Chapman Stick??

[jgcable]

I know this topic pops up now and then and here it is again!!
Anybody here play a 10 or 12 string stick?
The newer ones with the truss rod and the graphite or poly bodies are insanely expensive. The older ironwood or rosewood models are more reasonably priced. Because I am a classical trained pianist from the age of 3 and a guitar player I was thinking that the "Stick" might come really easy to me. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

[Matt Crooks]

Re: Chapman Stick??

JG-

I've never played one, but I had a project in the studio that featured a stick. It's a very cool instrument - the bass notes are really round and warm sounding, and the higher strings have an interesting bite to them. Dispite what it looks like, it doesn't sound like a bass or a guitar - the harmonics are much different.

The guy who was in my studio with the stick has a B.A. in French Horn, so he definately had formal musical training. However, he didn't play guitar or bass before learning the stick, so I don't know if knowing guitar will help or hurt. He showed me the basics of how to hold it and how to tap the notes, but I didn't spend any time with it.

They seem really cool, although a bit limited in their uses.

[Outlander]

Re: Chapman Stick??

They have some really cool samples and info on their web site.They say it takes about three years to start to really get the hang of it but I think you would definitly have an advantage with your previous skills.
Is this what Sting used to use on some of his songs in his early Police days?

[pro-fusion]

Re: Chapman Stick??

I don't think Sting ever used the Chapman Stick, but I could be wrong. Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) is the guy I remember using it the most.

King Crimson's current 'bassist' is a guy named Trey Gunn who plays an evolved version of the Stick called the Warr Guitar, which is a ten-string touch guitar that has a full-size guitar body and more elaborate electronics, including synth pickups on Gunn's instrument, I believe.

I would think the ability to think and play independent left and right hand lines on the piano would be an enormous benefit for someone trying to play the Stick, since that is a necessary skill for a Stick player to have.

[No Use]

Re: Chapman Stick??

tony levin inspired the Great John Myung of Dream Theatre to use one as well. and it doesn;t hurt that myung uses a 6 string bass already.

[jgcable]

Re: Chapman Stick??

I am seriously thinking about picking one up and giving it a shot. They just sound so cool and the ability to play bass and melody lines together is so similar to piano.

[Chameleonfong]

Re: Chapman Stick??

Originally posted by Seventh Avenged:
the Great John Myung of Dream Theatre to use one as well. and it doesn;t hurt that myung uses a 6 string bass already.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The "Great" John Myung?! [img]graemlins/brow.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/puke.gif[/img]


Fong

[pro-fusion]

Re: Chapman Stick??

Myung's a pretty damned good bass player, I'd say, even though you can hardly ever make him out in the mix, due to Petrucci's use of an extremely scooped guitar sound...

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: Chapman Stick??

Myung is a awesome bassist!

You can't hear Myung in the mix? You'd better check your hearing, dude. Compared to the countless death and extreme metal bands around the world, Dream Theater's mixes are like fucking Symphonies.

[Chameleonfong]

Re: Chapman Stick??

Isn't it obvious why Mike Portnoy NEVER consider to have John Myung in the Liquid Tension Experiment project?

Anyway, the topic on how "great" John Myung is has being discuss before, therefore, kindly use the search engine for more information. [img]graemlins/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]


Fong

[Ace]

Re: Chapman Stick??

I've played a Chapman stick before, not for any length of time, but one thing they are NOT is limited in their uses. It has one pickup under each "set" of strings, and they have seperate outputs, and can be run into either 2 amps, or two seperate guitar synths. You can mimick flute with one hand and violins with the other if you like. I was spellbound at NAMM by the stick players. In a huge room full of shredders of all sorts demoing just about every new product under the sun, the Stick players blew everyone away.

[pro-fusion]

Re: Chapman Stick??

Originally posted by Ninja Guitar:
Myung is a awesome bassist!

You can't hear Myung in the mix? You'd better check your hearing, dude. Compared to the countless death and extreme metal bands around the world, Dream Theater's mixes are like fucking Symphonies.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It seems like Dream Theater has gotten better mixes lately, to where Myung's lines are more distinctly audible, but from Images & Words through Scenes from a Memory, I really thought his bass work was well-hidden. And yes, lots of metal bands have that problem--in large part because the bassist is mostly doubling the root note of whatever chord/riff the guitarist is playing.

[AlexL]

Re: Chapman Stick??

John Myung used a Chapnman stick on the song "New Millenium" from "Falling Into Infinity", and he used it for that song on tour as well. Kinda neat, I had never seen one used before. As far as I know, that is the only song he's used one on.

And yes, you can finally actually hear his bass playing on the recent "Train of Thought" album. About time.

- E.