Chapman Stick

[fluffy_little_something]

Was just watching that video and found the sound so cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rLsSfd67qE

I have heard it before in a few other songs (Kajagoogoo etc.) over the years, but never in such a featured way.

It is a rare instrument, anyone here ever played one?
Is it a bass or a guitar, or both?
Where does the punch come from? is tapping the strings from above enough? He does use the thumb as well, but I think I hear more notes than his thumb is playing. Not sure, it is so fast

[Winstontaneous]

I had a 10 string Stick for a while, it was interesting, but as a multi-instrumentalist (upright & electric bass, guitar, keys, vox, percussion) I couldn't give it the time needed to master it. I sold mine and bought a 100 year-old upright piano.

The instrument has its strengths and weaknesses. The standard 5th bass tuning makes chords/arpeggios easy but linear/walking bass requires a lot of shifting. The tuning engenders a lot of cliches that lead to a sort of "Stick music" ghetto.

Of course there are masters who've transcended these limits to make wonderful music.
IMO Greg Howard is the best all-around player, with Bob Culbertson, Andre Pelat, and Jim Lampi right up there as well.
Tony Levin is the master of the Stick as a bass instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2lb7SeMcjo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU0pYPF0Yzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a6XBiDufOc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ2MP8wacIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQrlDzqUCA

At least when I had mine I was put off by the cult of personality surrounding Emmett Chapman (inventor). He's maniacal about his intellectual property to the point of threatening (and IIRC, pursuing) legal action against people who criticized or suggested improvements for the Stick in online forums in the early days of the web. Out of all that brouhaha, Mark Warr was inspired to create his own instruments based on the concept. But I babble, Brian Kenney Fresno has a song called "Stick Warr" that tells the story far better than I ever could:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky7t0UGaYaw

[fluffy_little_something]

Greg Howard plays it nicely, on the other hand it doesn't sound much different from a regular guitar the way they play it in Brazil etc.

The strings seem very close together

Is the stick very solid and heavy? I mean, where does the bass come from, it doesn't have a body as such. It looks like just a huge fretboard

[Numanoid]

Tony Levin is the master of the Stick as a bass instrument.

+1 Often when I think of the instrument I think of it more as the Levin Stick

[JCJR]

Thanks, interesting videos.

[Yeager]

Where does the punch come from? is tapping the strings from above enough? He does use the thumb as well, but I think I hear more notes than his thumb is playing.

Slightly OT, but some people can tap anything :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwm-vxGgFf4

[Winstontaneous]

Greg Howard plays it nicely, on the other hand it doesn't sound much different from a regular guitar the way they play it in Brazil etc.

The strings seem very close together

Is the stick very solid and heavy? I mean, where does the bass come from, it doesn't have a body as such. It looks like just a huge fretboard

Yeah, an acoustic guitar becomes an orchestra in the right hands.
Michael Hedges got soooo much sound out of his Martin and a Lexicon reverb!

The Stick has low string tension (fewer inharmonic overtones) and a beefy humbucking pickup with separate outputs for both sets of strings. Tapping right by the fret gives a full sound with a strong fundamental.

Lowest bass string (C) is in the middle of the neck, so each hand covers a wide range without moving too much. There's a belt hook for support and a shoulder strap for positioning. An interesting axe, for sure.

[des]

Basically it is a guitar, but designed to be tapped on instead of strummed. I've had two 10 string and two 12 string instruments over the last several years....down to only having a 12 string now. I wish I had started 20 years ago, but oh well...I'm playing it now. I play some jazz, rock/pop cover tunes. The tuning I use is the classic tuning and allows for some great chord varieties. I've been working at using it in a more ambient format, but haven't been thrilled with my efforts...I blame myself and not the instrument for that...

It seems most of the notable players do play jazz on it...it seems well designed for doing that. Emmette Chapman is a jazz player and he designed the instrument to meet his playin goals. That being said, there are other non-jazzers playing them..Tony Levin is probably the best known of that group. Kevin Kieth is a great player. You should see if you can find the video of him demonstrating the Roland V-bass using the Stick...sounds great! Bob Culbertson...who I think is one of, if not the most versitile Stick player, does jazz, rock, classical, blues. He also has lessons and videos on Youtube.

The Stick has different pickup options - the original Stick-up, the PAV-4 which has a lot of sonic options and I think another one is called The Block and is an active system. If you go to Stick.com you can get a lot of info and pricing. They are not particularly cheap, but unlike guitars they have a great resale value. Also, there is a forum at Stickist.com where there is a lot of info available.