Hi
I'm a professional trombone player of 15+ years, and very recently discovered the Stick and its incredible practitioners. Having watched the youtube videos daily I am extremely tempted to take the next step. I play a bit of Bass and with the wide range of music I have played as a trombone player I would be really interested to find out what that mix of experience might bring with a Stick in my hand.
I would very much appreciate some advice about how to have a go on a Stick and see whether the bug continues to grow. I am reluctant to spend $2k+ to then find it is not my bag. Last time I did this, I swapped from piano to trombone as a teenager and ended up with a career.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Paul

Take that step. It can be exciting at first, then frustrating but stick it out and you will see it is worth it. Check out Greg Howard or Bob Culbertson or Steve Adelson. Then just see who else has a youtube video.

If you decide to pull the trigger, welcome to the club.

Mike

PS. I hope you don't give up trombone.

Thanks for such a quick reply Mike

Any ideas how I might get hold of one to try? I guess someone in Houston willing to let me have a go, I guess. I have been whetting my appetite by fretting an acoustic guitar but i'm guessing the Stick is whole lot different!
Here's a question that I was wondering about, when I fret the guitar I get the sound as the string hits the fret, but also an unwanted sound as I lift my finger off too.... is that a technical difficulty on the Stick too that would need to be overcome?

Best wishes

Paul

The Stick has a dampener, like the soft side of Velcro, to minimize the ring as you let go of the string. You could wrap a rubber band or hair "scrunchie" around the end of your guitar to dampen the string as you release, just to hear how it could sound. But nothing sounds like a Chapman Stick. When you let your finger off a string of a well set up Stick there is no extra noise. Plus it will take so much less energy to get the Stick to make a noise than it will for an acoustic guitar to produce the same...sound.

Mike

It addition to what Mike said about the dampener, you might have accidentally preformed what guitarists call a "pull off." When you play with your fingers directly on strings, each finger effectively has its own embouchure. It is very cool to be able to make music without competing with your own breathing, by the way (I was a trumpeter in junior high).

If no one near you posts in this thread with an invitation, then consider attending a seminar or calling Stick Enterprises to see if they can set you up with someone.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the advice and info.

Hopefully someone will read this who lives down the road and say "hey man, come for a beer and try on my CS" but failing that I will get in touch with Stick Enterprises.

Thanks again.

Hey there! I was trombone tooter from 5th grade to my senior year of highschool. I do owe it to that instrument for helping me get interested in music, so in a way I wouldn't be here without it!
I think there are quite a few Stickists in Texas, although I'm not sure how many are in Houston.
And welcome! The only thing I don't like about the Stick is that it's way too much fun and I don't want to do anything else! So be careful, you might want a career change

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDpH0PczQsY[/youtube]



Hello again Paul. After re-reading your first post I wonder if you know Liquid Soul? Great horn section and bass player and guitarists. You might be able to do it all, but you shouldn't have to.

If you don't know Liquid Soul, google them. They are from Illinois. Where I come from that means "they are phenomenal". It is kind of a tongue twister.

Mike

Get a Stick

They have better songs. Just couldn't find a better on Youtube .

PS Get a Stick

Thanks Andy, I hope i'll be able to touch base with one or two and have a go. I can see form the videos how the Stick would be really addictive!

Great band Mike, I hadn't heard of them. Thanks for the tip. I'm a Brit, and moved from London in 2011 so am not all that caught up with what's going on over here. Love it though.

Hi Paul! I was in the same boat as you only recently. I was lucky enough to be able to go for a lesson before I made the decision to buy a stick. I'm currently waiting for my Railboard to arrive. I wanted to make sure it felt like i'd hoped it would and i'm delighted to say it did.

This video was really helpful. It covered off allot of questions I had (shout out to the free hands friday crew! )

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPkht0U3zZA[/youtube]