Hey everyone.. I have been researching for a while now.

I am guitar player.. for me to switch to a chapmin stick would you recommend the 10 string. Or the ns stick.

part of me wants to get the ns stick and tune it like a guitar so i can quickly have fun..

the other side of me just wants to get the 10 string with chapmin tuning and go from scratch..

Or i could get the 10 string stick and tune it similar to a bass/guitar...

ANy thoughts...

I've owned both. In my opinion the NS Stick is more of an extended range bass that's great for two hand tapping. It's an awesome instrument but isn't really the true full Stick experience. If i were you, especially since you don't come from bass guitar background I'd go for a standard 10 or 12 string Stick. It gives you more range and note overlap. And as you will learn, it;s NOT a guitar. You will have to learn to play a completely NEW instrument demanding a totally new approach. There's no getting around this fact, BUTTTTT it's worth the effort!

Thanks,

That is kind of what i was leaning towards.. I guess i like the idea of getting used to it quicker with the ns... but when it comes down to it. I would be more happy down the road knowing the chapmin stick 10 string..

Thanks again.. very helpful..

Yeah, two years ago I asked myself the same thing... I decided for the 10-string Stick because I wanted the full experience, and it was the right choice...

but I am still curious to test the NS/Stick... If I had enough money, room in my home and time to spend, I'd buy it.

I don't know if you made your choice yet, but I have both a ten string Stick with baritone melody tuning and a half-frettless NS-Stick. The learning curve is somewhat more difficult for a beginner on the Standard Stick, but I have learned that it is worth it. One dissappointment I have experienced with the NS-Stick is thinking I could make music that sounded just as full as music I created on the Stick. Don Schiff does it wonderfully but for me it doesn't come as easy. I admit that it could be done, but I have trouble disciplining myself to work on it. If you want to function as a lead guitarist or a bass player then the NS Stick will be easier. If you want to do both at the same time, I would suggest the 10 or 12 string models. Either way, good luck and enjoy.

I don't know if this is a current thread for the original poster but Mike brings up some interesting points that I think people in this quandary should consider:



A ten string Stick has two more strings than an NS but my experience with the NS
has been the same as Mike, some chordal, textural (compositional) power seems to elude me(?)

Yet on the Stick I can find the notes and the phrasing, "the secret thing" much more easily.

Why is this?
I thought the idea of the NS was that it was supposed to be "familiar" to both guitarists
and bass players. Pick it up and play...


And that the Stick was a "whole new animal"...

It is interesting to note that a guitar has six strings so obviously because the guitar repertoire is so huge the answer cannot be because there are not enough strings!

And since you can tune it like a guitar, bass or Stick, tuning is not the issue.

Mike also writes:



Don introduced me to the Stick and has been "the teacher" for me because his style
of teaching amounts to simply his presence and a few pointers, like "thats nice" and
"keep going" and the ever effective "now try this" (insert Don demonstrating
a deceptivly simple but challenging phrase)

Somewhere in the annals of all this, perhaps in Dons blog he says that after he got his NS it took him about three weeks to "get it up to speed" That is impressive indeed and Don of course is a pro meaning he makes a living playing so that is a powerful motivator.

But I would venture to say that although Don is "up to speed" the real issue with the NS
is not it's intended design, if it works or not, or if it is "easier" than the Stick. All those things are true and it does and Don is a great artist but i think he would be the first to admit that the NS
is a whole new animal that has by no means been tamed. There are acres of unexplored territory out there and the gate is wide open...

To use the animal metaphor again, the "familiar" context that we paste over the NS
is true enough. True enough to be a starting point but it is like riding the horse in
the coral.

Nothing wrong or lacking in that, you've gotta start somewhere but if what Gary Jibilion is doing is getting outside
the gate then this animal is not just "other" it's wild
JRJ

After 35 years of guitar, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge, I did several months of research and decided on the 12-string Grand. I assure you I am using all 12 strings.