Alternate & Prototype Sticks (Schticks)
I keep discovering and hearing about several prototype Sticks that were one-off creations, special orders, experiments, or collaborations with other manufacturers. I love these alternate and prototype Sticks, some of which have now gone "mainstream" and are available for ordering from Stick Enterprises. Many of these surface from time to time in videos, or are whispered about in apocryphal stories told around the Stick campfires of Stick Camps.
In this thread I want to talk about Sticks made from alternative materials, alternative designs, and collaborative designs with other manufacturers, and any and all other prototype Sticks. Here's my categories of alternate and prototype Sticks, which I'm calling "Schticks," and slighting misusing the meaning.
Quote:
shtick.
[SHtik]
NOUN
schticks (plural noun)
a gimmick, comic routine, style of performance, etc. associated with a particular person.
"there are many great comics who have based their stand-up shtick on observational comedy" ·
synonyms: act · performance · number · turn · piece · line · shtick · spiel · patter
•a person's special talent, interest, or area of activity.
"movies about ordinary women who do extraordinary things—that's my shtick"
1) Formerly exotic/custom/prototype and now mainstream:Railboards with a mirror finish; metal deposition coatings
The original Railboards with the sandblasted “scritchy” feel
Tony Rodriguez’s shiny silver Sticks
Railboard Grands and 8-string Railboards
2) Alternative MaterialsVarious woods: Rosewood, Ash, Maple, Bamboo Composites, etc.
Exotic woods: Zebra Wood, Paduak, Ironwood
Graphite
Carbon Fiber
Polycarbonate
Aluminum (now known as Railboards!)
3) Alternative Designs7-strings
9-strings
8-strings (now standard option)
12 strings (now standard option)
Acoustick (only 2 in existence?)
The one used in Dune. (Just a cosmetic thingy added to it?)
Combo double-bass/Stick “Frankenstick” (Mike Kemp)
Whammy Stick?
Custom pickups
4) Collaborative Partnerships with other manufacturers:NS/Stick, with Stick Enterprises LLC with Ned Steinberger
http://steinberger.com/The Prototype NS/Stick that Dean "Skydiver" has
Bass Lab Sticks
http://basslab.de/ (See Bass Labs thread and Greg rocking the Porkpie.)
5) Custom Customizations (inlays, paintings or designs)I know I've seen some custom paint jobs on a few Sticks. Let's hear about 'em and see 'em!
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Please tell us about prototype Sticks in your possession or that you used to own. Pictures would be greatly appreciated and video would rock! Stories about one-off Sticks, or special customizations, or just whatever you want to say about Schticks and their reasons for being would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear more about the Bass Labs Sticks for example. This thread is for everyone who has ever wondered about or wanted one of those "weird" Sticks (relatively speaking, of course), or knows what the heck they are and can share.
I'd love to see what Emmett and Captain Strings and Tony Rodriguez (who owns like 32 Schticks!) and a few other longtimer Stickists have to say about the Prototypes as well. Let's talk Schticks!
--Schticky Steve #6, who so far owns 3 Sticks but no Schticks (yet)