Hi Jeff,

As Glenn pointed out, the www version of that URL currently does point to SE's site. A new page for it is under construction, which will have content on it that will actually be useful for people who want to learn to play the instrument. It should be done soon.

SE was awarded the domain name (learn-chapman-stick.com) by the National Arbitration Forum as a remedy for Topaz's bad faith registration of the name. If you haven't read about that, here is a link that explains the story behind that action:

http://www.stick.com/legal/trademark_news/

As soon as the action was filed with the NAF, Topaz pointed the learn-chapman-stick.com URL to a the following URL http://learn-mobius-megatar.com, but left the site basically unchanged. Just in case anyone has any doubts about this, you can still find a link to the learn-chapman-stick.com URL midway down this page: http://learn-mobius-megatar.com/about-us/. The site that comes up there is because we haven't pointed the non-www name anywhere yet.

He also registered http://www.learn-warr-guitar.com which still points to the learn-mobius-megatar.com site.

I've seen some of his instructional materials and I can't really see how they would be that helpful in learning to play. They seem to be more part of his broader marketing strategy. Someone who was really interested in learning how to play would get a lot more for their efforts from the materials that Bob, Steve, Ron Baggerman, Emmett or Chris Crain have available.

One purpose of his website, and the original domain name he registered for it, is clear - to use the name "Chapman Stick" to attract search engines and then collect information from people interested in learning how to play The Stick with the lure of his free method book.

If any of you have received the newsletter he advertises on that page, I'd love to get a copy.

And if any of this is still unclear, please feel free to ask.

I was delirious when I got on this crazy thread, had gone without sleep for 2 nights running (arranging to buy an instrument).

If I ever offer an opinion on anything non-musical here again, would someone please tell me to shut the fuck up....


Mad Monk.

Hi Emmet and everybody in this community / forum,

I totally agree with Emmett, and I don't like Traktor Topaz's way of promoting his Instrument, the Megatar, at all.

Some thing I just do not understand is: Why does Manny allow Traktor Topaz to advertise his products in this Chapman Stick Forum? And if it is OK for Manny, that Traktor promotes his product ins this forum, why does anyone who takes part in this forum (which is brought to life and run by Manny) get upset about it?

Manny's Forum = Manny's Rules.

My Opinion: Traktor Topaz's Promotion Spams should be banned from this forum and that's the end of the story...

When I want to get information about Megatar®, Kojabu® or whatever other tap-instrument, I go to their websites, forums etc. I do not expect to get any information about the Chapman Stick® on their sites, so why have any of them promote their instruments on a Chapman-Stick® site or forum?

Perhaps this ploy will persuade people to buy the aforementioned ax.

>>You can also get my special “How to Get a Girlfriend … Guaranteed” method very inexpensively on a cd mailed out to you through the auctions at our EBay Megatar Store;
(The EBay Megatar Store is where my company sells Mobius Megatar instruments which are ready-to-play and ready-to-ship, along with accessories and music books. Everything sold there, including the Sweetheart Report, comes with a money-back guarantee. In fact, the Sweetheart Report comes with two money-back guarantees. That’s how certain I am that it will work perfectly for you.)<<

In case you're not aware, this is ad is for real. It's on line. No joke.
SA

All this makes me wonder. What is Emmett's long term vision for for the Stick & SE? Where will the Stick be in 50, or 100 years? I would be most interested to hear his thoughts.

If I may say a little something so folks can get a sense of my approach to Stickist.com and its forums.

I am very conscientious about providing an arena for folks to share, participate and discourse, and doing so in a manner that has very little moderation and censorship. Its best to provide subforums so folks have choices on which to view/participate in. Then there's the occasional unexpected hijacking.

Tolerance is important to me. So is diversity, which is fundamental to evolution, be it thoughtful introspection or be it towards mastery of talents. Alvin Toffler once wrote, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

But, I also keep in mind something that Bill Cosby once said, "It is important to keep an open mind, but no so open that your brains fall out."

With this, posts/behaviors that are severe, pervasive, flame-baiting, offensive, egregious or criminal will be addressed privately. I use a reasonable person standard in addition to standards from my professional expertises. Banning an account and its IP address will be the last resort if matters are not satisfactorily resolved. Spambots are no-brainers and simply banned.

Though these are technically my forums and I am the only moderator (this is purposeful), I believe that to be a good steward for its participants, I have to be fair, non-judgmental and competent in my implementation. But, the dynamic culture is from its participants. I provide the playground/guard-rails, you folks figure out how you want to take advantage of it. It is a Stick community, not 'my' community. The Stick community here is wonderfully Socratic and dialectical thoughts are highly welcomed. Occasionally there are problematic issues that arise, but historically these are temporary and generally insignificant to the cultural mass of our Stick community.

A closing thought, "There is plenty of room at the top. Competition is at the level of mediocrity."

Well said Manny.

Ari Stottle

Hi Manny,

Yes, tolerance and an open mind is one, if not THE, biggest things to achive and keep alive in life...Even if some people will abuse this mind setting, we all should stay on this path.

Manny, keep up the good work...Thank you for making this forum happening.

All the best, Michael

I'm amazed at the volume of thoughtful support aimed our way. Yuta and I feel honored that you've given so much of your attention to this subject. Both Stick forums have been busy with concerned discussion, and I do think it concerns us all.

None of us in the string tapping community should be made to look like members of feuding cults, which would lead to marginalization within the guitar industry and broader music culture.

Some of us are truly exceptional musicians regardless of category of musical instruments and deserve to be recognized beyond YouTube.

If you take your cues from lawyers, marketers and politicians, then humor is a weapon and hate is your model for selling goods and services. We've got to get beyond this new cultural low.

Using "chapman stick" as search words on Ebay, Topaz's "Get the Facts, Megatar with Chapman Stick style tuning" shows up in the first ten Ebay listings, along with five of his other ads listed there among the first ten. This "Facts" site is designed to create resentment among our friends, customers and the public on the grounds that we're creating artificial scarcity by holding back Stick production, then tricking and gouging our customers with high prices. He doesn't hold back on this twisted economic theory and expresses it in various colorful terms, all damaging to us personally and professionally.

Let's not call it a lie. That would not be in vogue these days. I'd call it a grand deception instead, a false picture on the grand scale that only the intelligent human mind can conjure up.

Our actual reality, however, is more like this:

- We're producing all Stick models to utmost capacity but can't presently expand beyond the limits of the required hand work and customization.

- We feel the pressure of selling to musicians with limited budgets and we exercise moderation and restraint in our pricing of new instruments as well as our repair charges. Taking inflation into account our instruments have steadily improved over time, but I'm proud to say the price has remained fairly constant.

- We've been "carrying the ball" with two-handed string tapping since we started Stick productions in the mid '70s and have promoted the "Free Hands" tapping method to millions. Many of you have developed this art to a high level, and we look forward to its continued growth. Your live performances and recordings are the reward for our work, and your personal support is just the added bonus.

- This isn't a standard business by any stretch of the imagination, and our self appointed adversaries don't follow rational patterns of normal competition. This market and its community are unique in every way!

- Our Stick production runs were always ahead of customer orders all the way into the mid '90s when increasing demand overtook it. We've always done custom tunings, left-handed and other unusual configurations. The introduction of new models, new basic tunings, wood and pickup choices, starting with the Grand Stick in 1990, has meant more choices, which we enthusiastically offer our customers, but which are also harder to pre-manufacture. In the interest of speeding up production we are constantly refining our materials, parts and processes, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice the quality or playability of our instruments. It's not like a guitar - the "window" of acceptable performance is much tighter. If it's set up well, there's magic and inspiration, so I've found over the years, but if it doesn't play easily, there's general discouragement and souring on the technique itself.

- We'd like to return to that point of equilibrium, a balance of orders and production (no pressures either way), so I'm once again designing a new model in hopes of overcoming the limitations involved in setups and the preliminary construction and design that enables that setup. It's now in the prototyping stage and still has to be proven in the sound, feel and ease of maintenance.

We all seem to agree that Topaz's ads don't reflect reality, but the general public doesn't have the benefit of this discussion. The Stick community is creative and diverse, so please feel free to pass along any suggestions as to how to set the record straight.

Thanks again for taking the time to address our common problem. Nothing is resolved for Yuta and me, of course, but we do feel relieved knowing we have your heartfelt support. Now hopefully back to Stick and Teflon themes as usual.

All the Best, Emmett.

Emmett wrote ... "I'm once again designing a new model in hopes of overcoming the limitations involved in setups and the preliminary construction and design that enables that setup. It's now in the prototyping stage and still has to be proven in the sound, feel and ease of maintenance."

Emmett good luck with the new model. Is there any possibility you could let us in on some details? And of course please let us know if and when it becomes available!

Good luck!