+1

I will wade in on this one...
For reference. I have owned an iron wood in the 80s as well as a black poly and then in the early 90s a white oak grand. All had stick ups. And to date myself, at that time I don't believe they were called anything but "pick ups". IIRC the "block" was under development. I don't believe I had a lot of adjust ability on any of these.

the biggest upsides of the stick(s) are / the sound and lightness (ok NOT the POLY for weight). Generally well made, nice finish. To me the passive stick up IS the stick sound. Easy adjustability on newer instruments is a huge plus and I think Stock have come a LONG way. Mono switch on newer is a huge plus.


Then I ended up with 2 ADGs an 8 and a 10. Upsides, radiused fretboards. Barts gave more tonal options/ range and the stick. It never sounded like a stick (this is not good or bad here just different). Ability to tap, strum, pluck a plus. Also, the ability to use standard straps I found to be a real plus. Want to play sitting? Just shorten up the strap. 2 outputs allow a lot more options for cables without need anything special. Sperzel tuners are beatiful. Ash/ mahog/ mape are really well done and finish was smooth and really nice.

Warrs. I have an 8 string and I had and sold a 10string. Workmanship is amazing. fit and finish are top notch. On the 8, the raduised finger board allows itself for a lot of playing options. The strap allows for all sorts of positions and the body shape allows for playing Guitar style, resting on one leg and neck horizontal. Piezo pick ups are astounding for clarity, depth and punch. Piezo also allows for dual midi on all strings. All electronics are neatly incorporated into the guitar instead of stuck on. This also allows for single cables plugged into mini controllers and switching from midi to analog through a switch on the guitar. Oh yeah, and frggin AMAZING inlay by Larry Robinson. Range of sounds available between active Barts and Piezos is amazing. UI use the Piezo @ 95%of the time becasue it is that good.

All in all similar but different. Like trying to say that a Strat is so much better/ worse than a Les Paul

I am thoroughly demoralized.

K

I always thought a radiused fingerboard would be a detriment to tapping. Do you feel the radius helped or compromised tapping?

I am not a good enough player to make that determination. I am a frustrated frequently humiliated tapper. I have a love hate relationship. I want to be good and want to learn so I get one. I then get so frustrated that I sell it off.. Lather rinse repeat.. I am currently in the "lather" mode of seeking out a new 10... As a bass player, the people I would play with with tend to bum out when the stick came out, so it tended to not get a lot of playing time.

Why?
http://s286.photobucket.com/user/mp40sm ... 2.jpg.html

It doesn't take much to stir the pot!

Yes, Greg did stir the pot, didn't he?

K

It helps to know musicians who are equally adventurous as you are. And you are adventurous, otherwise you would not own the Stick. My advice is to embrace the spirit of adventure and forget about conventional approaches to the instrument, forget about splitting your brain in half and forcing your hands apart. I don't mean this in a bad way, but it sounds as if you don't really know what kind of player you are. There are some players whose hands work in unison toward one unified rhythmic line, and some whose hands work separately to play lines in their designated regions. When you get good, you can do both at will.

When I first approached the Stick in '93, I purposefully ignored the Free Hands book at first because of the drive to explore the instrument without the constrains of someone else's method. Being a percussionist for years, I approached it as a percussive instrument. It excels in that role. I suspect the Stick (and tapping instruments in general) eludes many players simply because they fear it and never really grasp their percussive aspects, which is at the very root of the instrument. Figure out how to strike a note on it, then learn how to strike successions of notes, then you can truly learn on it. At that point, start learning patterns from the Free Hands book, start from the very beginning and make sure you grasp the basic concepts and can play them before you move forward. If you don't have a Free Hands book, go buy a Free Hands book.

Worked for me.

K Rex

Ha! do what i did. i answered an ad for a bass player wanted, said i play the Stick, that's what yer getting. i auditioned, they liked it, and NOW i might bring a bass to rehersal...when it seems appropriate. TAP ON