KVR Audio

tee boy · Post by **tee boy** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:50 am

sickle666 wrote:I hope at the very least you get uncontrollable diahrea tonight.

Mate, i have respect for any man who dont shit himself at the sound of that LOW Bb!

progfusion74 · Post by **progfusion74** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:50 am

Robert Randolph wrote:Is this primarily a lap instrument or no?

I play tap-electric-bass but I always played lap style (or turned the bass horizontally on the straps)... was much easier that way and I didnt know any better when I started....

Ive always thought and instruments specifically designed for this style of playing would be played that way.

Nope .. usually played upright, although I have seen Trey Gunn play a related instrument (Warr Guitar) by placing it on a keyboard stand.

Har · Post by **Har** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:52 am

Robert Randolph wrote:Is this primarily a lap instrument or no?

I play tap-electric-bass but I always played lap style (or turned the bass horizontally on the straps)... was much easier that way and I didnt know any better when I started....

Ive always thought and instruments specifically designed for this style of playing would be played that way.

It's not a lap instrument, but has an interesting way of wearing it: there's a belt hook on the back that clips either into your pants or a belt around your waist (I use a weight-lifting belt, which works great for this); when used in conjunction with the neckstrap that goes around your head and right arm, it allows the instrument to stay in a playing position without any support from your hands or arms at all, allowing your fingers to kind of "float" over the touchboard without any degree of load-bearing.

It took me a little time and thought to get the belt and neckstrap adjusted to just the right position....but once I did, suddenly it seemed like everything opened up and all the notes I wanted fell right beneath my fingers.

Having early-stage Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my right wrist, I also really appreciate how light a touch it takes to actually sound the notes....there's no "impact" problems slamming me in the wrists. Interestingly, the Stick actually sounds better the lighter you touch the strings. My old bassist stopped by to check it out, and right away his fingers started bashing the hell out of the strings and they buzzed like crazy. I had to get him to very, very lightly touch the strings...the action is so low as to be unbeleivable...and then he could sound them easily.
You also never push the strings all the way down to the fretboard...just to the top of the metal frets themselves (the one I have has the newer "Fret Rails", which are actually diamond-shaped and come to a point at the top).

There's some interesting online video clips by Greg Howard (who's a frighteningly talented Stickist), which demonstates how the Stick is held and the played, at:
http://www.stick.com/method/

Cooler still, there's a 10 minute online Quicktime video of Greg Howard performing live and solo with his Stick (near the middle/end when he's playing a bass pattern with one hand and a guitar solo with the other, keep in mind while watching that you're seeing and hearing this played and performed live in real time with no overdubbing). Its starts out kinda jazzy and weird, but by the end....yow!

See it at:
http://www.eyeoncville.com/005/005vid04.htm

Har · Post by **Har** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:03 am

progfusion74 wrote:
Robert Randolph wrote:Is this primarily a lap instrument or no?

I play tap-electric-bass but I always played lap style (or turned the bass horizontally on the straps)... was much easier that way and I didnt know any better when I started....

Ive always thought and instruments specifically designed for this style of playing would be played that way.
Nope .. usually played upright, although I have seen Trey Gunn play a related instrument (Warr Guitar) by placing it on a keyboard stand.

Yep, that's a photo of Greg Howard actually, the guy I mentioned above. He's so good it's scary.

About the Warr Guitar: usually they tend to be played more in a horizontal guitar-style orientation than the Stick, which usually tends to be about 30 degrees off of vertical or so (though I sometimes find myself going a little past that). The Warr's also tend to cost a hell of a lot more than the Stick does, too...

(one sure-fire way to start a flame-war on a Stick forum is to bring up the Stick vs. Warr "who's best" things...kinda like the way a "PC vs. Mac" thread starts wars around here at KvR

)

progfusion74 · Post by **progfusion74** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:06 am

Thanks to you I just ordered Lift

I think the stick style is a little cooler, but I am design agnostic

. If I had to buy one myself, I'd get a stick.

Markleford · Post by **Markleford** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:43 am

You'll have tons of fun, Har.

Being an 80's King Crimson fan (aka "Discipline disciple"

), I did my time playing Stick in a band. Eventually sold the thing off when the band broke up and fretless bass took over my life more.

A fave setup that I used a lot was to put a slow deep flange on the bass side, and put the treble strings through a wah pedal and a rolling delay to create its own internal rhythms. Very sweet for the prog-pop-funk thing we did.

Anyway, enjoy all the next-generation features on it that I suggested a decade ago that Emmett personally told me he would never implement!

- m

Robert Randolph · Post by **Robert Randolph** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:49 am

This looks really cool. I dont know how I've never heard of it before... My favorite instrument to play is fretless 6 string tapped so im sure you know how excited I am to see something like this

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:50 am

Greg, you're a strange animal.

progfusion74 · Post by **progfusion74** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:03 am

Several examples of Stickwork

Band (Stick Player)
Gordian Knot (Sean Malone, John Myung)
Cynic (Sean Malone)
Frameshift (Hennig Pauly)
Liquid Tension Experiment (Tony Levin)
Tony Levin Band (Tony Levin)
Laundry (Ian Varriale)
John Paul Jones (Nick Beggs)
King Crimson (Tony Levin)
John Edmonds (John Edmonds)

Har · Post by **Har** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:06 am

Robert Randolph wrote:This looks really cool. I dont know how I've never heard of it before...

There's probably a good chance that you've perhaps heard it, though: if you're familiar with any of the newer King Crimson tunes (since they reformed in the 80's), Peter Gabriel tunes (such as "DIY", "I Don't Remember", "I Go Swimming", "San Jacinto", etc), Pink Floyd ("One Slip")...you might have heard Tony Levin playing his (as well as on his own solo stuff and projects with Bill Bruford, etc). Also, guys like Laurence Gowan, Bruce Cockburn and Sean Malone (Dream Theatre, OSI, Gordian Knot) have used it a lot in their music too. But it seems most people were introduced to the Stick by seeing and hearing the stuff Tony Levin has done with it over the years.

Also, Nick Beggs (formerly bassist of Kajagoogoo) is a monster Stick player as well, and toured with Zep's John Paul Jones solo touring trio, basically playing all the stuff that JPJ wasn't at any given time...bass parts, guitar parts, synth parts (you can get a MIDI pickup for the Stick as well), sometimes all three at once...

Robert Randolph wrote:My favorite instrument to play is fretless 6 string tapped so im sure you know how excited I am to see something like this

Actually, I know that Stick Enterprises has made custom fretless Sticks for people...I've even seen one that was half-and-half: fretless on the bass side, and fretted on the guitar/melody side!

Being a fretless player myself I gave it some thought early on, but decided to go with the more "normal" version of the Stick instead.

Robert Randolph · Post by **Robert Randolph** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:09 am

Ironically I dont listen to any of that stuff, and have only heard OF king crimson... heh. Different worlds, is amazing sometimes.

progfusion74 · Post by **progfusion74** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:11 am

.. and I am naturally biased to the prog world, but there is a lot of stickwork around, e.g. in Europe (there is one Italian Stick Trio that I know off), Greg Howards Jazz/Fusion work.

MidiSwede · Post by **MidiSwede** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:30 am

Welcome to the incredible world of the Stick! I'm sure you will enjoy it way too much.

I've been progressing on mine quite slowly but it is a very much needed inspiration in my previously all digital world. Well, ok, I do have a guitar but it is just for grinding out the occasional bit of noise.

Cheers and happy tapping!

Rob

VicDiesel · Post by **VicDiesel** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:49 am

progfusion74 wrote:Several examples of Stickwork

I'll add the Freeway Philharmonic, which is like a clasically training jazzy folk band, and the Anubis Leisure Society Orchestra, which is free jazz.

Both have excellent and quite upfront Stick work.

Victor "who sold his Stick years ago, and donated 10% of it to someone who was being sued by Emmett"

progfusion74 · Post by **progfusion74** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 4:42 am

Look what I found

Chapman Stick Discography

Say hello to my lil' fren'.....!