Sticknews Digest Issue #210, Mar 13, 2003 - An online digest about The Chapman Stick(R), published by Greg Howard
There are few experiences that can match following in Emmett's footsteps. My
trip to the Messe last week was exciting and reaffirming on so many levels.
To begin with, I think it's been since 1994 that Emmett was showing The Stick
at a trade show in Europe. A whole generation of young musicians that have
never before encountered The Stick in person got a close look and a chance to
strap it on and explore. The impact of encountering Emmett's method and
instrument for the first time is something I take for granted, and the
excitement of the possibilities it brings is always energizing and
refreshing. Then there were all of the musicians, press, builders and other
contacts that were struck by their instant recognition of The Stick, and glad
to hear all of Emmett's innovations, and to see this new evolution.
Heiko from BassLab has an excellent reputation here, as well, so there is
great excitement at the prospect of an established design innovator like
Emmett joining forces with a creative acoustic engineer like Heiko. We are
only in the first stages of this new Stick project, but already it is easy to
see that it is going to be a great success.
Here are my thoughts and impressions on the two prototypes. I played mostly
the silver one with the ACTV-2 pickup because it was in Bari Melody tuning,
but I made sure to spend some time on both to become familiar with the
evolution of these two prototypes.
In case you haven't read the descriptions on the SE site, here's a brief
rundown on the X36.
These instruments are hollow shell composite structures (what Heiko calls
"monocoque design"), with an automotive lacquer paint finish. They are
extended scale, like the graphite XG Sticks, and have Rails frets. On the
Silver prototype (the first one) the lacquer was much thicker, so the
sensation of playing the rails wasn't the same as on my paduak Grand Stick,
but it still felt great.
My first impression on the instrument was a pronounced sonic difference.
Heiko constructs his instruments from what he calls "tuned composite" so he
influences the material to bring out certain harmonic characteristics.
(Don't ask him what the formula is because if he told you, then he would have
to kill you:)
When I listened to someone playing his 5-string basses, it was clear that the
pitch definition of the lowest notes was much more pronounced on his
instruments than on others I had heard. But this wasn't the primary
difference I noticed on The Stick. On The X36, I heard what sounded like a
higher ratio of the second (octave) harmonic to the first (the fundamental).
I would have to get to some test equipment to see exactly what's going on,
but these are my ear's impressions. I think this makes the instrument more
"3-dimensional" in sound. The closest comparison I can make is the
difference between a hollow-body electric guitar and a solid body (like a Les
Paul). This makes sense in light of the hollow structure. Yes, the space
under the fretboard is also hollow.
So when you play the new Stick you are actually hammering onto an acoustic
chamber. You can feel the vibrations in your hands (especially on the back
with your thumbs, where the material is thinner). This sensation connects
the player a bit more, and the fretboard has a slight bounce to it (although
some of my impression of this might be the difference in scale length, as the
strings are a little "slinkier" at 36"). Heiko tells me that the material on
the prototypes is a little thicker than the productions might be, so the
final version could be even more resonant and lighter (the current
instruments weigh about as much as comparable graphite instruments).
My troubleshooter instincts went into action when I thought about hollow
Sticks. What about increased crosstalk? This is a big worry for me because I
can sometimes tend to use a lot of distortion on the melody strings. While
giving demos at the Messe I didn't notice any difference between my paduak
Grand and the silver prototype, both of which have the same pickup system, so
that was a relief. Heiko and Emmett assured me this is something they will
keep in mind as they take the next steps forward in bringing these instrument
to the Stick-playing public.
The lacquer finish is beautiful and surprisingly smooth on the thumbs, which
is a big consideration when you play like I do, with so much motion along the
back of the instrument. Emmett tried an experimental inlay design which is
similar to my own thinking on what would be an effective inlay on a more
vertical instrument. The lines are adjacent to the next fret, so you can
easily see over the frets and all across them. This gives the player a more
complete visual reference, especially when playing the high melody strings,
where sometimes the right hand can cover up the inlays. I would prefer to
have the inlay a little more off the fret, and perhaps not extending all the
way to the edge of the instrument, but from what I understand a great deal of
customization is possible with these instruments in terms of colors and
inlays.
The sound of the red prototype was also excellent, and with a thinner lacquer
coating, the feel of the Rails was more like what I am used to. This
instrument does justice to the PASV-4 pickup in the same way the graphite
Stick XG does. It is "fat" and articulate all at the same time. The red
color is beautiful (a tough choice between that and the deep blue I saw on
Heiko's basses), and I think the black inlays look nice, but you should think
about having maximum inlay contrast when ordering an instrument with a
lacquered fretboard if you will be playing under stage lights (because of
reflections on the surface). Right now I'm thinking blue with silver bar
inlays would be really sharp....
Something tells me it won't be too long before we see and hear these new
instruments in many player's hands. Emmett has always striven to develop the
function of his instrument as a vehicle for his unique music-making method.
The addition of Heiko's acoustic expertise takes the Stick one-step further
on the journey from the being the best tapping instrument to being the
"perfect" tapping instrument.
Congratulations to both of you for making this happen, and thanks for all the
hard work in pursuing your individual and now joint creative vision. For
those of us who get to use play instruments, it's easy to forget all that
goes into their development and support. Thanks!
You can read more abou the new instrument at:
http://www.stick.com/news/stickx36.html
Ron Baggerman has also written about the new instrument and has posted a link
to some photos below.
Happy Tapping,
Greg
http://www.greghoward.com