So I'm thinking of throwing my hat in the stick arena again and getting an NS stick, and just hoping some people can confirm/answer some questions I have.

1)Can you change string order like on a stick?

2) The stick website is still showing graphite necks for the NS, but I did see a post that they're being done in bamboo now. I did read the post where Don Schiff said he didn't see any glaring differences between the two. I guess where I'm going with this point is whether or not there are any killer differences between the "new" NS and the "old" NS that would make me think twice about buying a used one.

3)Fretless vs Fretted: I come from a piano/keyboard background with limited experience on strings and guitar. I've heard some good things about the sound that come out of a fretless instrument, balanced against the learning curve. I'm sort of thinking that my learning curve (in essence learning a string instrument from scratch) would in essence sort of help in the sense that I'm not firmly used to/rooted in a traditional guitar, and I could very well be wrong. Also, obviously once the stick is built, I can't unmake (at least not cheaply) the instrument fretless if I were to decide I want that. I also can't afford multiple sticks (that would solve all my problems), so as tempting as it is, buying multiple sticks isn't feasible. In the end, I know this will come down to personal preference, but I'm a complete stranger to this portion of the arguement.

4)Has there ever been a completely fretless ns stick made? I'm not sure if its really feasible, or how it would play, or if SE would actually build one. Just sort of putting some feelers out on this one.

5)Midi. Just buying an NS (at least new) is going to be financially painful, but with all the keyboard gear I have, I'm sure (and it is now actually) it'll be inevitable that I'll want to have the midi pickup installed, but I probably couldn't afford a complete midi setup right off the bat. Can SE just pre-drill the body for all the midi parts and then at a later date I can just purchase the components from them and install them myself? It'd save me the cost of having to mail the stick back both ways.

6)Anything else I should consider about an NS before buying one?

7)Anyone got an NS for sale?

If it helps to answer any of these questions, the music I'm most interested in playing, or at least style wise is Rush, Dream Theater type, so a good mix of rock and prog...maybe with a little jazz thrown in if I'm feeling frisky and adventurous.

Thanks for your help in advance!

motorhead9999 wrote:

3)Fretless vs Fretted: I come from a piano/keyboard background with limited experience on strings and guitar. I've heard some good things about the sound that come out of a fretless instrument, balanced against the learning curve. I'm sort of thinking that my learning curve (in essence learning a string instrument from scratch) would in essence sort of help in the sense that I'm not firmly used to/rooted in a traditional guitar, and I could very well be wrong. Also, obviously once the stick is built, I can't unmake (at least not cheaply) the instrument fretless if I were to decide I want that. I also can't afford multiple sticks (that would solve all my problems), so as tempting as it is, buying multiple sticks isn't feasible. In the end, I know this will come down to personal preference, but I'm a complete stranger to this portion of the arguement.

4)Has there ever been a completely fretless ns stick made? I'm not sure if its really feasible, or how it would play, or if SE would actually build one. Just sort of putting some feelers out on this one.

I'll leave the NS advice to NS players, but I don't recommend starting with a fretless anything. A lot of the joy of exploring a new instrument will be counteracted by the frustration of dealing with intonation issues.

A fretless is also a more specific "voice", which can be more expressive in the right hands, but also less versatile. If your primary goal is to play prog rock, is the fretless the sound you want?

Finally, weigh up the added cost vs. resale market. It's worth thinking about, because a lot of people try an instrument and find that it's not what they want, or that they don't have the time to dedicate to it.

Good luck!
Andy

1) I think you could swap string order within each group of four, but not swap sides.

2) The new ones are bamboo. Any NS you buy will play well, don't hesitate to buy a used one.

3) Fretted.

4) Don't think so. A lot less versatile, and way harder to learn on.

5) Easier to add a Roland GK to an NS after the fact, than a regular Stick. Just need a pickup with the right string spacing (SE). If you are mechanically inclined you could do it yourself, or any decent guitar tech.

6) You can't really go wrong with a regular Stick, especially as a keyboard player.

7) They are around. When I bought mine new from SE they had them in stock.

My .02

Lee

I have never played a ns, but i would suggest getting one only if you were a bassist prior to playing it. i was going to get one, but I think the normal kind has more capabilities for melody. Rush is also my favorite band, and dream theaters up there. But the stuff I plan on doing is more like LTE. If you get a stick, or an n/s, I look forward to seeing what you do.
Peace out

I sold my NS, it just wasn't for me. As far as alternate tunings, I tried mine set up in the dual bass reciprocal tuning and it worked fine. If you want to try different tunings, give Stick a call. They are great people to talk to, and they will work with you on whats possible with other tunings. Whether graphite or bamboo,it will probably feel and sound the same so I guess it would be about what looks best to you. And if you are planning to play Prog rock, and don't have a working knowledge of string instruments, I would think that you would probably want to stick with a fretted instrument. Believe me, with a fretted stick you will have plenty of challenges ahead of you! Plus heavier music tend to work best with fretted instruments in my humble opinion. Weigh everyones opinions here because there are players here that have a lot more knowledge then I do! And good luck and enjoy the journey!

Hello, and all the best to you all in 2011!

I bought an NS in September and it is a superb instrument. One of the minor issues i had with the Stick people was that yes, the necks are all pressed bamboo now. I had to beg a little to see if they had any graphite necks around. I know nothing about pressed bamboo and wanted to go to where I know. I'm more familiar with graphite.

Thankfully they had a neck for me!

However, I wanted to say that everything I have heard about pressed bamboo necks has been positive and I have never been steered wrong by anyone in the Stick community.

Hope my small words will help in your buying process.

Before attending my Stick studies last year I had been playing wind instruments and guitar. Recently a lot of fretless guitar and it was actually the love for the fretless micro tonality that made me look closer at the Stick NS half fretless. But at second thought I changed my mind and went with Grand Stick 12 str. The reason is that I want to move into more orchestration in my playing, doing chords and different but inter locking lines with each hand - something you can't do on any of the other instruments I play.

My experience with the fretless guitar is that you really need to concentrate to get the intonation at a pure pitch; I can do it with two notes, maybe three, but wider chords are simply impossible for me to get right quickly enough (there is always a certain amount of listening to the pitch and adjusting it, for every note you attack on a fretless string instrument).

What I found when my Stick arrived was - to my surprise - that I had not much help from my guitar technique and that it actually was my brain that needed training, to get rewired for multitasking. All my other instruments require both hands used in tight synchronization to perform one musical action. As a former piano player I think you are better prepared to learn how to split your attention to play independently with each hand (drummers and harpists may also benefit from previous practice when picking up the Stick, I think).

In the long run I would like to play professionally and then you need at least one backup instrument so you won't miss out on a work option if the airlines should loose track of your instrument (or whatever shit might happen). But it feels like a waste of hard earned money to buy two identical Sticks so I will settle with an additional SG-12 in the hope that this instrument combination will serve both as extending my palette for fun and as "plan B insurance" for future pro activities.

Sprout some sack and walk the freakin' plank, Popeye -

Get an SB8.

The NS is mostly designed to play the way it comes from Stick Enterprises. I'm sure you can put any string you like in any position, but the spacing of the lower strings is wider than on the upper four strings. It really is designed to be guitar + bass with some Stick capability. It's definitely not a Stick, but it can get you pretty far into Stick territory. It's also MUCH more of a guitar or bass than the Stick will ever be. I think they're really cool but I have guitars and basses aplenty, so the standard Stick was the right choice for me.

Good luck!

You could use guitar strings in any order, but the four melody string retainer blocks won't fit bass string ball ends.