Just managed to retrieve my first ever post from the pre-GreatCrashOf2007 stickist.com via Google. Here it is for posterity with all subsequent appends:
digitalkettle Post subject:
Another guitarist peering into the void PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 06:11 AM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Hi all,
this is my first post. I've been playing guitars for more than half my life and I've been aware of the Stick for years but, only a few days ago, I randomly browsed over to this forum and the SE site...almost by accident. It must mean something in a 'Close Encounters' sense
So after having a good dig around, I have some questions and I would really appreciate hearing your answers/opinions:
1) Has anybody tried the bamboo Sticks? What do you think? They look great.
2) It seems almost logical for a first Stick to be a 10 string in classic tuning. As a purchase may only be a once in a lifetime occurrence, will I be limiting my options from the get-go? I understand that the learning curve between Sticks isn't too big a deal(?)
3) As I understand it, the lowest 'C' on the Stick is one octave below 'drop-C' on a guitar. Is this correct?
4) Will my guitar amplification be sufficient? I currently have a decent acoustic amp with 2 channels (AER Compact 60) and also a small Marshall rack system for straight electric playing. Going mono seems like a bit of a compromise.
5) I would obviously buy a pile of tuition material but do you think that it is essential for a beginner to get at least a few proper lessons?
6) How come the lowest tuning pegs on either side are offset from the othe pegs? Okay, this one is trivial but I am curious
If you got this far, thanks a lot.
Regards, David.
Silent_Fly Post subject: Re: Another guitarist peering into the void PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 07:16 AM
Joined: Feb 28, 2005
Posts: 146
Location: London - UK
I have received my Stick from SE just a few days ago but I may be able to help.
digitalkettle wrote:
1) Has anybody tried the bamboo Sticks? What do you think? They look great.
I read very positive feedbacks from the people that tried it. I suggest you run a search on this forum.
digitalkettle wrote:
2) It seems almost logical for a first Stick to be a 10 string in classic tuning. As a purchase may only be a once in a lifetime occurrence, will I be limiting my options from the get-go? I understand that the learning curve between Sticks isn't too big a deal(?)
I think that "logical" is a very personal choice. From my point of view, I see "logical" a Grand Stick tuned Match Reciprocal or a Grand Stick tuned MR on the melody and Stick Bass in 4th on the bass side Laughing
In practical terms, excluding the Stick Bass, the main difference is between 10 and 12 strings. You can always change the tuning later. Personally I am happy with my 12 but some people are equally happy with a 10. Simplicity vs Range. If you have small hands the 12 strings may be a problem. On the positive side, in either case you are going to enjoy it.
digitalkettle wrote:
3) As I understand it, the lowest 'C' on the Stick is one octave below 'drop-C' on a guitar. Is this correct?
It is the C on the 6 strings bass guitar. You do the math.
digitalkettle wrote:
4) Will my guitar amplification be sufficient?(...)
Unlikely. It is more a question of frequency response that mono/stereo. It would be like plugging a 6 strings bass guitar in your amp. It may sound ok but don't expect much.
digitalkettle wrote:
5) I would obviously buy a pile of tuition material but do you think that it is essential for a beginner to get at least a few proper lessons?
May be not essential but useful. Like any other instrument, I suppose.
digitalkettle wrote:
6) How come the lowest tuning pegs on either side are offset from the othe pegs? Okay, this one is trivial but I am curious Wink
I have no idea. Laughing
- o -
You may want to contact some UK Stickist and try a Stick. Possibly someone that can play it (this would exclude myself Smile ).
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Silent Fly
digitalkettle Post subject: Re: Another guitarist peering into the void PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 07:31 AM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Hi, thanks for the response...
Silent_Fly wrote:
I have received my Stick from SE just a few days ago but I may be able to help.
I caught your other post. Well done on landing a Stick.
If I may inquire, how did you come by it?
Silent_Fly wrote:
I think that "logical" is a very personal choice.
You're right. Maybe I should have said 'conservative'?
A good point about switching tunings being relatively simple.
The big decision seems to be 10 vs 12 and then maybe 5/7 vs 6/6 split.
Silent_Fly wrote:
It would be like plugging a 6 strings bass guitar in your amp. It may sound ok but don't expect much.
True...that is a realistic outlook.
As a 'newbie', what's your basic setup?
I guess you have a bass-playing background.
Silent_Fly wrote:
You may want to contact some UK Stickist and try a Stick. Possibly someone that can play it (this would exclude myself
).
Agreed...I would definitely attempt that prior to a purchase. Seems like the Stickist community is a very positive and helpful one. I've got a lot of considerations to weigh up first.
Good luck on your journey.
Cheers, David.
Silent_Fly Post subject: Re: Another guitarist peering into the void PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 07:58 AM
Joined: Feb 28, 2005
Posts: 146
Location: London - UK
digitalkettle wrote:
Hi, thanks for the response...
Silent_Fly wrote:
I have received my Stick from SE just a few days ago but I may be able to help.
I caught your other post. Well done on landing a Stick.
If I may inquire, how did you come by it?
I purchased it though this forum.
digitalkettle wrote:
Silent_Fly wrote:
I think that "logical" is a very personal choice.
You're right. Maybe I should have said 'conservative'? Wink
A good point about switching tunings being relatively simple.
The big decision seems to be 10 vs 12 and then maybe 5/7 vs 6/6 split.
I don’t think the 5/7 vs 6/6 split is a real issue. I never read of anybody using the 5/7 setting.
digitalkettle wrote:
Silent_Fly wrote:
It would be like plugging a 6 strings bass guitar in your amp. It may sound ok but don't expect much.
True...that is a realistic outlook.
As a 'newbie', what's your basic setup?
I guess you have a bass-playing background.
I am a bass player and I play 4 and 6 strings basses.
I play the Stick using a Korg PX-3. Stickup connected in mono using a cable that connects the two sides of the pickup in parallel. I listen to the Stick using Sennheiser PX100 headphones or Sennheiser HD600.
Alternatively, I connect a side of the Stickup to a Boss GE7 and the other to a Boss GEB7. Then -> Mackie mixer -> two Genelec active monitors. The sound is excellent.
If I had to use the Stick with my band (which is not going to happen any time soon Smile ) I would use a SWR SM400 with a SWR Goliath Junior with the GE7 and the GEB7.
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Silent Fly
jomac Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 09:01 AM
Joined: Oct 20, 2003
Posts: 128
Remember that 12-string is just like 10-string - with a couple of extra strings that you can just ignore until you feel like using them. The string spacing is 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch closer for 12 string - barely noticeable.
As for the 6x6 vs 5x7, I know of 3 players who use the 5x7 - perhaps most notably Don Schiff. He's joked that he uses the lowest "melody" string (string 7) as a buffer string so that when using the 6th string it does not interfere with his lowest bass string.
digitalkettle Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 10:38 AM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
You guys may have convinced me that I should be thinking about a Grand Stick instead of a 10-stringer...thanks(?)
rpmartino Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 11, 2005 - 11:31 AM
Joined: May 24, 2004
Posts: 562
Location: Virginia, USA
Bamboo is great, I tried one out at NAMM and it's the best of both worlds... the look of wood and smoothness of graphite.
I recommend a full range amp (like a keyboard amp) or running the bass side to a bass amp with sufficient high end and the melody to your existing guitar setup.
If I could get away with 10 strings I would, as I do like the slightly wider spacing and more "efficient" setup. I hardly ever use the lowest melody string but since I tune my bass in fourths I need all six bass strings to get the necessary pitch range for chords.
I like MR melody better than classic melody, you lose a whole step in how high you can play, but the tension feels a lot better (in classic that high melody string feels tighter than the other ones, and is a little harder to bend).
The lowest tuning pegs turn the other direction (string wraps from the outside in, so that the angle to the nut isn't too extreme), so the tuning peg is upside down if you look at the back, to maintain the same turing direction as the other four pegs on the same side.
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Rob
http://robmartino.comhttp://myspace.com/robmartino jbm Post subject: Re: Another guitarist peering into the void PostPosted: Jul 13, 2005 - 08:07 PM
Joined: Jun 17, 2003
Posts: 31
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, US
digitalkettle wrote:
2) It seems almost logical for a first Stick to be a 10 string in classic tuning. As a purchase may only be a once in a lifetime occurrence, will I be limiting my options from the get-go? I understand that the learning curve between Sticks isn't too big a deal(?)
They're all good for the beginner. I think it's really hard to know what you're going to want long term until you've got some experience. Resale prices are good, so don't count yourself out of "side-grading" at some point. I went from a used 10-string classic to a used 12-string MR, to my current new 10-string MR, and am finally thinking of settling down on 10-string DBM. (So, take any advice from me with many grains of salt Smile Others just learn the one they have and stick with it.
digitalkettle wrote:
5) I would obviously buy a pile of tuition material but do you think that it is essential for a beginner to get at least a few proper lessons?
Yeah, I think it's important, I struggled along for a while before going to one, and it helped a lot. It helped just to assure myself that I was "ok" on some points, and not keep second-guessing myself. There's all kinds of stuff that gets communicated in person that doesn't in print. The more you watch, the more you pick up just by observation, besides the explicit instruction.
If you've got small/medium sized hands like I do, I think Greg Howard's approach in particular helps greatly, did for me. He concentrates real hard on the physical basics, position, ergonomics, motion. He's at all kinds of seminars across the country, shouldn't be too hard to catch him somewhere.
digitalkettle wrote:
6) How come the lowest tuning pegs on either side are offset from the othe pegs? Okay, this one is trivial but I am curious Wink
Not sure, but I think I remember reading once that it's because leaving them in the same position would make those outside strings bend at a sharper angle at the nut. Possibly problematic for rubbing the edges of those nut screws and making them more likely to break (?)
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Jim - XG/10, ACTV, DBM, #5126
skysaw Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 14, 2005 - 04:54 AM
Joined: Feb 10, 2005
Posts: 23
Location: Alexandria, VA
I chose a 10-string for economic reasons, and MR tuning for what I perceived as more symmetrical (same note names across frets). Something about that just seemed interesting to me.
My only (almost) regret is I wish I had gotten those glow-in-the-dark linear markers! Very Happy
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All Hands Music
digitalkettle Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 14, 2005 - 05:43 AM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Thanks for all the advice. I made a call to SE last night.
After reading your opinions and checking out just about everything I could find on the web, I decided on a bamboo 12 string in MR tuning.
Thinking about it, MR makes a lot more sense to a guitarist (even more useful with that high 4th). I guessed that I would grow into the 12 strings.
Got a couple of books on order for some background reading/torment.
Now I can rest up for the best part of a year ;-( or
!!?
Cheers, David.
jbm Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 14, 2005 - 12:47 PM
Joined: Jun 17, 2003
Posts: 31
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, US
digitalkettle wrote:
...I decided on a bamboo 12 string in MR tuning.
Banzai! No wasting time with you, get right in there and place that order! Enjoy the sweet agony of waiting for your new Stick Smile
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Jim - XG/10, ACTV, DBM, #5126
digitalkettle Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 14, 2005 - 01:23 PM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Yeah, well, like you (kind of) said: it's hard to make a bad decision here.
The worst decision must be 'don't buy one at all'.
Reading around, everyone has had such good Stick experiences and it seems like a vibrant community given the relative obscurity of the instrument.
Once I get a real idea inside my head, I have to do something about it!
Now I have to use my wait-time to save up some money (must...not...sell...any..guitars).
Cheers, David.
ramuji Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 14, 2005 - 11:42 PM
Joined: Jun 29, 2003
Posts: 124
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
Hi, David.
I know of two Stick players in the UK who might be available for lessons. One is the incredicle Jim Lampi, but I've never had the opportunity to meet him and have no idea of how to get in touch with him. The other is my friend Derek Dallenger. Derek has made his home in Japan, but is currently in England for an extended visit with his family. If you like, I can contact Derek for you and ask about the possibility of the two of you getting together. If it turns out that the two of you can work out a meeting, we can exchange contact info by email (not on this forum). You should probably let me know where you are located before I get in touch with him. (He is in West Sussex, by the way.)
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ramuji
http://www.ramuji.com digitalkettle Post subject: PostPosted: Jul 15, 2005 - 01:12 AM
Joined: Jul 10, 2005
Posts: 580
Location: Lincolnshire, UK
Thanks ramuji. It's nice to know that there is a healthy cluster of players here in the UK. I was checking Jim Lampi out on the web just the other day.
I guess I'll be looking for a couple of lessons sometime early next year.
Cheers, David.
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