links:

Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

A weird sidenote--I remember a post by TBer Peter McFerrin, whos said he was contacted out of the blue by SE after criticizing/commenting about the Stick online (possibly here on TB). Strange.

I'm not for or against the Stick or Warr instruments or companies. I've heard (some) wonderfully sublime and (mostly) truly terrible music from these instruments and their variants.

After attending several Stick seminars I must say there is a cult of personality surrounding Emmett that is a little creepy. There are a good number of people who feel that his design cannot possibly be improved, and who don't even acknowledge the efforts/music of people who choose to play other brands of tapping instruments.

I think the ultimate testament to his vision would be the success and proliferation of Stick-inspired instruments by other manufacturers--imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. Imagine where the electric bass guitar would be today if Leo Fender had striven to squash the efforts of other bass builders.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled NS Stick discussion thread.
 
#10
I had an original stick and I hated the tuning as well as the strap mechanism. I thought it was silly the way it depended on attaching to your waistband. I remember once playing it in my PJs and having the instrument pull my pants down. I remember speaking to EC about this and he was insistent that nothing needed to be changed. My particular instrument had a fixed bridge too so it was not able to be re-strung to my desired tuning so I sold it.

Are the warr instruments any good? Does he make anything comparable to the NS Stick?
 
#11
jzucker said:
Are the warr instruments any good? Does he make anything comparable to the NS Stick?
Click to expand...

I've never played a Warr but I've seen/heard them in action. To me the Warr sounds woody, deep and growly while the Stick is much more wiry. Emmett's philosophy is to use a very low string tension. This minimizes the sonic effect of the materials used in construction. The Warr is intended for bith tapping and plucking--so is the NS Stick, but the setup of the 10 and 12 string sticks is much more conducive to tapping than plucking. It seems the NS Stick is actually a response to the 8-string Warr.
 
#13
Eggman said:
Just got an email from Stick. The first batch of the new NS Sticks is about ready. The have produced mahogany and ash bodied ones with the new graphite neck. Cherry and walnut will be forthcoming.

I get my choice of one of the first ones - or wait for a different wood.

I am leaning toward ash with a walnut stain.
Click to expand...

Let me know how much you want for it. ;)
 
#14
Here are pics of the new NS Stick: Cherry Ash Walnut. Mine will be in cherry.

cherry.gif

ash.gif

walnutalt.gif
 
#18
Eggman said:
Here are pics of the new NS Stick: Cherry Ash Walnut. Mine will be in cherry.

cherry.gif

ash.gif

walnutalt.gif
Click to expand...
Do you realise, that right at this moment, I hate you? <jk>
I've thought about an NS Stick for a long time, and until this morning I hadn't had a GAS pain for a while. This one's worse as I can justify something so different from my other instruments. And it's got a graphite neck......
 

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