That's cool. Earlier in the year I was considering a 7 melody + 5 bass stick. The 7 + 5 opens up some cool melody chords. In the end, I decided not to go that route because I didn't want to lose a string on the bass side. A 6 + 7 stick would be bad luck (13 strings). Perhaps the solution would be a 7 + 7.... a new 14-string Grand!

Emmett actually built 7+7 stick
-only once

I'm hoping to put together a video sometime about this instrument, but in short I really love this tuning configuration and the 7 bass strings is very useful - it's hard going back to 6 bass strings now! Big wide chords that cross 6 strings can now be started on either of the two lowest bass strings, or 5 string chords that start on any of the lowest 3 bass strings. Plus new voicings that cross all 7 strings.

Here are common chord shapes (root, 3rd, octave) I use all the time (major and minor versions) which can be easily altered/added to gets 9ths, 6ths, 7ths etc.

Some combinations can be chosen from here, which fall easily under the fingers:



So for a major chord you can do this:



or this:


And another major/minor voicing that uses all 7 strings (helpful for finally getting a chord that starts on the low E, since most other chords involve frets lower than the root):



More to come...

Here's a quick intro I recorded today on my iPhone, for anyone interested in seeing the instrument and tuning:

Hi, Rob.

Nice to see you in action again! The new stick looks like a lot of fun to play. It appears you are now able to get some of those bass + high chord voicings that come so naturally in the 5ths bass tuning, while keeping the smooth bass lines available in 4ths tunings. Seems like the best of both worlds!

It seems that every tuning has its hidden strengths and special capabilities. Have you made any discoveries about the new tuning that you didn't anticipate?

Have you been working on any new tunes using the new bass setup, or do you play any of the older ones differently with it? Have you been working on any straight up piano transcriptions that you feel will work well with the new tuning?

It would be great if you could share any samples, snippets or works in progress that have emerged since getting the new stick.

Thanks.
John

Rob,

By the way, I love the tone of the Stickup. It really suits your tunes and adds an extra dimension of depth, for sure.

Are you playing in stereo or mono mode? If you are playing in stereo, how do you tweak the bass vs. treble effects, EQ, volume, etc. relative to each other?

You have come up with a beautiful signature tone. Anything you could share about your current effects chain, amplification, etc. would be great.

John

Rob, I would like to see more videos from you about your approach to playing the Stick. I like your music and would like to hear any information that you may want to share.

Hi John, thanks for your questions!

It seems that every tuning has its hidden strengths and special capabilities. Have you made any discoveries about the new tuning that you didn't anticipate?

Since this new instrument is so similar conceptually to what I’ve been using for a while, I don’t think I’ve discovered anything too unexpected except for a couple string spacing issues. I do find I have to now practice playing the lowest melody and bass strings at the same time a bit more- since I wasn’t using the low melody string too much on my other instrument, I wasn’t running into situations where I might accidentally mute the bass string when playing low melody notes. There is extra space between the string groups like on other Sticks but perhaps not as much, for a reason that is actually an advantage - the string spacing for the melody side, since it uses a 5 string nut flap from a 10 string instrument, is a bit wider than the bass string Grand spacing. I really like the extra room between strings on the melody side and some things are now easier to play as a result. And with bass side chords being so wide I like the spacing relatively narrow, like it is now.

CORRECTION: I just tried to measure the string spacing more precisely, and actually it's uniform on the bass and melody sides (not wider on melody), but the overall string spacing is a bit wider than my 2004 Grand (which has a narrower neck), which is why it feels roomier.

One cool thing about this tuning is that the low E strings on the bass and melody side, which are an octave apart, provide a nice octaver effect when playing both as a double stop.

Have you been working on any new tunes using the new bass setup, or do you play any of the older ones differently with it? Have you been working on any straight up piano transcriptions that you feel will work well with the new tuning?

A key part of this tuning was to allow me to play my entire repertoire with maybe some slight changes here and there. I can now play some of the same bass side chords closer to the nut, if I need some extra room on the melody side. Now that the bass side extends further past middle C, I think piano music reading for the left hand part is definitely easier. I’ve been working on Scarlatti keyboard sonata K380 for the past couple years and there’s more options now for where to play left hand parts. For this piece I kind of straddled the keyboard and classical guitar arrangements - I play it an octave lower like the guitar version since it’s in more of a sweet spot tone-wise, and as a result I simplify or re-voice some of the left hand chords to not sound muddy.

I debated whether I wanted an SG-12 for a new instrument - maybe someday, but after playing bit of classical guitar recently I really like the timbre of the Stick in a similar range but extending further into the bass - frets 1-7 on the bass side and 7-17 on the melody side are quite tonally satisfying. Plus, thanks to an idea from Emmett when I asked about an SG-12 a few years ago, I can simulate a similar experience by raising the instrument up higher, putting a capo/damper at the 5th fret, and playing further up the neck.

It would be great if you could share any samples, snippets or works in progress that have emerged since getting the new stick.

I definitely want to get this Scarlatti piece recorded on video! There’s a rough draft I recorded last year on my PASV-4 instrument which you can find on the forum here. It’s taken a long time to polish it up. I’ve also been working on a couple other baroque era pieces in an effort to improve my music reading skills on the Stick. The last several years have kept me from making as much music as I'd like, so I'm also just trying to make sure I still remember most of my pieces!

Are you playing in stereo or mono mode? If you are playing in stereo, how do you tweak the bass vs. treble effects, EQ, volume, etc. relative to each other?

I always use a stereo setup. For this video, it was just the iPhone mic recording the sound coming out of my studio monitors, and I was playing through Logic on a Mac with just a couple SVT-4Pro amp models (no cabinet) in Helix Native and reverb. The Stickup is quite different in frequency response to the PASV-4 settings I was using, so I find myself adding more EQ in the low mid and mid ranges while rolling off some of the 8-10 KHz range to warm up the sound a bit. Both sides are EQd in a similar way except maybe a bit more bass under 100 Hz on the bass side while controlling the 150-300 Hz range to reduce boominess. Much of the time the melody gain will be slightly higher than the bass.

You have come up with a beautiful signature tone. Anything you could share about your current effects chain, amplification, etc. would be great.

Thanks! After experimenting with some pedalboard ideas I’m mostly all in software these days, using MainStage/Logic with plug-ins. Rather than being tied to a hardware device's options, you have the flexibility to find the highest quality version of a particular effect as a plug-in, and there are tons of options. I’m using Helix Native a lot and also have an HX Stomp so that I could also set up a simplified effects rig if I start performing again (or maybe bring the whole laptop out at some point, it's still a pretty minimal setup with just an RME Babyface Pro FS interface and a small foot controller). With the Stickup I find myself using chorus less often since it has an inherent harmonically rich sound, and will typically use a high quality reverb on an aux channel with it more prominent on the melody strings. For most of my original pieces there will be some delay on the melody side. I also like Leslie speaker effects (IK Multimedia's Leslie effect is excellent), used in a more subtle way so that it sounds like an organic 3D chorus type of sound. Sometimes I like to get synth pad type effects on the bass side with a volume swell/delay/modulation chain (this can be heard on The Long Circle from my recent Full Circle album)

Thanks for your interest John!

Hi, Rob.

Thanks for taking the time to share all the info! It is great to get an insight into your approach to the new instrument as well as your latest gear and effects choices.

It sounds like the Stickup pickup is getting you closer a more organic, acoustic tone. I think the new stick and subtle changes to the effects really suit your playing style. The rich bass tones of the grand seem like a good fit for your arrangements. More prog-rockish, whereas the Alto stick seems lighter, more like a harpsichord. Both are great! But I think having the option to go lower in the bass register is a plus.

I will have to look up your demo of the Scarlatti piece on the forum.!

John

Clever , I can see the reason of not going back. The Stickup does that configuration absolute justify. Enjoy.